Double Play at Short

by Matt Christopher

  Joel came up and got his first hit of the game. He arrived safely on first, and Danny held up at third. With two men on base, the Bullets stood a chance of scoring another run. But it didn’t happen. Larry struck out to end the fifth inning with the Bullets three runs up on the Jaguars.

  As Danny ran off to his field position, he felt good. He’d hit a single, a double, and a triple all in the same game. That didn’t happen often. Even if he didn’t get up to bat again, his series average was looking good.

  But the Bullets still had their work cut out for them. They could end the game if they contained the Jaguars in the top of the sixth inning.

  Drew Ferris led off. He put one by Mike to arrive safe on first. Next up was Eric, but the Jaguars put in a pinch hitter for him. Barney Gold, their substitute outfielder, came up and faced Ike. The Bullets’ outfield played him deep.

  The first two pitches were low and inside, and Barney let them go by. The next two were down the middle for called strikes. He swung at the fifth pitch and connected. It was a high fly ball into center field, and Joel was ready for it. He put it away for the first out and pegged the ball to third. Drew held up at second.

  The shouting from the Bullets’ fans began in the stands: “We want a win! We want a win!”

  The ump signaled for them to quiet down.

  Next up was Joey Sands. Ike walked him. There were runners on first and second.

  Wally Mills stepped into the batter’s box and took a few practice swings. He settled down to try for a hit, but Ike walked him, too. The bases were now loaded with only one out.

  Danny could feel the tension all around him. His own heart was pounding madly. Got to remain cool, he thought. He took a deep breath and settled down for the next pitch.

  Marsha let the first two go by for a 1 and 1 count. The next one started to break in the direction she liked, and she went for it. She connected with a ground ball to short.

  In one easy movement, Danny scooped it up and pegged the ball home. A perfect throw! Larry tagged Drew out and sped the ball back to third, but he was too late. With two away, the bases were still loaded.

  No mistakes, said Danny to himself. No mistakes. He hunkered down, eyes glued to home plate.

  The tension of the moment proved to be too much for Roy Feenie, the next batter. He struck out.

  The game was over: Bullets 5–Jaguars 2.

  Danny was jubilant as he jogged off the field. They were still in the running! The series was tied 2–2 — and Danny knew his playing today had helped bring about the much needed victory.

  Tammy had been left on deck when the game ended. She’d been talking to one of her teammates and was still on the diamond near home as Danny passed by. Before he could stop to think of what he was doing, he called out “Nice homer” and kept moving.

  Tammy whirled around and shouted, “What’s that supposed to mean? Rubbing it in?”

  Danny stopped in his tracks. “I just meant you really clobbered that ball.”

  “Oh, sure, you really meant that,” she said angrily. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you checking me out. You’ve been mimicking my every move. What are you trying to do, copy the way I play so you can beat me for the All-Star spot? Fat chance! And I saw you taking pictures, too.”

  Danny just stood there, speechless, as she went on.

  “Well, you can forget about looking for my weak spot, ‘cause I don’t have one. I’m just as good as you are!” she snapped.

  And then it happened. Danny stared her straight in the eyes and said calmly, “You should be. After all, we’re twins.”

  11

  Tammy stared back at him. She didn’t even blink at first. But all the color drained from her face. Then she broke into tears and ran off the field.

  Danny was stunned by her reaction. But he was too upset with himself to go after her. How could he have just blurted something like that out?

  “What’s going on, Danny? You act like you just got through talking to a vampire,” said Joel, coming over to him. “Your new girlfriend give you a hard time, there?”

  “She’s not my girlfriend, Joel,” said Danny tiredly. “Let’s get changed and I’ll explain it to you.”

  On the way home, Danny filled Joel in on what had happened, how he’d suspected something, and how his mother finally told him the story.

  “Your twin sister? Wow! That really is wild,” said Joel. “Wait till the guys hear about this!”

  “Hold on for a minute,” said Danny. “Maybe we better not let anyone know until after the series. Look at what happened when I told her! They might not know how to handle it either.”

