The Fenway Foul-Up (2 page)

The crowd roared with laughter while Wally wriggled on the ground. Big D and a batboy ran over to help Wally up. Wally took a small bow and gave the crowd a big wave—without falling over.

Big D patted Wally on the back and ducked into the dugout.

One Red Sox player after another practiced hitting. But Mike and Kate could tell that no one was as good as Big D. Soon, Boston finished batting practice. A batboy and batgirl came out to collect the bats.

“I’d love that job,” said Mike. “You’d get to
meet all the players, watch the games, and get paid for it!”

The Oakland A’s took the field for their batting practice.

“Come on,” said Kate. “I told my mom we’d stop by the pressroom before the game starts. She’s going to give us some money for lunch.”

Kate and Mike found their way through the hallways lined with hot dog, ice cream, and peanut stands. They rode an elevator up to the fourth floor. After showing a security guard their passes, they entered the pressroom. The room had huge open windows facing the infield.

“Hi, kids,” Mrs. Hopkins said. She was sitting at a desk in front of a window. A few reporters sat on either side of her, working on computers or talking.

Mike went straight to the windows. “Wow! What a view,” he said. “You can see everything from here. It’s like you’re on top of the field!”

“It
is
pretty amazing,” said Mrs. Hopkins. “Sometimes foul balls get hit up here, so you have to pay attention.”

Just then, a telephone rang. Kate’s mother reached for it. But the reporter next to her answered it. He talked for a minute or so, and then hung up.

“You’ll never believe what just happened,” he said.

“What?” Mrs. Hopkins asked.

“Big D’s lucky bat has been stolen!”

The Batboy

“Stolen?” Mike asked.

“Yes,” the reporter said. “It’s been his favorite bat ever since he hit his four hundredth home run with it.”

“But we saw him with it just a little while ago,” Kate said.

“The security chief thinks someone took it after Red Sox batting practice,” said the reporter. “Big D was doing a TV interview in the locker room. Usually the batboy or batgirl
picks up the bats after practice. But they couldn’t find Big D’s.”

“It’s probably worth a million dollars,” said Mike.

The reporter laughed. “Maybe not a million,” he said. “But I’m sure a private collector would pay an awful lot for it.”

A loud
CRACK
ripped through the ballpark. One of the players had hit a line drive. The ball flew straight into center field.

Mike turned to watch where it landed. A flash of blue caught his eye. “Hey, the police are down near the Boston dugout. Looks like they’re questioning that batboy,” he said. “I bet
he
stole the bat.”

The batboy was talking to two people dressed in blue. Mike could make out the word
SECURITY
on the back of their shirts.

“Oh, that’s just Bobby the batboy. He’s a
nice kid,” the reporter said. “I doubt he stole Big D’s bat.”

“The ballpark security people are probably just interviewing witnesses,” Kate’s mom
added. “I’m sure they’ll also check equipment bags and lockers for the bat.”

“I saw that batboy with all the bats earlier,” Mike said. “He seems kinda suspicious to me.”

“You think everyone’s suspicious, Mike,” said Kate. “But I still want to see what’s going on. Can we check it out, Mom?”

“Sure. Your seats are next to the dugout. I’ve got to stay here to work on my column.” Mrs. Hopkins handed Kate a twenty-dollar bill. “Don’t let Mike spend it all on souvenirs,” she joked.

Kate pocketed the money. As they were about to leave, the pressroom door opened and a man walked in.

It was the photographer from batting practice. He had his camera bag and tripod case slung over his shoulder. A water bottle
poked out of one of the big pockets in his jacket.

“Just dropping off my tripod,” the photographer said. “You’re lucky you don’t have to lug all this gear around.”

He dropped the camera bag and tripod case to the carpet with a grunt. Then he rummaged around in one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds. He poured a few of the black and tan seeds into his mouth.

Mrs. Hopkins smiled. “Try lugging a computer, some reference books, and a pile of research papers around! That’s not easy, either,” she said.

“I guess everybody thinks their job is hard,” said the man. “It sure would be nice to be rich. Maybe I’ll win the lottery soon.”

The photographer slid the long black
tripod case under a table and poured himself a cup of coffee.

Mike turned to watch the batboy talk to a security guard. The second security guard searched the sides of the field and the box where the photographers sat. Kate gave Mike’s arm a tug and pulled him toward the door.

