“Look!” Kate said. “He’s going outside to get more supplies!” The boy in the green shirt exited a door and walked to the side of the stand. There were big boxes of cups, straws, and lemons. He picked up two stacks of cups and went back inside.
“Great!” Mike said. “We can wait over there and nab him when he comes out for more supplies!”
Mike and Kate walked around to the back of the stand and knelt behind the boxes of cups. It took a while for the boy to come outside again, but when he finally did, Mike and Kate stepped out from behind the boxes.
“Hey, you were in the parade! What are you doing back here?” the boy said. “Are you stealing our food?”
“No, but our friend Colin is on the Cooperstown team, and we’ve got a question for you,” Kate said. “We want to know why you slit the tires of their bus!”
The boy tilted his head and stared at Kate. “What do you mean? I didn’t slit the tires of any bus.”
“Then why’d you run away at the parade?” Mike asked.
“Because you were chasing me!” the boy said. “I didn’t know what you wanted!”
Mike looked at Kate. The conversation wasn’t going the way they’d thought it would.
Kate took a chance. “What about the backpacks?” she said. “Did you move the Cooperstown backpacks?”
The boy paused. He scratched the side of his head and looked at the ground.
“Um, yeah,” he said.
Mike’s eyes opened wide. “You did?” he said. “How?”
“I waited for the team to drop their backpacks, and then I loaded them onto the ATV and drove them into the equipment room,” the boy said. “I worked on the grounds crew last year and used to drive the ATV all the time.”
“But why’d you do it?” Kate asked.
The boy shrugged. “Because someone paid me to.”
“Who?” Kate asked. “Who paid you to move Cooperstown’s backpacks?”
“It’s not really a secret,” the boy said. “It was Coach Caleb from the Cooperstown team.”
“What?” Mike said. “You’re kidding! Coach Caleb?”
The boy shook his head. “I’m not kidding,” he said. “Coach Caleb told me he wanted to toughen up his team and make them take more responsibility. It’s not a big deal. They got their backpacks before the game.”
“Yes! Because we found them!” Kate said. “When did Coach Caleb hire you? He just arrived with the team yesterday! Why were you at the parade?”
“I do a lot of work around Williamsport,” the boy said. He pulled out his phone. “I use an app on my phone. People post jobs they want done and how much they’ll pay, and I do them!” He woke up his phone and pulled up the job app. The boy scrolled through some listings and pointed to one.
Wanted: Teenager to help teach my team a lesson in Williamsport. —Coach Caleb, Cooperstown
“Once I took the job, Coach Caleb said I needed to do two things. The first was to watch the parade with a neon green T-shirt on and throw a Wiffle ball with a message in it. The second was to hide the baseball backpacks of the Cooperstown team before their first game,” the boy said. “He said it was all to teach them a lesson about responsibility. He seemed happy. The money got credited to my account yesterday.”
“So you talked to Coach Caleb?” Kate asked.
“Ah, no,” the boy said. “We did this over email.” The boy glanced at the lemonade stand. “Listen, I’ve got to get back to work. Do you need anything else?”
Mike shrugged. “I guess not,” he said. He looked at Kate. “Do we have any more questions?”
Kate shook her head. “No,” she said. “I don’t know what we’re looking for now.”
Mike reached into his pocket and pulled something out. “Here,” he said. “I think this is yours, and you should probably have it back.” He held out the Super Dog pin that he and Kate had found near the telephone pole.
“Oh, wow!” the boy said. He reached out and took the pin. “Thanks! I lost this the other day and couldn’t find it anywhere.” He smiled at Mike and Kate. “Thanks. I’ve really got to get back to work.” He grabbed two more stacks of cups and scooted back into the stand.
Mike kicked at the dirt with his sneaker. “Well, I guess we can rule out Matt the TV reporter,” he said.
“Yup,” Kate said. “Coach Caleb! It’s hard to believe that Coach Caleb would do it, but I guess we have the evidence. He must have slit the tires on the bus, too. But that’s not a good way to teach a lesson.”
“We need to chase him down now,” Mike said. “Before he does something else to the team.”
“We can’t!” Kate said. “They’re in the Grove for the rest of the day.”
“Then we need to do it first thing tomorrow morning!” Mike said. “We’ll wait for the team at the gate and have a little talk with Coach Caleb.”
“Good idea!” Kate said.
Mike nodded. He spotted a big map on the wall of the stadium. “And I’ve got another good idea,” he said. “Follow me!”
Mike led Kate over to the large map. “As long as we have extra time, we should go here.” He pointed on the map to a building that was just outside the front gates.
“The World of Little League Museum?” Kate asked. “Okay, cool!”
Kate followed as Mike ran past the main entrance gates to the museum next door. He pulled the door open just as Kate skidded to a halt.
The museum was larger than it looked from the outside. It was filled with exhibits about the history of Little League and the Little League World Series. It had lots of old gloves, baseballs, rule books, and other baseball equipment from the early days of the league.
