The Closer by Cal Ripken Jr

Author:Cal Ripken Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2016-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

It was a hot, sultry weekend evening at Camden Yards, and Danny and his family were part of the sellout crowd on hand to see the Orioles play the Red Sox.

It was a battle of two contending teams in the final two months of the season, and this alone was exciting. But more than anything, Danny was hoping to see his idol, Orioles closer Zach Britton.

He loved the way Britton entered the game, with AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” blasting over the PA system as he jogged confidently to the mound.

He loved the nonchalant way the big lefty went to work, too. Like, ho-hum, it was no big deal being asked to preserve a nail-biting 3–2 lead in the ninth inning with forty-five thousand people in the stands and millions more watching on TV.

Danny’s dad called Britton’s attitude a “lunch-bucket mentality,” meaning he showed up every day to do his job, to do what was expected of him. And now that Danny was an actual member of the closer fraternity—okay, on a much smaller and less pressurized scale—he hoped to develop that kind of mental toughness, too.

Jim Connolly had scored outstanding seats behind home plate, but the family’s first stop was the concession stand.

When they reached their seats with their hot dogs and sodas, Joey nudged Danny.

“Wait for it…” he whispered.

Patti Connolly didn’t disappoint.

“Can you believe these ballpark prices?” she began. “They’re really getting ridiculous. A Polish sausage for seven-fifty?! A pit beef sandwich for ten-fifty?!”

“Now comes the good part,” Joey murmured.

“I remember going to ball games and paying a dollar for a hot dog,” his mom continued. “And fifty cents for Crackerjacks. And the same for a Coke.”

The two boys exchanged knowing grins.

“That was back when you had to walk ten miles a day to school, wasn’t it?” Joey said.

“Through six-foot-high snowdrifts, right?” Danny added.

“Then, when you came home,” Joey continued, “you had to milk the pigs and slaughter the cows. Or however that routine went.”

“Right,” Danny said, “and knit all the clothes for the family, wash the dinner dishes in the stream behind the log cabin, and do your homework by candlelight before throwing water on the fire and going to bed.”

As the two brothers cracked up and exchanged fist bumps, their mom scowled.

“I’m so glad that I’m an eternal source of amusement for you two,” she said. “Let me know when you’re done making fun of your poor old mom.”

Jim Connolly chuckled and said, “Honey, let’s face it, you do go into the same rant about prices every time we come here.”

“Oh, so now I’m predictable, too!” Patti Connolly wailed, crossing her arms across her chest and pretending to be insulted. But within seconds she was munching on her hot dog and happily absorbed in the game.

It confirmed what Danny had known for years: there was no way anyone could stay in a bad mood at Camden Yards, the greatest ballpark in the whole country.

The Orioles took a 3–0 lead in the early innings on home runs by Adam Jones and Chris Davis.

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