Prime Time Pitcher (3 page)

With runners on first and third, Tug came up to the plate in the cleanup spot.

Malcolm worked him to a full count.

“Come on, Tug, don’t leave me stranded!” Koby yelled.

But Tug did. On the next pitch, he reached for an outside pitch that danced away from him. He slowly walked back to the dugout.

“You’ll get him next time,” Koby called.

Next up was Scoop Jones.

“SCOOP! SCOOP!” chanted the fans. “EAT THOSE PITCHES, SCOOP!”

Koby hoped Scoop would be able to hammer him home and put the Cardinals on the scoreboard first.

Carrying his huge bat on his shoulder, Scoop stepped up to the box.

Koby took a comfortable lead as K.O. challenged Malcolm at first. With two outs, they would be off with the pitch.

Malcolm launched his first pitch — high and inside. It looked tempting, but Scoop checked his swing. Ball one.

“C’mon, Scoop! A little base hit will do!” shouted Koby as he clapped his hands. “You can do it!” The bench took up Koby’s
chant.

The next pitch kissed the outside corner at the shoulders. Scoop took the bait, and his bat made contact.

Bam!

The ball sailed over the second baseman’s head. The center fielder charged the ball on the first bounce. Koby crossed home
plate standing up.

“Yes!” Koby hollered. He spun around to watch K.O. land safely at third and Scoop on first.

Malcolm got Prez Jefferson swinging wildly on three straight pitches to end the inning, but the Cardinals had drawn first
blood.

Monticello held their 1-0 lead as Koby and Malcolm settled into an intense pitching duel. Koby racked up three more K’s, and
Malcolm added two to his belt.

By the top of the fifth inning, Koby was cruising with a two-hitter, but tiring. When the Cardinals sweetened their lead with
a two-run homer hit by Papo Cruz at the bottom of the inning, he gave a sigh of relief.

Down 3-zip at the start of the sixth and last inning, the Mudcats needed to score some runs.

Vishnu came up to the plate. Koby shook off Tug’s signs until he saw one he liked. He kicked his left leg high and threw a
low fastball at Vishnu’s knees. Even before the umpire’s call, he knew the pitch was lousy.

“Ball!”

Three pitches later, Vishnu took his base.

Next up was Malcolm. Koby pitched him a smoker
at the knees. Using a swing like a pro golfer, Malcolm launched the ball over Scoop’s head in left field for a stand-up triple,
scoring Vishnu. The Mudcats had begun to close the gap.

Billy caught the throw-in from Scoop, then walked the ball over to Koby. “He got lucky,” he said. “Blow your best stuff right
by this next guy.”

Koby tried, but A.J. McGuire hammered a single through short and third. The score now read 3-2.

Tug jogged to the mound and pounded the Hummer. “Right here, Kobe! Show him what you’re made of!”

Koby looked at the scoreboard, then at Malcolm’s grinning face in the Danville dugout. He took a deep breath.

“You gotta help me wipe that grin off his face,” he said fiercely.

“You got it,” Tug promised. “I’ll give you the target and the signals. You just pitch your best.”

Koby did. Carefully following Tug’s signals, he struck out the next three batters in thirteen pitches. The game ended with
the score still reading 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals.

As the few faithful Monticello fans cheered, the
Cardinals cleared the bench to celebrate with their teammates on the field. When Koby and Tug finally squirmed out from under
the pile, they ran right into Sara.

“Phew, what a game!” she said, her eyes dancing with excitement. “You pitched great, Koby!”

“Thanks. But I couldn’t have done it without my old pal Tug here. He makes me look good!”

Tug grinned. “And you can put that in your column, with my permission!”

Monticello Middle School

May 13

by Sara Wilson

We’re well into the baseball season. Our Cardinals have zero, as in zip, none, and
nada,
in the minus column, and we have four victories on the plus side — thanks in large part to Koby Caplin. Koby stung the Danville
Mudcats on Opening Day with his rocket right arm, then racked up another win against the Martin Luther King Mustangs, playing
complete games both times. Miguel Sanchez and Peter Chung have worked well together to add the other two victories.

