Prime Time Pitcher

by Matt Christopher

  “Sara!” Koby exclaimed, embarrassed.

  Mr. Tomashiro looked thoughtful. “Yes, that’s true. Koby has been playing some excellent ball for the team.”

  “ ‘Excellent’? “ Sara echoed. “I’d say stellar! This boy is news!” She slapped Koby on the back.

  “Yes, well …” Coach T. didn’t finish his thought. Instead, he stepped into his classroom and held the door open for them. “Once again, I seem to be playing doorman. Why don’t you three find your seats so we can begin?”

  That afternoon, Coach Tomashiro started practice with his announcement. “OK, Cardinals, listen up,” he bellowed as the team gathered around in a semi circle. “The Channel 5 Evening News has decided to do a documentary on middle school athletics. They’re calling the program ‘High Five.’ It will air at the end of the season on a Friday night during prime time. Believe it or not, they’ve chosen us as the team they want to showcase. We’re being highlighted because we’re clearly a team heading in an upward spiral —”

  “You got that right!” yelled Scoop.

  “Yeah!” the rest of the team chorused.

  “Quiet! This will bring a lot of attention to our school, and that’s why I decided to do it. Now, as you all know, I dislike singling out any one player — this team has no room for prized bears. However, the station wants to follow one player in order to get a real feel for what it’s like to be a middle school athlete.” He hesitated for a moment, then finished by saying, “The TV station has requested that that player be Koby Caplin.”

  Koby was stunned.

  “Yo, Koby!” shouted Billy.

  “He’s our man!” yelled the Prez.

  “Ko-by! Ko-by!” chanted the team.

  Koby was buried in a sea of high fives and friendly punches in the arm.

  Just then, a white van with Channel 5 Evening News plastered all over it pulled up in the teachers’ parking lot. Two men clambered out. One was the man who had been talking with Coach T. earlier in the day.

  The players craned their necks to check out the van and the two men. Coach T. gestured to the man Koby recognized. “This is Dan Marsh, sports producer for Channel 5, who will be heading the project,” Coach T. said. “Dan, may I introduce you to the Monticello Cardinals?”

  “Hey, fellas,” Dan greeted the team.

  “Yahoo!”

  “We’re number one!”

  “Live with Channel 5!”

  When the team cheers had subsided, Dan began to speak. “Thanks for that hearty welcome, guys. As a team, you are accomplishing great things, and you should all be proud of yourselves. We at Channel 5 work like a team as well. We have news anchors, reporters, camerapeople, technicians, and all sorts of people who work to get the evening news out. We run like a well-oiled machine, just like you do. But we feel the best way to get to know the inside workings of your ‘machine’ is to concentrate on one ‘gear.’ We’ve been reading a lot of good things about Koby in your school paper —”

  Koby glanced up to the stands where Sara was sitting. She was grinning so widely, Koby thought her face might split open.

  “— and that’s one reason we chose him. We’ll be following him for a few days, maybe a week. We’ll be covering a few games, too, so you’ll all get a chance to be on TV. All I can say is ‘Act natural!’ I look forward to learning more about the Monticello Cardinals — for myself and for our viewers.”

  “Whooeeee!” the team shouted. “We’re going to be ‘Live on Five!’ ”

  “Koby, could you come up here, please,” Dan continued.

  As Koby wiggled to get up from the tightly packed players sitting around him, he tripped on Scoop’s foot and stumbled right into Tug’s lap. “There’s our star, acting natural!” Tug quipped.

  Koby flushed beet red.

  Dan reached out to Koby. “I guess baseball isn’t all smooth plays and snazzy moves. Here, let me give you a hand. Meet Buck, my cameraperson. He and I will be the crew. We’ll be trying to get that ‘day in the life’ feel, so we’d like to come by your house tomorrow morning, OK?” Koby shrugged and nodded. “Thanks, guys, and we will definitely be seeing you-all around.”

  “OK, men, five laps around the outfield!” barked Coach Tomashiro.

  The Cardinals jumped to their feet and dashed down the right-field line.

  “Hollywood, here I come!” Scoop screeched as he sprinted to catch up with the group. “I hope the camera catches my better side.”

