Authors: Matt Christopher,Molly Delaney
Zero's Slider
To Becky, John, and Richard
Text copyright © 1994 by Matthew F. Christopher
Illustrations copyright © 1994 by Molly Delaney
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL MEANS, INCLUDING
INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS, WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER, EXCEPT BY A REVIEWER WHO MAY
QUOTE BRIEF PASSAGES IN A REVIEW.
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First eBook Edition: December 2009
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.
ISBN: 978-0-316-09492-4
Contents
The First Chapter in a Lifetime of Reading
Zero Ford wished his luck would change. Maybe it was because he was tired. Or maybe it was because the afternoon sun was shining
without mercy, making him sweat.
Whatever the reason, Zero wasn’t pitching well. It was the bottom of the fourth inning, and the score was 2-0 in favor of
the Bearcats. There were no outs, and Zero had already given up a hit and a walk. The count on the present batter was 2 and
0. Two more balls and the bases would be loaded.
He wasn’t surprised when Chess Laveen, the Peach Street Mudders’ catcher, called time and walked out to the mound, his brow
furrowed.
“What’s happening? I keep giving you a target and you keep missin’ it by a mile.”
“I know, I know.” Did Chess think he was blind?
“Well, maybe if you cut out all that fancy stuff, you’d put a few over the plate. If you keep going this way, Coach will take
you out,” cautioned Chess. He jogged back to his position behind the plate, shaking his head.
Zero heaved a sigh. Didn’t anyone realize that he was just trying to stump the batters? His uncle Pete, who had been living
with Zero and his mom for the last three months, said any pitcher who could outsmart his opponents was worth a lot to a team.
Anyone could throw a fastball or a slow ball, he’d said. A good pitcher had to know how to mix up the pitches to keep the
batters on their toes.
That was when Zero decided he wanted to do something different on the mound. Something impressive.
But so far, all he’d done was throw ball after ball.
Cries of “Pitch it to ’em, Zero!” and “Show ’em what you can do, Zero!” came from the Peach Street Mudders’ fans.
Zero squared his shoulders and turned to face the batter. He checked the runners on first and second, then rifled his third
pitch to the Bearcats’ batter. He aimed for the mitt Chess held directly over and behind the plate, but the ball sailed outside
by a foot. Chess had to spring out to grab it.
“Ball!” boomed the ump.
“Come on, Zero!” Turtleneck Jones yelled from first base. “Take your time! Get it in there!”
“Strike him out, Zero! Strike him out!”
Zero’d recognize that voice anywhere. His uncle Pete was in the stands.
Zero knew Uncle Pete loved baseball. But since he’d moved in with Zero and Mrs.
Ford, he’d only been able to make it to one of Zero’s games. Uncle Pete used to work as a sports announcer for a local radio
network. But his show had been canceled, and now he was out of work. He spent most of his time looking for a new job.
Zero was excited that Uncle Pete was there, but he was also nervous. Uncle Pete couldn’t afford to take too much time out
of his job search to come see a Mudders game. Zéro wanted to make it worth his while.
But as much as he wanted to try another special pitch, Zero decided to follow Chess’s advice. He stepped on the mound, checked
the runners, and breezed in a nice, easy pitch.
It was in there. “Strike!” called the ump.
The Mudders fans, including Uncle Pete, exploded with a loud, enthusiastic roar.
But the next pitch was another ball.
Boots Finkle dropped his bat and trotted to first.
Chess called time again and ran out to the mound. This time he had company. Turtleneck ran in from first, Nicky Chong from
second, Bus Mercer from short, and T.V. Adams from third.
Zero stared from one player to the next.
“What is this?” he grumbled. “A family reunion?”
“You’ve got to settle down,” T.V. said. “Sparrow pitched the last game, but Coach will put him in again if he has to.”
“At least let them hit,” advised Turtleneck.
“Right,” agreed Nicky. “We could get them out if they hit the ball.”
The ump came halfway out to the mound to break up the gathering. The guys split and returned to their positions. Zero turned
and faced Luke Bonelle at the mound. Luke was the Bearcats’ strongest hitter. Zero really wanted to try something tricky to
outsmart Luke. But with the bases loaded, he realized he should play it safe for now.
Zero streaked in a fastball.
Crack!
The ball zoomed to deep right field, drawing a cheer from the Bearcats fans. As Zero watched, the ball arced down and landed
about ten feet beyond the right-field foul line.
“Just a long strike, Zero!” Uncle Pete yelled from the stands. “Pitch it to ’em!”
Zero did, and after four more throws had the count at 3 and 2.
He could feel the tension in the air as he readied himself for the next pitch. A hit or a ball would mean at least one run,
but if it was a strike, he’d have the first out.
Maybe I should try that curveball again, he thought. He took a deep breath and threw.
Crack!
The ball shot up almost a mile high and came down between first and second bases. Nicky caught it for the first out. The three
runners stayed on their bases.
Zero sighed with relief. Only two more to go, he thought.
But it seemed the other team had figured out he wasn’t pitching a solid game. They waited out his pitches instead of swinging
at them. He gave up two more walks and a single. Then Bus Mercer turned a pop fly into a double play to end the inning.
The score was Bearcats 5, Mudders 0.
As Zero jogged off the field, he saw that Sparrow was warming up. He wasn’t surprised when Coach Parker motioned him to join
him in the dugout.
Zero shook his head miserably and sat down beside the coach.
“What’s happening out there, Zero?” Coach Parker asked.
“I just can’t seem to make the ball do what I want it to do,” Zero said glumly.
“I wanted you to finish the inning, but I’m going to put Sparrow on the mound for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, why don’t
you
talk to Chess about setting up some extra pitching practice time this week?”
“I’ll go talk to Chess right now, Coach. Thanks,” said Zero. Coach is right, he added silently. A little more practice is
all I need to make those fancy pitches work.
Chess agreed to meet at Zero’s house the next morning. He slapped Zero encouragingly on the back, then grabbed a bat. He was
up second, right after Bus Mercer.
Bus was one of the Mudders’ best hitters. He started off the top of the fifth inning with a solid single. Then Chess walloped
a line drive that the Bearcats’ pitcher somehow caught. One out, man on first.
Zero watched Sparrow adjust his batting helmet and step up to the plate. That should be me up there, he thought sadly. Sparrow
popped out.
Barry McGee took a few practice swings, then readied himself for the first pitch.
Pow!
The ball soared far over the center-field fence for a home run! Bus and Barry rounded the bases. Zero stood and cheered with
the rest of the team and all the fans. The score now read Bearcats 5, Mudders 2.
Those runs were the last ones the Mudders earned. Turtleneck struck out to end the inning. Sparrow kept the Bearcats from
getting any more runs at the bottom of the fifth, but the Mudders couldn’t seem to get a man on base their last raps at bat.
The game ended at Bearcats 5, Mudders 2.
Zero felt awful. If only he hadn’t given up those two walks in the bottom of the fourth, maybe that score would have looked
better. But there was nothing he could do about it now.
Next time, though, he vowed silently, they won’t know what hit ’em!