The Girl That Made Baseball

1

It's all started 1 week before summer had started.

It was 1962, Jess was 14, and just about to end the 8th grade, which she was not excited for. The end of middle school means the beginning of high school, something she did not want to happen.

"Jessie, get ready for school!" Her mom yelled from down stairs.

"Ugh" Jess sighed and rolled out of bed.

Jess' real name was Jessie, but most everyone called her Jess, except for her big brother and little sister, who both either called her J or Jessie, like their dad.

Jess' dad was Paul Logan, a retired star baseball player. He was once best friends with Babe Ruth and Bob Mertle, but he kept that to himself. Jess of course knew he had played baseball, but she didn't know he was once an all star, neither did her little sister or big brother, just her father and her mother knew.

When Paul was a kid, he was a neighborhood legend just for his baseball skills, and when Jess' big brother started showing interest in baseball, he happily taught him how to play. When Benny and Jess started to show interest in baseball, Jess' big brother, Alex, taught the two how to play.

"Okay, you're gonna stand here," Alex said, walking to the pitchers mound "now separate your legs, bend your knees, and stand facing the left" Alex said

"What if you hit me in the face?" Jess asked scared

"I won't. It's going to be a slow ball. Now once you see the ball about 2 feet in front of you, swing your bat as hard as you can" Alex said, getting in position to throw a slow pitch

Alex pitched the ball, Jess hitting it as hard as she can and it going just past 2nd base.

"Yeah! That's how you do it Jess!" Alex high fived his sister and then went to get the ball.

That was Jess' first memory of her playing baseball. She was 7 at the time, Alex was 14. It was at the sandlot, a diamond Alex and his friends made so they could get extra practice in.

Benny has been sitting in the dugout, pounding his fist in his glove.

"You wanna try, Benny man?" Alex asked after he got the ball

"Yes!" Benny hopped up and ran to home base, mimicking exactly how he'd seen baseball players stand on TV.

"Okay, now bend your knees a bit more, then..." Alex looked at Benny. He could tell this kid was going to go places, and he was 7.

"What?" Benny asked

"Stand a bit more behind the base, and hit it as hard as you can" Alex said

He pitched a slow ball to Benny, and Benny hit it so hard, it went past 2nd base by about 7 feet, and this was impressive for a 7 year old.

"Good job Benny man!" Alex went over and high fived the kid, before running to get the ball

"Now, if y'all can find 7 other players, you'll have an entire team!" Alex said

Jess and Benny shared a look. It would be a while before they found some kids to play, they both thought, but little did they know, they were both wrong.

The next day, sure enough, during P.E. it was a free day.

While most of the girls had ran off to go gossip about something, Benny and Jess both wandered to the baseball field, where a few kids in their class were playing.

"Hey guys, can we play?" Benny asked a kid, who was slightly shorter then him

"Yeah, you can. She can't" He pointed to Jess

"H-How come?" Jess asked

"Because you're a girl, duh!" a kid yelled from the field. His name was Hamilton Porter, but most people called him Ham.

"Shut up, Porter! I bet I can bat farther than you ever could!" Jess yelled defensively.

"Yeah right! Let's see then!" He said, walking from 2nd base to home plate, grabbing the bat.

A kid pitched the ball, and fast, and Ham hit it hard, going further than either Benny or Jess had hit it yesterday.

Han dropped the bat and slowly ran to 1st base.

"Go on" Benny nudged the girl

She slowly walked over to the home plate, standing just as Alex had taught her. She had to hit it perfectly.

"You ready?" The pitcher asked

"Pitch the damn ball, Denunez!" Ham yelled

The pitcher pitched the ball, and Jess hit it with everything she had, and it went past the home run fence.

Jess just dropped the bat and crossed her arms.

"Guess she's in" Denunez shrugged.

Jess looked over at Benny, who gave her a thumbs up, and went back to the game.

"What about you, Rodriguez?" Denunez yelled

Benny went up to bat, and hit the ball, but not as far as Jess.

After that day, that was it. They had an entire team.

There was Benny, Jess, Denunez, Ham, Squints, Yeah-Yeah, Timmy, Repeat, and Eleswager.

At first, when they wanted to play baseball out of school, they had to sneak on school grounds to use the diamond, and they did, until they were about 10.

"Man, I'm sick of this!" Squints yelled

"What?" Jess asked

"Can't we find anywhere else to play ball?" Squints asked

"I... might know a place..." Jess shared a look with Benny.

The next day, Jess and Benny took the whole team to the sandlot.

"How'd you find out about this place?" Timmy asked

"How'd-" Repeat started

"My brother and his friends made it a few years ago or something. this is where Benny and me learned baseball" Jess shrugged, cutting repeat off.

"Well, lets play some ball!" Ham said, pounding his fist into his glove.

After that, everything was set. There was a team, there was a sandlot, and there was 9 friends who were all so passionate about baseball, nothing could stop them from playing every. single. day.

A few years passed, and a new kid names Bertram came, making a team of 10. The , Eleswager moved, and they were back to a team of 9.