Bases Loaded

by Mike Knudson

  The last few innings had been really intense. No one had scored any runs at all. Every time we hit the ball they were able to get us out, and we did the same to them. Graham even threw off his catcher’s mask, ran all the way to the Pirates’ dugout, and dove to catch a foul ball. Both teams were playing like we were in the real World Series.

  Now the Pirates were up. We were ahead 6–4. All we needed to do was hold the Pirates to one run or less and we would not have to bat again. We would win the game.

  Kevin was pitching for us now. I took his place in center field. The first batter hit the ball over second base and straight to me. I dove to catch it, but missed. Luke ran over from left field and picked up the ball.

  Kevin struck out the next two batters and then walked one. There were two men on base when David stepped up to the plate. He looked serious. There was no making fun of our pitcher or any other trash talking. We were one out away from winning the championship.

  The first pitch was inside. It almost hit David, but he didn’t even flinch. The next was in the dirt. Again, David just watched it go by. He was waiting for the perfect pitch. Kevin’s next throw was exactly what David was waiting for and he smacked it. I followed the ball with my eyes. It was coming straight toward me. But instead of coming down, it kept on sailing higher and farther. I ran back to the fence, but knew in an instant that it was gone, a home run. David punched his fists into the air as he jogged around the bases. I felt my heart sink. We were now losing by one run. Kevin struck the next batter out, and we all ran into the dugout.

  Coach Parker stood in front of our bench. “You all know what we need to do,” he said simply. “Let’s do it.” Then he walked down to third base. We were back to the beginning of our lineup. It would be Carlos, then Graham, and then me.

  The first three pitches were balls. Coach gave the “don’t swing” signal for the next pitch. Carlos stood there and watched the next pitch hit the ground in front of the plate.

  “Ball four. Take your base,” the umpire shouted. Carlos ran to first.

  “Go get’em, hermano,” I said to Graham.

  He grabbed his bat and walked up to the fence in front of the crowd. “Okay, this one is really for you,” he said, pointing to Kelly. Gramps opened his mouth and was about to say something.

  “Not you,” Graham said, stopping him before he could say anything. “This is for Kelly.”

  Diane and Heidi and most of the crowd started laughing. Kelly looked really embarrassed. Graham didn’t care. He walked up to the plate and yelled, “Come on, wimp. Throw the ball!”

  No one ever called David a wimp. His face was red as he started his windup. He threw the ball straight at Graham, who just stood there with a smile and didn’t move. The ball hit him in the leg. Now Graham’s face turned red. I could tell he was in some serious pain and wanted to scream. Instead he just kept that stupid smile on his face and gently set the bat down on the ground. He gave two thumbs up to the crowd, who all cheered him down to first base.

  Now David was really mad, and unfortunately, I was up next. This would probably be my last time up to bat in Little League. We were so close to winning the game and finally beating David. I just had to hit the ball.

  Carlos and Graham were leading off their bases, getting ready to steal. Coach gave me the sign to swing no matter what. The first pitch was almost in the dirt, but I swung anyway and missed. Carlos and Graham both ran. The catcher threw the ball to third base to get Carlos out, but it went over the third baseman’s head. Carlos kept running and slid home for the tying run. Graham made it to second base safely.

  “You’re going down,” David yelled at me.

  The next pitch almost hit me in the head. I hurled myself to the ground to avoid getting killed. Suddenly, it felt like the first game of the season again. The next pitch was a strike, but I didn’t swing.

  I stepped away from the plate and took a deep breath. I glanced over at Heidi and Diane. They were both smiling at me. Heidi had her fingers crossed. My mom had her hands over her eyes, like she was too nervous to watch. Gramps was stuffing a handful of caramel corn into his mouth.

  This is it, I thought. I can do this. My friends are here, my family is here, even my grandma and caramelcovered Gramps. I’m ready. I stepped back up to the plate.

  David said something, but I didn’t pay attention. Then he wound up and threw the fastest pitch I had ever seen. I didn’t have any time to decide if it was a strike or a ball, so I just swung as hard as I could. I felt the ball hit my bat and send vibrations up my arms.

  “Run, run!” I heard everyone shout. I dropped the bat and ran to first as the ball sailed over the shortstop’s head. The left fielder picked it up and threw it to third base, trying to get Graham out. Fortunately, Graham slid and was safe.

  I couldn’t believe it. I’d finally gotten a hit off David! Our crowd stood up and cheered. I hoped Coach Cunningham had seen my hit.

  “Time-out,” the Pirates’ coach yelled. He walked out and had a little chat with David.