  “You sure?” asked Joel.

  “I’m sure,” said Danny. “What I can’t figure out is how to let her know that I’m not mad at her or anything.”

  “You’ll figure that out,” said Joel.

  When he got home, he told his parents what had happened. They were dismayed at first, but then they decided that while the way Danny had told Tammy wasn’t the best, it was good that the truth was out once and for all.

  Danny thought about nothing else for the rest of the day. Finally, he decided he would write Tammy a letter and tell her the way he told Joel, the whole story and how he found out. That ought to make her understand that he wasn’t spying on her or anything like that.

  “Dear Tammy,” he began.

  For the next half hour he scribbled away, trying to find the right words to let her know how he felt and how he didn’t know how to feel, all at the same time.

  Finally, he had finished the letter.

  Dear Tammy,

  I’m sorry about the way I told you about us being twins. I was going to wait until after the series was over because it looks like baseball is as important to you as it is to me — and I figured finding out the truth might break your concentration. As much as I want to win this series and make the All-Star team, I would never try to do something bad to you. I mean, you’re one of the best players out there. I thought I was a shoo-in for the All-Star spot until I saw you play. I guess that’s why I’ve been watching you so closely. At first that was why, anyway. But the more I saw the way you played baseball — throwing righty but batting lefty, your stance at the plate, the way you run and field the ball — the more I saw that we share more than just good playing ability. Then other things started adding up. Weird coincidences like both of us being adopted (Okay, I admit I looked up your game stats in some old newspapers, so maybe I was spying a little bit!). And I couldn’t believe it when I heard your team sing “Happy Birthday” to you on my birthday! Anyway, I finally asked my mom about it, and she told me the truth.

  Believe it or not, I really like the idea that we’re sister and brother, even though you are threatening to push me out of the All-Star spot. I hope you can forgive me and that we can get to know each other someday.

  Good luck in Saturday’s game. May the best person and team win.

  Sincerely,

  Danny Walker

  “There, that’s the best I can do,” he said to the empty room. “Now I need an envelope so I can mail it to her first thing tomorrow. Where’d I put that package of envelopes Jennifer gave me?”

  “Danny! Dinner’s ready,” his father called from downstairs.

  I’ll get the envelope later, he thought as he left his room.

  The smell of garlic and butter greeted him as he entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, boy, garlic bread!” he exclaimed. “I could eat a whole loaf.”

  “Not a good idea,” said Jennifer, nibbling on a small piece. “Fattening.”

  “Danny doesn’t have to worry,” said Mr. Walker. “And neither do you. At your age, you both burn it off real fast.”

  Mrs. Walker passed around a platter of sliced roast chicken, baked potatoes, and a bowl of green beans with slivers of almond.

  Danny heaped his plate with everything that came his way.

  “This is definitely one of my favorite meals, Mom. How come?” he asked, looking up
at her. He noticed that she had red-rimmed eyes, but there were no tears.

  “You know that we always celebrate birthdays three days before and three days after,” she said. “We’re just stretching things a little.”

  Conversation stopped while the food was being passed. It didn’t quite catch on afterward as it usually did. Then Mr. Walker cleared his throat and said, “I think you ought to know that we’ve just spoken to the Aikens, Danny.”

  “You did?” he asked.

  “We called them and told them about what had happened,” Mr. Walker said. “Your mother tried to explain everything that she could.”

  “Uh-huh,” Danny said, nodding. “What about Tammy? That article about her in the Jamestown Journal sports section said she was adopted, so she must’ve known that. Did… did she know she had a twin brother?”

  “Actually, she did,” said Mrs. Walker. “Her parents told her about it when they were living out west. At the time it seemed so unlikely that you two children would ever meet up, they felt they could say something. I wish — I only wish we had, too.”

  “It’s okay, Mom,” said Danny. “I wish I’d known, too, but then again, maybe it was better that I saw Tammy first. Otherwise, I might not have believed it — or I might have wondered if every red-haired girl I met was my twin!”