It also had cool exhibits like a compressed-air cannon that was used to shoot baseballs at baseball helmets to test them. And one where visitors could put on 3-D glasses and pretend to be a catcher. Mike really liked the one that timed how fast he ran to first base.
Near the end of the exhibits was one that showed famous events in the Little League World Series over the years. There were movies of early World Series games and descriptions of other important games. Kate was reading them when something caught her eye.
“Hey, Mike, come here!” she said.
Mike ran over from the shortstop exhibit.
“Here’s an article that talks about the last time the Cooperstown team made it to the series, ten years ago, and set the record for a comeback,” she said. “And look, there’s a big feature on Zach. It tells all about the Big Daddy Hacks that he was famous for taking at the plate. He hit three home runs that game and drove in seven runs!”
Mike stared at a blown-up picture of Zach holding his bat and smiling in front of Lamade Stadium. TV cameras and reporters were surrounding him.
Mike studied the picture. “Wow! That’s so cool to be in a museum!” he said. “I hope I can be that important someday.”
Kate nodded. “That would be awesome,” she said.
They followed the hallway to the next room.
“Oh, I guess that’s it,” Mike said as they turned a corner. Ahead was the exit to the gift shop. He was just about to go through the turnstile when Kate called out.
“Wait!” she said. “Come back here for a minute.”
Mike ran back to the exhibit of famous Little League World Series moments. Kate pointed to the article on the Cooperstown team again.
“This article gave me an idea,” she said. “What if it’s not Coach Caleb who is doing everything? What if it’s really his son, Zach?”
“Zach?” Mike asked.
“Yes!” she said. “It all fits together! He was on the bus at the rest stop, so he could have cut the tires and made up the story about the kid with the neon green T-shirt. And he could have used that phone app to hire the kid to move the team’s equipment! He just called himself Coach Caleb so there would be an explanati
on for why he wanted the bags moved. Zach was impersonating his father. The boy with the neon green T-shirt would have no idea since it was all done over email and through the app!”
“But why Zach?” Mike asked.
Kate tapped on the glass case that held the articles on display. “Because of this!” she said. “Zach doesn’t want this year’s Cooperstown team to do better than his team did ten years ago! He’s probably jealous. He wants to be the most famous baseball player from Cooperstown!”
“So Zach hired the kid with the neon green T-shirt to hang out near the parade where the kids on the float would see him and he’d throw the threatening message to them,” Mike said. “He probably told him to wear a neon green T-shirt to match up with his story about the teenager cutting the bus tires. He worked it all out in advance!”
“So Coach Caleb has nothing to do with this,” Kate said. “We need to stop Zach! One more loss and Cooperstown is finished.”
“But we can’t get into the Grove,” Mike said. “How can we stop him?”
Kate thought for a moment. “I have an idea!” she said. “If we can find a thrift store tonight, I know how we can catch him tomorrow morning.”
* * *
—
It was only ten o’clock when Mike and Kate passed through the security check the next day, but the sun was bright, and it was already hot out.
“You think this will work?” Mike asked Kate as they walked up the main path to Lamade Stadium.
“It has to,” Kate said. “We’ve only got one chance before Cooperstown plays this afternoon! Do you have the phone?”
Mike pulled a phone out of his pocket enough for Kate to see it. “Yup,” he said. “I’ve got it ready! I’m glad we were able to find one at the thrift store yesterday. This is the kind of thing I’m good at!”
Kate smiled. “I know,” she said. “That’s why I’m letting you handle it!”
Mike and Kate hurried along the main path to Lamade Stadium but didn’t enter it. Instead, they wound their way up the stairs leading to the Grove. A minute later they reached the top. The gates to the Grove were open, but three employees sat at tables checking identification and keeping fans out.
“Now we wait,” Kate said. She and Mike leaned against a nearby railing and watched fans stream into the stadium below them. A small group of kids was nearby with pens and pads ready, waiting to ask the players for autographs.
A few minutes later, the team from Mexico walked through the gate. They high-fived fans, and a few of the players signed autographs. A couple of families took pictures with their players.
“¡Buena suerte!” Kate called as they headed down the stairs to the fields. “Good luck!”
Before long, Colin’s team walked through the gate. Coach Caleb was in the lead. The players were all dressed in their uniforms and lugging their baseball backpacks. Even though they didn’t have a game until later that afternoon, they had a practice scheduled for that morning on the lower practice fields.
“There’s Colin!” Kate said.
“And there’s Zach!” Mike said. “He’s at the gate. Let’s move around to the back, near him.”
Before heading down the stairs, Coach Caleb stopped the group and counted the players. “Good!” he called. “We have everyone here. Today’s a big day, and we’re going to do great. We’re here to play our best! What do we say?”
The team erupted in a cheer:
Hey, hey!
Get out of our way!
Today is the day
We put you away!
“That’s it!” Coach Caleb yelled. “And remember—they say play ball for a reason! It’s supposed to be fun!”
“Let’s do it!” called a player from the back.
“We got this one!” said another.
Coach Caleb turned and started to lead the team down the stairs to the practice fields. As he did, Mike and Kate moved closer to Zach. Zach was at the back of the group of players, waiting to follow Coach Caleb.