  “Which side would that be?” Tug yelled as he passed Scoop on the right.

  “Very funny! See if I put you in my first movie!”

  7

  Koby!” Mrs. Caplin yelled up the stairs the next morning. “The camera crew is here!”

  Koby peeked out the window of his bedroom. Sure enough, there was the van, parked in front of his house. His stomach did a giant flip-flop, but he tried to ignore it. With a stretch, he jumped out of bed. Rifling through his closet for something clean to wear, he put on his customary T-shirt and jeans.

  Koby went to the bathroom to wash up and comb his sandy, thick hair. As long as he could remember, he was the kid who always needed a haircut. His hair was fighting him a bit today, but Koby finally got it to go the way he wanted.

  Well, at least I don’t have any new pimples, he said to himself as he looked into the mirror. I wonder if I’ll have to wear makeup. Didn’t I read some where that everyone on TV wears a lot of goop on their faces? Gross!

  He gave his hair one more swipe of the comb, then hurried downstairs.

  As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he was hit in the eyes with the spotlight from the camera. Surprised, he fell back a step.

  “Whoa! Come on back in here, Koby,” Dan Marsh’s voice called. “Sorry if you weren’t expecting the light. The regular lighting in here isn’t strong enough. But we’ll click the camera off if you’re not feeling ready yet.”

  Koby saw the light shut off and slowly eased into the room. “I didn’t know you’d be filming me eating breakfast, that’s all,” he said.

  “We want you to get used to the camera. Filming you here at home seemed like the best way to do that. But don’t worry,” Dan soothed. “I know it’s hard to be chatty first thing in the morning. You just go about your business as usual, and we’ll see how things go. What do you say?”

  “OK,” Koby agreed uncertainly.

  “Great!” Dan enthused. “I’ll be sitting here and firing some questions at you. OK?”

  “OK,” Koby said again.

  The light came back on. Koby sat frozen to his seat, trying to remember what his morning routine usually was. He spied his mother near the toaster.

  “Uh, good morning,” Koby said to his mom. His mother returned his greeting, then walked out of camera range to get the butter. So Koby turned and stared into the camera.

  “Cut!” Dan called. The light switched off. “Koby, try not to look right at the camera, OK? Pretend it’s not even here. I’ll start us off with an easy question or two, OK?”

  “Oh, right, gotcha,” Koby mumbled.

  The light blinked on.

  “G’morning, Koby,” Dan said with a smile. “We understand that this Friday is the rematch against Greenview, Monticello’s arch rivals. Are you worried you’ll lose your undefeated team record?”

  Koby stared down at his fingertips. “I’m not sure —”

  “Hold it,” Buck interrupted. “Koby, you’ve got to keep your head up. I’m just getting hair here, no face.”

  “Look at me when you answer the questions, Koby,” Dan advised. “Let’s try it again.

  “So tell me, Koby, are you nervous about Friday’s game against Greenview? They must be gunning for you, since you’re the team to beat. Are you worried you’ll lose your undefeated record?”

  Koby cleared his throat and looked directly at Dan. “Uh, well, we, um, beat Greenview already, in the, uh, the Watermelon Game before the start of the season. So, I, uh, I bet we can beat them again.”

  Dan smi
led encouragingly, then told Buck to stop filming. “That wasn’t bad, Koby. But try not to say ‘uh’ so much. It makes you sound a little stupid, to tell you the truth. Just talk in nice, clean sentences.”

  Koby reddened. He was starting to feel a little exasperated. And he hadn’t had anything to eat yet. The smell of his mother’s toast was making his mouth water. He wondered if he would accidentally spit the next time he said anything.

  Dan asked Buck to roll film again. He asked Koby the same question. This time, Koby answered without the ‘uh’s’ and, to his great relief, with no spit. Dan nodded and went on.

  “And what about you, personally, Koby? You have a perfect game under your belt. Must feel pretty special, huh?”

  “Yeah, it —,” Koby started to say, when all of a sudden his stomach rumbled loudly. Buck started to laugh. Dan joined in, and finally even Koby smiled.

  “OK, let’s get this kid something to eat before we waste any more tape!” Buck said.