  Graham yelled “Way to go, hermano!” from third base. Luke’s dad whispered to me, telling me to take a big lead and to try to steal second base on the first pitch. I took about five steps off the base.

  “Way to go, Raymond!” I heard someone call out from the stands. I looked over to see if it was Heidi.

  Diane and Heidi were trying to say something to me. Probably trying to tell me I did a great job, I thought. Now more people were telling me something . . . and pointing. Luke’s dad was yelling something too, but with everyone screaming it just got all jumbled up. I turned to see what they were pointing at, only to see David running straight for me with the ball. I turned to run back to first, but it was too late. David had tagged me. “You’re out,” he shouted.

  David stood there laughing in my face. The crowd went silent. I looked up at David and wanted to say something, but what could I say? I felt like I was going to die. But as I stared into David’s mean black eyes, I caught a glimpse of something behind him. It was Graham, and he was heading home from third base. David and everyone else had forgotten all about him. Now it was the other team’s crowd that was screaming. My smile must have given it away, because David quickly turned around. With Graham almost to the plate, David threw the ball to the catcher. The sound of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt echoed through the park just as Graham slid, raising a cloud of dirt. All eyes were on the umpire. It seemed like time stood still as we waited for the call.

  “Safe!” he finally shouted.

  Our entire team ran out of the dugout and jumped around like crazy. We ran over to Graham, who was still on the ground at home plate. We tried to pick him up and put him on our shoulders, but we all fell down, so we just kept jumping around instead. We gave the other team a cheer, and both teams met at home plate to shake hands. I saw David coming toward me. I turned quickly and walked away to shake someone else’s hand. The last thing I wanted was a slug on the arm to ruin this moment. But I wasn’t quick enough.

  “Hey, Raymond.” I turned.

  He was standing there with his hand stretched out toward me. “Good game,” he said. I was waiting for the punch line or maybe just the punch, but it never came. I looked at his hand and then up at his face. He was serious.

  I reached out and shook his hand. “Yeah, good game,” I answered. Then we both moved on and shook hands with everyone else.

  The crowd came running onto the field. I gave my mom and dad hugs. Grandma gave me a wet kiss, and Gramps pulled off my hat and rubbed my hair like he was trying to rub it all off. Even Geri gave me a little, friendly sneer. Then Coach brought us together with our parents and told us how proud he was of us and what a great season we’d had. He said something nice about each player. He seemed as happy as we were. My dad called out, “Let’s hear it for Coach Parker!” All the parents and players gave Coach a cheer.

  Coach gathered us in close. “How about one last cheer for the Giants, the new Little League champs!” We all stuck ou
r hands in the circle. “Okay, ‘we’re number one’—on three.” Coach counted and we screamed at the top of our lungs, “We’re number one!” Then we all threw our hats into the air.

  “And before you leave,” Coach announced, “let’s thank Zach’s parents, who have volunteered to host a Giants’ pool party at their house next Saturday.” We all cheered again.

  Coach Cunningham approached our team as we were still huddled up.

  “Congratulations, Giants,” he said. He put one hand on my shoulder as he leaned in to shake Coach Parker’s hand. “I hope to see some of you in Marlins uniforms next season.” Graham and I looked at each other, hoping he meant us.

  Just then Diane, Heidi, and Kelly walked up to me and Graham. “Great game, you guys,” Kelly said. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you on Monday, Graham.” Then she walked away. Graham followed her with his eyes like he was in a trance.

  “Hey, I finally came to a game that you won,” Diane joked. She slapped Graham on the back and jolted him out of his zombie state.

  “Uh, thanks,” Graham said.

  “It doesn’t get much better than this,” I said. Just then Gramps interrupted us.

  “Hey, slugger, why don’t I treat you and your friends to some championship ice cream?”

  “Sure!” I said. Graham, Heidi, and Diane all nodded their heads.

  “Who wants to race the champs to the car?” Graham announced. Before he could start running, Diane grabbed him and pulled him to the ground, then ran.

  “Who’s the champ now?” she called back to the rest of us.

  “No fair,” Graham cried from the ground. But she was long gone.

  Just as I was about to run, Heidi grabbed my shoulder. “Wait, Raymond,” she said. “I almost forgot to give this to you.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet-size picture of her and handed it to me.

  Graham got up and came over to see what was going on. When I turned the picture over, I saw she had written her name on it. Not only that, but she drew a little heart right next to it!

  I looked up to say thanks, but she was already running to the car.

  Graham and I looked at each other and smiled. We gave one more glance at the empty baseball field and slowly walked to the car. Somehow, even though we were just beaten by two girls, we still felt like champions.