  “Well, now she knows who her twin brother is,” said Jennifer, dropping a bare chicken wing bone on her plate. “Talk about a ‘duel on the diamond!’ I mean, it’s really freaky that you’re both shortstops, too. If I had a twin — I don’t, right?” she asked. “I mean, if I had a twin brother, I’d want him to be a movie star or a rock singer.”

  “Sorry, but you don’t, so he’s not. You have a regular brother, and he’s a wonderful baseball player, among other things,” said Mrs. Walker, smiling. “So just help Danny clear the plates, and the two of you can take the pie out of the fridge.”

  “Pie? What kind?” asked Danny.

  “Blueberry,” said Mrs. Walker. “And yes, there’s vanilla ice cream in the freezer, too.”

  Danny knew for sure then that this was a really special meal.

  As he stacked the plates and tossed the forks and knives on top, he stopped in his tracks.

  “Mom,” he said. “Did the Walkers say anything about how Tammy feels now? You know, now that she knows who I am?”

  “They didn’t,” said Mr. Walker. “Apparently, she hasn’t spoken to them about it.”

  Mrs. Walker added, “They think it best to just leave her alone to sort out her feelings without any hint of pressure from them.”

  Danny nodded. “Sounds like we have more in common than just baseball,” he said.

  But that didn’t really answer his question. He kept seeing the look on Tammy’s face when she was accusing him of spying on her. And then the way she paled when he’d blurted out the truth.

  He knew what he had to do.

  “Mom? Can I have an envelope — and a postage stamp?” he asked.

  Later on that evening, he strolled into Jennifer’s room. She was sitting in her rocking chair surrounded by about two million stuffed animals, wearing headphones.

  He tapped her on top of the head lightly. “Hello? Anybody home?” he asked.

  She took off the headphones. He could hear an electric guitar and some real loud clanging still coming out of them until she turned off her stereo.

  “Some day, huh?” she said. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, though it still feels a little weird,” he said.

  “I can’t imagine what Tammy’s thinking,” said Jennifer.

  “Yeah, me either,” said Danny. “Boy, she sure lit into me before I spilled the beans!”

  “Why?” Jennifer asked. “What was her beef?”

  “Oh, a bunch of stuff,” said Danny. “I mean she thought that I thought — well, I straightened that out.”

  “You did?” asked Jennifer. “How?”

  “I wrote to her,” he said.

  “You what? Are you nuts?”

  “I figured she ought to hear my side of the story, and why I’ve been so interested in her and everything. I sure would if it were me.”

  Jennifer shook her head. “This may be none of my business, but I’ll tell you one thing.”

  “What?”

  “I think she needs a little breathing room to figure this out by herself. A letter from you could be the last thing Tammy wants right now. Sorry, buddy, but you may have really screwed up.”

  12

  The sky was filled with puffy white clouds the morning of the fifth and final game of the championship series between the Jaguars and the Bullets. But they scattered away before long, and the sun shone brightly down on the well-mown grass of the diamond.

  Danny arrived at the field for warm-up a little early. He thought he might get a chance to “accidentally” bump into Tammy and see how she felt. But the Jaguars stayed well over to one side and the Bullets kept to the other. There weren’t even any stray balls to chase into enemy territory as an excuse.

  Danny noticed that Joel was working hard to act natural — even though he was in on the big secret. But when he threw his arm around Danny’s shoulders and yelled, “Hey, buddy-boy, how’s it going?” for the fourth time that afternoon, Danny was sure his teammates would sense something was going on. Fortunately, they were all used to odd behavior from Joel.

  “Give me a break,” said Joanne, stomping off toward the dugout.

  Danny shook his head and, serious as he was, laughed at Joel. That helped break some of the tension.

  The Jaguars took to the field as the Bullets came up to bat. Danny got into position on the bench to move up when his turn came. But Coach Lattizori called him over and said, “Danny, take it easy for a while. You’re going to play, but I want to have a few of my big guns ready for later on in the game.”

