Long Stretch At First Base (8 page)

That was the only run the Redbirds scored that inning.

C
APPIE smiled as he warmed up with Dave. It was good to have a two-run lead.

The smile left his face immediately, though, after he threw the first pitch to the Mustangs lead-off hitter. The ball zoomed
like a rocket between left and center fields. Both Toby and Jim raced after it.

Bobby’s heart went cold. Toby and Jim were going to collide!

“Watch out!” he shouted. “Let Toby have it! Toby!”

Just as the ball was about to hit the ground, Toby reached out his glove, and caught it! Jim skimmed past him.

Bobby gulped. Boy! He thought they were going to hit for sure!

The next batter knocked a dribbler to short. Bobby charged in after it. I have to make this throw good, he thought. I must!

He reached for the ball. It took a bad hop, struck him on the knee. He leaped after it, picked it up, heaved it desperately
to first.

Wild again!

Tony left the bag, stabbed at the ball with his mitt. He caught it, raced back to the bag. But the runner beat him to it.

Bobby turned around disgustedly. His throwing was wrecking the game.

Then Mark missed a grounder, followed by an error by right fielder Jerry Echols which gave the Mustangs two more runs. The
score was tied now, 3-3.

“Let’s settle down!” Coach Barrows shouted from the dugout. “Let’s play ball out there!”

Man on third. A grounder to Bobby. He fielded the ball, pegged it to Dave, who was standing across home plate with his mask
off. Dave caught the ball, put it on the runner.

“Out!” shouted the ump.

Bobby ran to cover second. Al was already there. Bobby took a deep, satisfied breath as he turned and headed for his position
at short. He didn’t know how he had done it, but that throw to Dave was perfect.

Cappie struck out the next Mustang hitter.

“We have that bad inning out of our system,” said Coach Barrows. “Now, let’s get in there and play baseball.”

Al Dakin led off in the top of the third inning. He wiggled at the plate till a 2-2 count was on him, then cut hard and missed
Earl Lowe’s in-curve by six inches. Al sat down in the dust, facing the catcher with a very foolish look on his face.

Toby got on first by an error on the third baseman. Jim belted a fly to left that went foul, then drove one just inside the
third-base sack. Toby circled to third, and Jim stopped on second for a double. Dave poled a long fly that went foul by an
arm’s length, then hit into a double play. They had lost a wonderful opportunity in gaining the lead.

The Mustangs came up and knocked two runs across before the Redbirds got them out. As Bobby expected, Coach Barrows made changes.
He put Bert
Chase in Bobby’s place, and Dick Carachi in Jim Hurwitz’s place.

Mark fanned. Tony Mandos came up. Why doesn’t Mr. Barrows replace him? Bobby thought sourly. Why doesn’t he put in Kirby?

But this was only Tony’s second raps. Maybe that was why.

Tony took a called strike. Then two balls. Then he blasted an inside pitch to left field that looked sure to be a hit. The
Mustangs left fielder came in fast, caught the ball near his shoelaces. The fans for both teams cheered. That was one of the
best catches of the year.

Jerry Echols walked. Cappie drove a hot liner through the pitcher’s box, sending Jerry all around to third. But Bert, who
had replaced Bobby, popped out to short. Three outs.

As Tony started for first, Mr. Barrows called to him. “Come back, Tony. Kirby’s taking over at first. Nice game, boy.”

Bobby wished that he was out there now. He could throw ’em anywhere with Kirby playing first.

Kirby caught a high peg from Mark, then made a put-out himself when he caught a fast-hopping grounder and stepped on the bag.
He sure looked good — better than Tony, thought Bobby. The next Mustangs hitter went down swinging.

The Redbirds squeezed across a run in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and two men on, Kirby came to the plate.

Hit it! Bobby whispered to himself. Hit it, Kirby! Those scouts were watching. Kirby
had
to hit.

Crack!
A single through short! He
did
it!

Another run scored and the game was tied up again!

“All right, Kirby!” screamed Bobby, drumming his feet on the dugout floor. “You did it!”

The Mustangs held them scoreless the rest of the inning.

In the sixth, the Mustangs lead-off man singled. A bunt put him on second. Then a sharp drive through the pitcher’s box scored
the run and broke the tie.

The Redbirds tried hard to tie the score again, but the Mustangs held on to their lead like a hungry dog to a bone. They carried
off the win, 6-5.

Every member of the team felt a little downcast. All except Bobby. He was not
especially hurt. What he wanted to know was: Who would be picked on the All-Star team? Kirby or Tony?

That night he found out. The telephone rang at eight-thirty. Mrs. Jamison answered it.

“Bobby, it’s for you,” she said.

Bobby stared. “For me?” His hand shook nervously as he took the receiver from her. “Y-yes?” he stammered.

“Bobby? This is Curt Barrows. Got some nice news for you. You and Tony Mandos were selected to play in the All-Star game at
Cooperstown. Congratulations!”

“Me
and
Tony?”
Bobby’s heart pounded.

“That’s right. You and Tony. I’ve already told him. See you at the next game, kid.”

Bobby hung up as if he were in a dream. He sat down, gasping for breath. He could hardly believe it. Me and Tony, he thought.
Me and Tony.

But why wasn’t it Kirby?

“Who was that?” asked Kirby. He was standing in the doorway.

“What are you so white for?” asked Ann. She was sitting in a chair across the room.

Bobby wet his lips. “Tony and I were picked on the All-Star team,” he said, still half numb from the news.

A smile crossed Kirby’s face from ear to ear. “Just what I figured,” he said. “I knew you’d get it. I knew it all the time.”

Bobby stared. “But you’re the one who should have been picked! Not me or Tony!”

Kirby shook his head. “Not me. Tony’s
a lot better ballplayer than I am. So are you. I had a hunch all the time that you and Tony would be picked. Guess I was right.”

Bobby’s eyes stung with tears. Kirby wasn’t mad. He wasn’t sad about it, either. He was taking it like — well, like a man!

Ann grinned. “Well, Mister Shortstop,” she said, “how does it feel to be an All-Star player?”

“Fine, I guess,” said Bobby. He thought about it a little more. The more he thought about it, the better he felt.

In a louder, happier voice he cried out, “Yes, sir! I guess I feel just fine!”

Baseball Pals	Little Lefty
The Basket Counts	Long Shot for Paul
Catch That Pass!	Long Stretch at First Base
Catcher with a Glass Arm	Look Who’s Playing First Base
Challenge at Second Base	Miracle at the Plate
The Counterfeit Tackle	No Arm in Left Field
The Diamond Champs	Red-Hot Hightops