Heavy Hitters by Mike Lupica

Author:Mike Lupica
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

It was three o’clock when they finished in the cage, Ben having finished what had become the longest baseball practice of his life, hitting one line drive after another.

Actually thinking he was seeing the ball better because of Justin’s drills.

“You look a lot better,” Justin said, helping him pick up balls.

“I was hitting well in the cage before,” Ben said.

“But not like today.”

“Not like today.”

“The last two buckets, you didn’t jump one time,” Justin said. “Not anything like your at bats last night.”

“It was really that bad?”

Justin nodded.

“I notice stuff like that,” he said, “even if Mr. Brown and your dad didn’t. My dad …” This time when he said it, he managed a small smile. “I don’t know if you know how great a hitter he was, right until he tore up his knee his junior year at UConn, came back, and then tore it up again.”

“Must run in the family,” Ben said. “The hitting part, not the knee part.”

“I guess,” Justin said, looking off again. “Anyway, the first coaching he ever gave me in the backyard on hitting was the best: See ball, hit ball.”

“Whoa,” Ben said, “that is way too complicated for me.”

And Justin laughed.

They picked up the balls, Ben locked the cage, they walked toward where their bikes were leaning against the fence.

“You think I got this now?”

Justin said, “Truth?”

Ben nodded.

“I think it’s gonna take more than one day to un-mess you up. It’s gotta happen in a real game, against a real pitcher.”

“Like the one we’re facing Friday night?”

Justin said, “If not against him, then who?”

“Thanks, Coach.”

“I’m not your coach.”

“Could’ve fooled me today.”

“I just couldn’t stand there and do nothing when you were that messed up.”

Same, Ben thought.

He said to Justin, “You want to come over to my house and get something to eat and just hang the rest of the afternoon?”

“On one condition.”

“Name it. I owe you for today.”

“No, you don’t.”

“What condition?”

“No more baseball today,” he said. “And no more talk about baseball.”

Ben said he was down with that, he actually had a different sport in mind for the rest of the afternoon.

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