  Relieved to be out of the spotlight for a bit, Koby got up to make some toast, grab a box of his favorite cereal, and pour himself a glass of juice. As he scooped up his first spoonful of cereal, he met the icy zoom lens of Buck’s camera from across the kitchen table.

  “Got that drip of milk going down the side of your mouth. That’ll add a nice human touch,” Buck said. “Basketball players aren’t the only ones who dribble.” He laughed at his own joke.

  Just then the doorbell rang.

  Now what? said Koby to himself as he got up to answer the door.

  “Sara!” he said with surprise as he stared at her through the screen door. “What the —?”

  “I’m here to observe the film crew. Ms. Brodsky thought it might make a good story. And Dan and Buck said they didn’t mind if I hung around. Is it OK with you?”

  Koby shrugged. How could he argue when his science teacher thought it was a good idea?

  Sara took her notebook out of her backpack. She opened it up on the kitchen table, but before she could ask any questions, Dan spoke up.

  “OK, Buck, let’s get a shot of Sara and Koby together in the kitchen.”

  As Buck maneuvered into position, the doorbell sounded again.

  Koby answered the door.

  “Tug? What’s going on?”

  “What, don’t we walk to school together every day?”

  “Yeah, but I usually pick you up! Your house is on the way to school!”

  Tug pushed by Koby. “Hey, is that the film crew? Well, whaddaya know!”

  Koby just rolled his eyes.

  “Let me get you something to eat,” Koby’s mom said. “Please, Tug, sit here next to Sara.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. C. Is that camera on?”

  Koby stood awkwardly next to the table, wondering what to do next. His cereal had gone soggy, and he had lost his appetite, anyway.

  But Dan Marsh kept peppering him with questions about baseball, his pitching style, and Coach T. and the Cardinals. Koby had no choice but to answer.

  “Tell me, Koby, how did you get interested in baseball?” Dan queried.

  “My brother, Chuck, played for the Cardinals six years ago. I used to watch him pitch. He always looked like he was having so much fun, I thought I’d give it a try.”

  “Oh, yes, I remember reading that in the Megaphone. Interesting, that despite Chuck’s poor showing, you decided to try baseball, too. Who else has had an impact on your playing?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Koby saw Tug waggle his eyebrows and grin hopefully. Koby had to stop himself from rolling his eyes again.

  “Well, I guess you could add Tug McCue, the team’s catcher, to that list. He and I —”

  Koby saw Buck refocus the camera to include Tug in the shot. Tug leaned forward, arms on the table, and pretended to be serious. “Koby Caplin and I go way back. Why, I’ll never forget the first time Koby tried out his sidearm delivery. The ball hit the dirt, bounced up, and clipped me in the face. I had a black eye for a week. Soon after that, my mother bought me my world-famous glove, ‘the Hummer’!” Tug laughed. “And then there was the time Koby came in so fast to nab a bunt that he fell flat on his face. And the time he threw an overhand fastball with so much force he flipped himself over! Remember that, Koby?”

  Koby, now completely flushed with embarrassment, mumbled, “Yeah, those were memorable moments.” To himself, he added, Thanks a lot, Tug! Now people will think I’m some sort of baseball clown!

  After a few more questions directed at Koby, Dan decided they had enough footage of breakfast. He and Buck gathered their gear and moved to the driveway to get the trio exiting the house.

  “For this shot, Koby, I’ll be asking you a question from off-screen, so you can look directly at the camera, OK?”

  Koby nodded.

  “You two go out first,” said Sara. “I’m going to stay in the background to do my story. Let Tug be in there with you. We know he isn’t camera shy!”

  Tug laughed, but Koby was silent as he walked out the door and into the spotlight thrown by Buck’s camera.

  Dan asked from off-camera, “So, tell us about the upcoming game against Greenview, Koby.”

  Koby gazed into the camera lens and tried not to squint at the light. “Well, I’m a little nervous, I guess,” he answered, trying to keep his voice calm and steady, “but if I pitch the way I’ve been pitching, I should keep Monticello in contention for the Meadowbrook Conference championship.”

  Buck clicked the camera off and gave Dan the thumbs-up sign.

