I wanted to laugh. She did a good impression of me. I knew that if I did, she would never talk to me again.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and tried my new move … the freezing, wet, sad puppy with a quivering lip.
Maybe the whining-puppy sounds were a bit much.
“Jerk!” she said and gave me a shove.
“You can’t be mad at me,” I said, getting down on my knees by the dugout.
Other players started to notice.
“Get up,” M.E. hissed and attempted to walk away.
I pulled a Cassidy move and wrapped her leg with my arms and legs so she couldn’t leave.
I made more whimpering-puppy sounds, and she looked around. Now everyone was staring at us.
“People are watching!”
{whimpering puppy noises}
“Okay, I’m not mad at you.”
I jumped up, did a little dance, and then licked her face. In my defense, that was what Duke would have done. M.E. tried to swat me, but I dodged her. By now, people were laughing at us, and I could tell she was having a hard time not smiling. When a small smile finally touched her lips, I picked her up in a hug and swung her around.
“I’m going to pee!”
I let her go, and she smacked me.
“If you’re done flirting with the batgirl …” Coach Kingwood said.
“Yes, sir.”
“Take the lineup card to the umpire.”
He’d kept the lineup of the first game under wraps. I think he gave it to me so I could share it with the team. I made a loud whistle to get everyone’s attention and waved them in.
“Coach gave me the lineup,” I told them when they gathered around.
Batting Order / Name / Position
(1) David Dawson – Center Field
(2) Mitch Underwood – Shortstop
(3) Dave Gordon – First Base
(4) Shane Bays – Designated Hitter
(5) Royce Greene – Third Base
(6) Nick Madigan – Right Field
(7) Tristan Pratt – Left Field
(8) Patrick Welch – Catcher
(9) Logan Greene – Second Base
Allard Hensley – Pitcher
I took the lineup card over to the plate umpire. He already had the lineup for the Stripes and gave me a copy. I dutifully returned to Coach Kingwood.
“I take it, I’m your new Bob,” I said to him, referring to my host-brother and batboy in North Carolina who had the scoop on everything.
“You seem to be handling your new duties well.”
◊◊◊
The crowd at Minute Maid Park was disappointing. We drew about as many people as we did in North Carolina, but here, it felt like the park was empty. Two thousand fans didn’t even make a dent in the over forty-thousand-seat ballpark.
The park wasn’t set up for the long ball. To straight center field, it was 435 feet with a 25-foot wall.
We were up first. Coach Kingwood pulled me aside to give me directions before I stepped out there.
“This first game will set the tone for the rest. Expect them to challenge you on the first at-bat, and I want you to show them we’re going to own them.”
I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I can just hear Dave saying ‘you can’t say that’ about owning the other team.”
“Get your head in the game,” he said, getting serious. “Expect them to throw you fastballs early. If you get one you like, I want you to tear the cover off it.”
I nodded and trotted to the batter’s box.
“You ready for some baseball?” I asked.
Everyone ignored me. I closed my eyes to visualize my five steps for hitting. When I opened them, I felt myself drop into the zone and took my stance. Their pitcher put his toe on the rubber and threw to home. Everything slowed down as I watched him overstride to get as much as he could out of the ball. I knew when it came out of his hand that I was swinging. If I’d waited a split second to decide, it would have been too late. Later I learned that they clocked the pitch at 96 miles per hour, probably the fastest I’d faced in live batting. Fortunately, the Lincoln High Booster Club had bought top-quality pitching machines, so I was prepared.
I knew that if my mechanics were correct, this ball would fly a long way. I admit that I put a little extra in the cut as I swung at the ball. But when I heard that satisfying sound of a well-hit ball, I knew I hadn’t needed to.
“Shit!” was the eloquent response from their catcher.
It was hit to dead center field, so I ran hard to first, thinking that even my best-hit ball might not make it out. The center fielder ran back and then just stopped, turned, and watched it. I made a little hop when it disappeared over the fence.
Our bench was waiting for me when I came home. I received my congratulations and saw Coach Kingwood tip his hat to me.
Our bats didn’t come alive until the fourth inning when we put four on them. I had a weird night at the plate. I batted five times and only got one hit. They walked me four times, which turned out to be a mistake because I stole second three times and accounted for two more runs. We won 6–3 to ‘set the tone,’ as Coach Kingwood put it.
◊◊◊
They’d set up a pizza buffet with salad and soft drinks for both teams. I didn’t feel like eating pizza that late. To tell the truth, it didn’t look all that good. I got permission from Coach Kingwood to go back to the hotel. Fritz pulled the car around, and we drove back.
