Swing

Chapter Four

As I walked into the dugout, all my teammates congratulated me by hitting me on the back or by verbally saying something. Mostly it was just “Keep sliding them in there,” or “Throw them off with some heat here and there.” Nothing I haven’t heard them say before.

“Batter up!” I heard the umpire call.

First up was Tommy. He was one of our power hitters and normally batted third. He was up and out with four pitches. I was up next, and I walked slowly to the plate. As soon as I got there, I heard a loud rant. "Robby! Robby! Robby!" It was started by none other than Fi. For some reason this made me smile uncontrollably. I went up to the batter’s box and knocked the dirt off of my cleats. I watched the first pitch go by.

“Strike one!” The umpire yelled.

The next pitch came and it was low and outside.

“Ball one!” The umpire shouted.

If I know anything about this pitcher, the next one will be perfectly down the middle. I stepped out of the batter’s box to fix my gloves for a moment. I stepped back in and got ready for the swing that could change the game. As expected, the pitch was fast and down the middle.

Crack!

I took off for first base as the ball plopped down between right and center field. I got the go ahead signal and took off for second base where I had to slide to make sure I was safe. “Ground double. Not bad,” I thought to myself before hearing Fiona and the rest of the crowd cheering. Next up was John. John was one of our weaker hitters, though he could lay down a bunt that could make your heart swell with pride. He stepped up to the plate and looked for the signal. The signal was no swing then bunt down the first base line. As I paid attention to his signal I caught that mine was to come running hard and slide into third.

“Strike one!” The umpire called as the pitch sped past John.

I got into position as I watched the pitcher get ready. I stepped off with a decent lead and, as soon as the ball left his hand, ran straight for third.  I heard the light Tink! of the ball hitting the bat as the ball slowly rolled down the first base line. I slid down, hopped up, and looked right at first base as John raced the ball.

“Safe,” the umpire said.

My dugout erupted in celebration. Next up was Alex. Alex was a contact hitter. He couldn’t hit the ball the hardest, but could almost always line the ball out into the outfield. The first pitch came.

“Ball one!” I heard the umpire call.

The next pitch was perfectly thrown. It was a steaming fastball that was right down the heart of the plate. I was amazed as I watched the ball launch itself from the bat. I took off for home running as fast as I could. The ball landed in right field before I saw the right fielder scoop it up and beam it at home. I dove head first, sliding across the plate, before I saw the caychers mit come down and hit me in the face.

“Safe!” the umpire called.

I saw the other coach run out onto the field screaming about how I was out from over a mile. Then I saw my coach come out. He was more upset that I had just got hit in the face with a baseball and a glove. As I was heading back into the dugout I heard the umpire call out “That’s it! You’re out of here!”

 As I was looking to see who he was talking about I saw both coaches heading in the same direction. The umpire didn’t eject one coach, but he ejected them both. This was the first time I have ever seen this happen.

“Now what are we going to do?” I heard one of my teammates ask.

“It's simple. We pay attention to the calls of the assistant coach, we keep a lead, and we win!” I yelled trying to pump my teammates up.

John was on third and Alex was on second with one out. Steve went up and, with three pitches, he was out. Bruce was up next and he was the biggest guy on the team. As long as I’ve known Bruce he has never had a game without a homerun. This guy could hit. I paid close attention as I watched him. The first two pitches were balls and the third was low and inside.

“Strike one!” The umpire called.

The next pitch was high and down the middle.

“Here we go!” I said loud enough for my teammates to hear.

We all gathered around the fence as the ball rocketed itself off of the bat. The ball flew high and far. We all ran onto the field in celebration when we saw the umpire signal for the homerun. With a four to nothing lead, and my sliders, we should be able to hold this.

The next batter went down swinging and we ran onto the field to take our positions. As I was warming up, I saw who the next person batting was. Ricky. Ricky was the one kid who always started my bullying around school and always made me feel like shit for no reason. I could only imagine what it would be like to strike him out. He stepped up, and the first two pitches he just watched go by. The last pitch he swung at before I heard the loud plop of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt. One batter down, two to go. I started to get comfortable throwing these pitches.

The next pitch I threw was low and inside, but that didn’t stop the guy from swinging. That ball came right at me and the last thing I remember seeing is the back of my glove hit me in the eye.