  Danny’s heart sank. He understood the coach’s strategy. It was something he did all the time. But what if this game was crucial to Danny’s chances of making the county All-Stars? He needed to be out there or else — or else someone else would be chosen. And that someone would probably be his own twin sister, Tammy Aiken.

  Do the best you can. Do the best you can.

  He’d heard those words of advice all his life. This was going to really put him to the test. Now he had to wait for his turn to play and do his best — no matter what else was happening on the field.

  Vern, who was back on second base, led off for the Bullets. Andy Hooten was on the mound for the Jaguars.

  Andy was a little nervous and sent Vern to first on a walk. But he held off Elaine, who was up next. With an 0 and 2 count, she got too far under the next pitch and popped it out to third.

  Next Danny watched Mike, playing third and batting third, go down swinging for the second out. Then Ken Hunter came up and took the second walk to first base. With two runners on bases and two outs, Frankie Snow came up to the plate.

  Danny wanted the Bullets to win. He wanted Frankie to get a hit and send Vern or Ken — or both — home. But he also wished he was up at bat now, like he usually was.

  He pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

  Frankie did his best, but he failed to connect. After a swing and a miss, a called strike, and two really high pitches, he went for a breaker and missed it for strike three and out three.

  The Jaguars did better in the first inning of play. Joey Sands set the pace with a double to right field. Wally popped up for the first out, but Marsha followed with a beauty of a line drive down the middle that went deep into center field. It was enough to take Joey home though Marsha stayed on first. The Jaguars had drawn first blood again and were on the scoreboard 1–0.

  Marc Bailey, pitching for the Bullets, struck out Roy Feenie. Tammy came up to bat.

  It was the first chance Danny had to take a close look at her this game. Had she gotten his letter, and if so, what was her reaction?

  Then Tammy made contact with the ball, and Danny snapped back to attention. Tammy arrive
d safely on first, Marsha moved up to second — and Danny reminded himself that during a game, Tammy was just another player. And a threatening one at that.

  With two runners on base and two outs, Al Norris hit a line drive straight into Vern’s waiting glove to end the inning.

  Joanne led off for the Bullets in the second.

  “Come on, Joanne. We want a hit!”

  “Let’s go, Bullets!”

  The shouts from the Bullets’ fans rang out as she stepped into the batter’s box.

  She didn’t disappoint them. The ball flew into short left field for a stand-up single.

  Danny called out to Joel, who was leaving the on-deck circle, “Show ‘em what you’ve got, Joel!”

  It could have been that Andy Hooten didn’t want to see what Joel had. He walked the Bullets’ center fielder.

  That brought up Larry Chuan, who was also capable of hitting the big one. The outfield stayed deep as he got set at the plate.

  Larry let the first pitch go by for a called strike, then went for the next. He hit a line drive, which Marsha caught for the out. A fast peg to first caught Joel off base for another.

  Joanne had advanced to third, where she held up. Her chances of scoring were dimmed by Marc’s arrival in the batter’s box. It didn’t take many pitches before he struck out to end the inning for the Bullets.

  With a one-run lead, the Jaguars didn’t do much better that inning. Drew and Millie got on base with ground ball singles, but Andy struck out. And then Joey Sands let his team down by hitting into a double play.

  Two double plays in one inning made the fans uneasy. As the Jaguars took to the field and the Bullets came in, there were boos and catcalls mixed with the cheers.

  Things got even worse in the top of the third. As Danny squirmed around on the bench, he watched the Bullets put two runners on with one out — and again hit into a double play, their second one that game. He wished he could be out there doing something to help the team. But he knew he’d have to wait until the coach was ready to make the move. So far Frankie’s fielding had been okay.

  But the bottom of the third proved to be a rough one for the Bullets. Marc started off by walking Wally. Marsha then popped out to Frankie, who tried to pick off Wally on second, but missed. Then, with the runner on second, Roy Feenie suddenly found the perfect pitch.