“Hey, Zach!” Mike said. “We saw your picture in the museum yesterday! It was really cool!”
Zach’s face lit up. “Thanks! It’s great to be back here to relive all those great memories from our big game.”
“Hey, Zach, do you know what time it is?” Mike asked. “I think I’m supposed to call my mother now.”
Zach pulled out his phone. “It’s ten-thirty,” he said.
“Thanks,” Mike said. “Time to call Mom!”
Mike made a big show of pulling a phone out of his pocket. But as the phone cleared the top of his pants pocket, he flicked his hand slightly.
“Oh no!” Mike called out. The phone flew through the air and smashed onto the blacktop. Slivers of glass shone in the sun, and small plastic parts flew into the grass.
“Mike!” Kate said. “You’re the clumsiest person I know!”
“My phone!” Mike said. He jumped over to pick up the phone, but his front foot landed directly on it. It made a loud crunching sound.
“I can’t believe you did that!” Kate said.
Mike moved his foot and knelt. He picked up the mangled phone and then looked at Zach.
“Um, hey, Zach, can I borrow your phone to call my mother?” Mike asked. “I promise I’ll be careful.”
Zach thought for a moment. “Sure, but maybe just step over there on the grass while you’re using it in case you drop it,” he said. He walked up to Mike, unlocked his phone, and handed it to him.
As Mike swiped and poked at the phone’s touchscreen, Kate walked over near Zach.
“Zach, I have a question about that big game you were in ten years ago,” Kate said. “It sounds like one of the reasons you won was because of your hitting style. Can you tell me how you did it?”
Zach turned to Kate. “That’s right, my Big Daddy Hacks were the reason we were able to come back from so far behind,” he said. “But I’m sorry, it’s really a secret. I don’t like to share it with anyone. Nothing personal!”
Kate nodded. “That’s too bad,” she said. “It seemed like it might help the team win the next game if you could teach them.”
Zach shook his head. “They’ve been asking me all season for the secret,” he said. “But I don’t give Big Daddy Hack lessons to anyone. It’s my secret.”
Over on the grass, Mike cleared his throat. “Hey, Zach! You do seem to be teaching the team some other types of lessons,” he said. “I think the real Coach Caleb will be very interested in them.”
Zach looked at Mike. Mike raised his hand and held Zach’s phone so the screen was facing out.
On the screen was the app that the boy with the green shirt had shown them yesterday. And at the top was the message that the boy had pulled up for Mike and Kate:
Wanted: Teenager to help teach my team a lesson in Williamsport. —Coach Caleb, Cooperstown
“We know you’re impersonating Coach Caleb,” Kate said. “And now we can prove it. And we also know you’re trying to sabotage the Cooperstown team so they don’t do better than your team did.”
Mike took out his real phone and snapped a picture of the message on Zach’s phone for proof. “When your dad finds out what you’ve been doing,” he said, “I have a feeling your time with the team will be over!”
Zach leaned against the fence. “How did you find out?” he asked.
“We talked with the boy you hired to move the bags and throw the Wiffle ball at the parade,” Kate said. “He showed us this message, and we thought it came from your dad until we saw your picture in the museum yesterday. That’s when we realized it was you.”
“We also know you cut the bus tires!” Mike said. “You’re the only one who witnessed it. You made up the story about the kid with the neon green shirt, and then you hired someone to make the team think someone was after them!”
“Someone was after
them,” Kate said. “But it was you!”
Mike handed Zach’s phone back.
“This is the end of the line for your tricks, Zach,” Mike said.
Zach straightened up. “But this team is so good!” he said as he waved his arms. “They might win the whole tournament! If they do, no one will remember me or my game ten years ago!” Zach tapped his chest. “I was just trying to toughen them up and scare them a little. I wasn’t going to hurt anyone, but I didn’t want them to win the series!”
Kate shook her head. “But, Zach, that’s not the way to get people to remember you! People will remember you if you help them, not hurt them!” she said.
Zach shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said.
Kate pointed at Lamade Stadium. “You still have an amazing opportunity to help the Cooperstown team win!” she said. “You could be part of the reason they win it all. Wouldn’t that feel better than trying to mess up their chances?”
Zach looked at Kate. “What do you mean? What can I do to help the team?” he asked in a soft voice.
“No one else has the Big Daddy Hacks way of hitting a baseball!” Kate said. She motioned toward the practice fields below the stadium. “It’s not too late for you to teach it to the players on the team! They’re down there practicing right now.”
Zach scuffed the blacktop with his sneaker. He jammed his hands into his pockets and shook his head. “It’s too late,” he said. “I’ve already messed up the team’s chances, and my dad will never forgive me.”
“It’s not too late! The team still needs you,” Mike said. “And you don’t know what your dad will say until you tell him what you’ve done.”
“And what you’re going to do!” Kate added. “Come on, now’s the time!”
Zach glanced from Kate to Mike. He stood up straight, took his hands out of his pockets, and nodded. “That’s a good idea!” he said. “I’m going to do the right thing!”
The World Series Kids Page 4