Play Ball! by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation - Baseball & Softball, Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation - General
ISBN: 9780316203210
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2013-03-04T16:00:00+00:00

Carter and his parents walked into the Diamond Champs the next afternoon. The place was bustling. Inside, shiny silver balloons in the shapes of balls, bats, and gloves danced everywhere. Music blared from loudspeakers. Employees dressed in baseball uniforms handed out paper cones of buttered popcorn, hot dogs, and sodas. The sights, sounds, and smells reminded Carter of a stadium during a game.

“I think I’m going to spend a lot of time here,” he said with a grin. “A lot of money, too!”

“In that case,” his mother said, “maybe we’d better say hello to the owner. There she is.”

Carter looked where she was pointing—and gulped. “Mrs. LaBrie?” he said, staring at their new neighbor. “She bought the place?”

Mrs. Jones nodded. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get to know Ash just because of this.” She indicated the facility. “I know I can’t insist you be his friend, Carter. But I think you’d agree that you do have something in common.”

Carter shrugged noncommittally. Then he followed his parents to the counter. Mrs. LaBrie greeted them warmly. “Cynthia, Carter, nice to see you again. And you must be Peter?”

While the adults chatted, Carter looked around. Ash must be here somewhere, he thought. He hoped he’d see him before Ash saw him. That way, he could duck away if he wanted.

Just then, he heard someone call his name. Jerry, Ted, and Remy hurried toward him. All three were sweaty and grinning.

“Carter, you have got to try out one of the batting cages!” Jerry said. “Brand-new, state-of-the-art pitching machines that actually pitch balls! Not like those old loser ones, where the balls just fell out of the opening onto the floor, remember? Come on!”

Carter told his parents where he was going and then followed the other boys. He couldn’t see the cage because there were too many people in the way. But he knew they were near when he heard a familiar sound.

Thock!

The crowd cheered and applauded.

“That sounded like a dinger! Who’s batting?” Carter craned his neck to see around the people in front of him. “Anyone we know?”

Then the crowd parted and he saw who was at bat. It was Ash. As Carter watched, the machine rocketed out another fireball of a pitch. Ash swung and creamed it.

“Whoa, did you see that?” Jerry cried. He turned to Carter with a look of excitement. “You know who that is?”

Carter was about to say that the boy’s name was Ash, but that’s not what Jerry meant.

“That,” Jerry said, “is the guy we’re going to get to replace Liam!”

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