Adding some offensive oomph have been Scoop
Jones, K.O. Watkins, Papo Cruz, Beechie Anderson, and Billy Trentanelli. Dazzling in the field with golden gloves have been
Prez Jefferson, Sandy Siegel, and Tug McCue.

Everyone on the team has been playing strong, but how far can this team go? Here’s a brief Q&A I did with Coach T. after Monday’s
victory over the Martin Luther King Mustangs:

Q:  What was your prediction for the team after the Watermelon Game victory?

A:  I don’t make predictions — that’s for carnivals and fortune-tellers. I take every game as it comes, as a fresh start. As
long as my guys are working hard as a team, I’m happy.

Q:  Has the hype about these seventh graders who did so well in summer league met your expectations?

A:  I never listen to what people say. All that matters to me is what they do as members of the Cardinals — both on the field
and in the classroom.

Q:  Have you been happy with the pitching?

A:  Well, I’m trying not to smile until the season’s over, but I have been pleased. We can always work harder, but we’ve had
some very strong outings from Koby Caplin. Miguel Sanchez has been a proven starter, and Peter Chung has been a very reliable
closer.

Q:  Any “prized bears” on this squad?

A:  If there are, they better not show their furry paws near me. Winning can sometimes bring that out in a player, but it better
not on my team.

Q:  Thanks for the interview, Coach T. We all wish you the best of luck in the rest of the season.

A:  Good teams make their own luck, Sara. But one thing that would help is if the students and Monticello community came out
and supported their team. The crowds have been getting bigger each game, but we would like the stands packed for our upcoming
home games. Thanks for the interview.

So, folks, you heard it here! There’s no game this Friday, and Tuesday’s game is away. But try to come support our team if
you can! Pitcher Miguel Sanchez would appreciate it, I’m sure. Go, Cardinals!

Without looking up from the newspaper, Koby reached into the bowl of popcorn sitting on the table. His hand came up empty.

“Hey, who finished off the grub?” he asked, looking
accusingly at Tug and Sara, who were seated on the opposite side of the table. The three friends had gotten together to do
their social studies homework. Koby was taking a break to read the
Megaphone.

Tug swallowed a big gulp of soda. “Not me,” he said innocently. “Musta been Sara.”

Sara rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah? Then why are your fingers covered with salt and butter and mine are clean? The evidence speaks
for itself, I think!”

Tug pretended to be amazed at his hands. “Well, how did that stuff get there?” he exclaimed. He reached over and snagged the
Megaphone.
“I’ll just use this ‘rag’ to wipe them clean.” He gave Sara an impish grin.

“Give me that!” she cried, grabbing the paper away from him. She smoothed it out and added, “That’s the last time I write
anything nice about you.”

“Ha!” Tug replied. “Seems to me you’ve been writing mostly about pitching lately. And Koby’s name pops up pretty often. You
even got Coach T. to mention him. Are you losing your journalistic distance by any chance?”

Sara huffed, “Koby happens to be big news, that’s all.” She glanced down at her column and looked thoughtful. “In fact, I
wonder if maybe I should do an interview with you, Koby, like I did with Coach T. What do you say?”

Tug snorted. “You’ll risk being called a prized bear, Koby. Coach T. won’t like it.”

Sara ignored Tug. “It’ll just be a couple of questions, like how you started pitching, who your influences were, things like
that. People want to know you better — and I bet it would make more of them come to your games.”

Koby pondered for a moment, then turned to Tug. “Maybe I should do it. I mean, if Sara thinks it would fill the stands, then
it could be a good idea.”

Tug looked unconvinced. “Maybe. But how about a dual interview, you and me, instead of just you? We’re a team, remember?”
He looked at Sara as if expecting her to refuse.

But Sara just threw up her hands and said, “If it will get Koby to talk, I guess I could include you. Sheesh, what some people
will do to see their name in print.” She closed her social studies book and opened her notebook. “You two scram for a little
while so I can come up with some questions. Go practice pitching or something.”