  “OK, you guys, we got what we needed at the house. We’ll drive ahead and get ready for some shots at school. See you there!” He and Buck stepped into the van.

  “OK!” Koby shouted back as the van took off. As soon as it was out of sight, he turned to Tug. “Jeez, Tug, why’d you have to go and tell him all those stories about me messing up? They make me look like an idiot!”

  “Oh, come on, I was just having some fun,” Tug said dismissively. “They weren’t that bad. Besides, Dan will probably just edit that stuff out anyway. Those TV shows never show everything that’s filmed.” He cast a look at Sara. “Newspeople practically always cut out all the interesting parts of interviews. Right, Sara?”

  “Sometimes,” Sara agreed evenly, ignoring Tug’s dig.

  Koby sighed. “Well, maybe. But tell me, how did that last bit sound?”

  “Well, I could’ve scripted it a little better,” Tug said slowly. “Maybe mentioning the team would have been a good idea, for instance.”

  “But they’re not doing a show on the whole team,” Koby argued. “They asked for me because of what I can do on the mound. If they just wanted a representative middle school athlete, they could have settled for anyone from any local team.”

  “Like me, for instance?” Tug said sarcastically.

  “Hey, this gives me a great idea for an article,” Sara cut in, eyes sparkling. “Koby, could I get an interview with you about how you feel about being the center of the documentary?”

  “What?!” exclaimed Tug. “Another interview? He’s already full of himself, and now you want to add to that with more press coverage?”

  “Tug,” Sara explained patiently, “I’m just suggesting it because it would fit in well with the articles I’m doing about the film crew. So what do you say, Koby?”

  Koby glared at Tug. “I’d be happy to help you out, Sara. I’m glad someone understands and appreciates what’s happening here.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Tug returned. “I just don’t appreciate your attitude about it, that’s all!”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the school’s front steps, Tug hurried inside and disappeared into the crowd without another word.

  Koby turned to Sara. “That Tug! Never thought he’d be one to get jealous.” He shook his head. “Anyway, about that interview. How about if we do it right before the game on Friday? I’ll clear it with Coach T.”

  Sara studied him for a moment, then nodded. Toge
ther they walked into the school to start the day.

  8

  All week long, word buzzed through the halls that Koby Caplin was going to be on TV. Koby couldn’t sit down in any class without being mobbed. Lunchtime was the same thing. Only when Dan and Buck pleaded with the students to let Koby “act natural” did the filming go smoothly.

  Yet even then, everything wasn’t one hundred percent normal. By Thursday, Tug had stopped walking to school with Koby. At first Koby tried to draw Tug back into the picture. But with school, practice, and the film, Koby had hardly any free time for that.

  Finally it was Friday, the day of the rematch against Greenview.

  At the start of school, the film crew set up near the trophy case in the front hall. When Koby and Sara arrived, they hurried Koby into the spotlight. Dan started firing questions at Koby. Koby, used to the lights and do’s and don’ts of filming by now, settled in to answer them. All the while, the audience around him grew bigger and bigger.

  “And this is how I hold my fastball. I grip the ball like this,” Koby said, holding up his hand with a pretend ball in it. “Then I snap my wrist right before the release to get the ultimate velocity with my pitch.”

  Mr. Tomashiro appeared outside his classroom door. He approached the film crew.

  “Excuse me,” he said in his best “trying to keep cool” voice. The students opened a path. “Homeroom is starting now. Koby, come along.”

  “OK, Coach T.,” Koby said. He glanced back into the camera. “You need to be sure that your grip on the ball is —”

  “Now!” ordered Mr. Tomashiro. Buck and Dan helped to disperse the crowd.

  “OK, folks,” Dan said as he gently nudged the students to move. “Time to get to class.”

  “Well, gotta go!” Koby said. Looking into the still-running camera one more time, he added, “School comes first! You have to study hard and take that discipline with you onto the field.”

  As the camera shut off, Koby thought he saw one student mouth to another, “Oh, brother.” But he wasn’t sure.

  Mr. T. followed Koby into homeroom, with Dan and Buck close behind. Koby saw Buck click on the camera and point it at Mr. Tomashiro. Mr. T. didn’t appear to notice.