“Thanks for the money, Mom,” Kate said. “We’ll catch you after the game.”

Ten minutes later, Mike and Kate were sitting in their seats, eating hot dogs and popcorn. They were only a few rows away from the Boston dugout. On the field, the Oakland A’s were still taking batting practice.

“Awesome seats, Kate!” Mike said. “Your mom got great tickets. I owe her a few car washes.”

“Great idea,” said Kate. “She’d love that.”

Swish!
The Oakland player at the plate swung and missed.

“Hey, there’s the batboy,” said Mike. He shaded his eyes against the April sun and pointed at the dugout. “Doesn’t he seem a little old?”

The batboy wore a bright white Red Sox uniform and a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead. He kept glancing back over his shoulder and scanning the stands.

“I read that you have to be at least fourteen to be a major-league batboy. He looks older,” Kate said.

She motioned for Mike to lean in close to her. “He does seem a little shifty,” she whispered. “Think we should try to ask him a few questions and see what he does?”

“Always thinking like a reporter, aren’t you?” said Mike.

“Well,
you
said he looked old,” Kate replied.

“I may be suspicious, but you’re nosy,” Mike teased.

“I’m not,” Kate said. “I just like to know what’s going on.”

She fished around in her popcorn for the most buttery pieces. Finding one, she popped it into her mouth. “What do you say?” Kate asked. She dug through the popcorn for another buttery piece. “Should we go talk to him?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” said Mike. “It seems like he might want to talk to
us
instead.”

Kate looked up from her popcorn. The batboy was staring straight at them!

For a moment, Kate was startled. Then she relaxed. She shook her head. “Actually, I think he’s watching that guy in front of us,”
she said. “And I can see why. Doesn’t the guy know that the Yankees are Boston’s biggest rivals?”

The white-haired man sitting in front of Kate and Mike wore a New York Yankees baseball cap.

“But he’s also wearing a Red Sox shirt,” Mike said. “I guess he’s confused. Or maybe he just likes both teams.”

Out on the mound, one of Oakland’s coaches wound up and threw a fastball.

The batter swung at the pitch.
POW!
The ball flew into left field. Even the coach turned around to watch it.
TONK!
The ball bounced off the Green Monster.

“Awesome hit,” Mike said. “In any other ballpark that would have been a home run, but not here. You have to hit them really high to get over the Green Monster.”

“Yeah, it was a nice hit, but he’s not as good as Big D,” Kate said. “Big D blasted it over the Green Monster twice in batting practice.”

“But that was with his lucky bat,” Mike pointed out. “Who knows how he’ll hit without it. I bet if he doesn’t find it, the Red Sox will lose today’s game!”

Sunflower Seeds

“Look, Kate, the batboy is gone. Let’s check out the scene of the crime,” Mike said. He stood up.

“You can’t go down there,” Kate said. “It’s probably against the rules.” Kate wasn’t afraid to do something risky, but she needed a good reason. She didn’t like getting in trouble.

“Even if it is against the rules,” said Mike, “they’ll probably just tell us to go back to our seats.”

Mike started to edge through the row of seats toward the aisle. As he was walking, his elbow clipped the man in the Yankees cap.

“Hey, watch what you’re doing, kid!” the man said. He had taken off his hat and was rubbing his head. “You should be more careful. Now I’ve spilled my sunflower seeds.”

Mike looked down. The ground near the man’s feet was covered with little black and tan seeds.

Kate shook her head and rolled her eyes. Mike was kind of clumsy.

Mike turned red. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I can get you another bag if you want.”

The man held up a white and red bag. “That’s okay,” he said. “There’s plenty left. Just try to keep your elbows to yourself from now on.”

“Sure,” said Mike. “I’m really sorry.”

The man put his Yankees cap back on. He tucked the bag of seeds into his pocket and started kicking the spilled sunflower seeds away.

Kate and Mike had reached the aisle when there was a whooshing sound followed by a loud
clunk
.

They whirled around to see the man pick up a long white plastic tube from the ground. On the side it said
BIG D LIFE-SIZE POSTER
. He must have knocked it over with his foot.

The man set the poster tube against his armrest. Then he noticed Kate and Mike watching him.

“I’m fine,” he said, shooing them away. “You can move along.” He frowned and examined the poster tube carefully. There was a dark smudge halfway up the tube. He rubbed it with his sleeve.