Obediently, Koby and Tug stood up to leave.

“Hey, before you go, microwave me some more popcorn!” Sara added, holding out the empty bowl.

Twenty minutes later, Sara called them back inside.

“OK, ready? Question number one: Koby, how long have you been pitching?”

“I’ve been pitching for five years, since Little League.”

“Have you ever played any other positions?”

“Once. I played outfield for a summer league game when our regular center fielder and his substitute were both on vacation.”

“But pitching is where you naturally belong. Anyone can see that. Right?”

Koby shrugged. “It’s where I feel I can help my team best, yeah.”

Sara consulted her notebook. “Who first got you interested in baseball?”

Before Koby had a chance to reply, Tug interrupted. “Hey, hello there! When are you going to ask
me
a question?”

Sara sighed. “OK, Tug. Tell me, how long have you been Koby’s catcher?”

“Oh, brother,” Tug groaned.

Koby intervened. “Sara, I think I should point out something you might not know. You see, Tug is really important to how well
I pitch during a game. I count on him to know things about the batters and to call pitches that might fool them. Without his
steady target, the famous Hummer, I might not be as accurate a pitcher. And besides that, he’s great at covering home, throwing
runners out at second, and he hits well, too. So —”

Sara held up her hand. “OK, OK, I get the picture. I’ll include as much about Tug as I can. No promises, though. Do you still
want to do the interview?” She looked at Koby for an answer.

Koby glanced at Tug. “What do you think?”

Tug rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I hate playing second banana to this guy, but we might as well finish it.”

Koby gave him a wry smile. “I promise to remember you when I’m rich and famous, Second Banana. For now, let’s get this interview
over with.” He turned back to Sara. “In answer to your question,

my brother, Chuck, was the one who got me interested in baseball, when he pitched for the Cardinals.”

“When was that?” Sara asked.

“Six years ago. I don’t remember much about his season, only that it wasn’t very good. But he kept up his enthusiasm, no matter
what. Even got an award for it.”

Sara scribbled madly in her notebook. Tug, meanwhile, drummed his fingers on the table. Koby could tell that he had had just
about enough of the interview.

Well, he’ll feel differently when the article comes out, Koby thought. I’m sure Sara will include that stuff about him. His
ego is just bruised now, because Sara is giving me all the attention. But he knows I’m only doing this for the team. Doesn’t
he?

Monticello Middle School

May 20

by Sara Wilson

By now, the name Koby Caplin should be familiar to anyone who’s read my column over the past few weeks. Well, I managed to
corner him recently to ask him some of the questions I’m sure you’ve all been wondering about. Here’s a quick profile on the
player who, thanks to his remarkable performance on the field, has become the standout leader for the Cardinals:

Koby Caplin began pitching five years ago in Little League. He’s never played any other position, except one time in summer
league when his superior throwing arm was called upon to help out
his team in center field. He says his older brother, Chuck, first got him interested in baseball. (Some of you with older
brothers who played baseball may remember Chuck, who pitched for the Cardinals during one of their more dismal seasons. I
guess we should all be happy Koby didn’t follow in his brother’s footsteps too closely!)

Always a team player, Koby is quick to point out that the abilities of his battery mate, Tug McCue, whom he affectionately
calls his “second banana,” help make him look good on the mound. If that’s true, then keep up the good work, Second Banana!
And that goes for you, too, Koby. Monticello looks to you to keep this team alive!

For those of you who haven’t made it to a game yet, be sure to catch Koby and the Cardinals (sounds like a rock group, doesn’t
it?) at their next home game, versus the Holton Hawks this Friday. (Last Tuesday’s game was another victory for the Cardinals,
thanks to Miguel Sanchez and Peter Chung.)

Koby Caplin had a murderous look in his eyes. With a copy of the
Megaphone
in hand, he strode through the hallways, searching for Sara. Finally, he spotted her.