The 823rd Hit (9 page)

Myung crossed home plate. Score! The Porcupines had won!

“That's our Bear!” shouted Victor Snapp over the PA system. The crowd roared as the Pines emptied out of the dugout to congratulate their hero. The Porcupines had won, 1–0, thanks to Teddy “the Bear” Larrabee!

• • •

The first thing Teddy did when he got back to the locker room was get out his notebook and start writing in it.

“What's that for?” Wayne asked.

“Why do you need to know?” Teddy asked.

“Just curious,” said Wayne.

“I write down all my hits. That's all.”

“Oh. OK. Nothing wrong with that.”

“It's for my life story,” Teddy blurted out. “I figured I should keep count. I also keep a diary, but that's at home. But I write down my hits right after the game so I won't forget.”

“Your autobiography?” Tommy looked impressed.

“I have a title for it and everything—
Running with the Bear
. Go ahead and make your jokes. Let's get it over with.”

Teddy waited, but nobody said anything. Not even Wayne.

“That's a great title,” said Sammy.

“Yeah, if I had anything half that good, I'd write an autobiography,” said Wayne.

“I can't wait to read it,” said Tommy. “When are you going to finish it?”

“It's my life story,” said Teddy. “So I won't be done for a really long time.”

• • •

“What a great game!” Dylan said when he got back to the Porcupines' locker room. “I thought I was going to chew my own lip off when Teddy was batting with the bases loaded, and then, BAM!” He mimed the swing and the big hit.

“So you're officially a baseball fan?” I asked him.

“Sure,” Dylan replied. “I'll never be as big a fan as you, but today's game was fun. I can't wait for tomorrow's.”

Dylan went to his locker. “Hey!” He pulled out a new jersey with signatures all over it.

“Just in case this was our last home game,” Wally explained. Wally was the Pines' clubhouse manager, and our boss. “We wanted to get you kids something.”

“Look!” Dylan showed me the back of his jersey. Instead of BB, it said CRITTERS. “I guess that's my new nickname,” he said. “I love it.”

“It suits you,” I said. I ran to my own locker. I had a new jersey too. It was signed by all the players and also by Wally, Grumps, Pokey, Spike, and Victor Snapp. It looked like they even had Ernie Hecker sign it! I flipped it over to see the nickname the team had given me:

KID MAGIC.

Kurtis Scaletta's previous books include
Mudville,
which
Booklist
called “a gift from the baseball gods” and named one of their 2009 Top 10 Sports Books for Youth. Kurtis lives in Minneapolis with his wife and son and some cats. He roots for the Minnesota Twins and the Saint Paul Saints. Find out more about him at
www.kurtisscaletta.com
.

Eric Wight was an animator for Disney, Warner Bros., and Cartoon Network before creating the critically acclaimed
Frankie Pickle
graphic novel series. He lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and is a diehard fan of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. You can check out all the fun he is having at
www.ericwight.com
.

Can shortstop Mike Stammer really be
jinxed
?

If DH Sammy Solaris wants to
steal
, he'd better run …
faster!

Lance Pantaño's going for a perfect game …
Shh
!