Home Run Page 18

  “I need that home run, Coach Swanson.” It was all Josh could think of to say.

  “If you need a home run, get Jaden and that phone here,” he said.

  Nothing he could say would change Coach Swanson’s mind.

  The agony lasted the rest of the day. The team won both games, but Josh sat on the bench. The hardest part might have been when Josh spoke to his own father on the phone. He couldn’t say anything about any of it because he didn’t know if they could hear what he said on his phone as well as read his texts and also, Josh knew there was nothing his dad could do. It wouldn’t be fair to upset him when he had problems of his own.

  That night Benji spoke to his dad, who was feeling better and promised he’d set out very early in the morning. Josh tried everything he could think of to convince Benji to talk his dad into leaving that night, but after a while Benji got mad at Josh, and the two of them exchanged some hot words. Josh was so exhausted that he actually went to sleep early.

  The next morning, though, he woke at 4:00 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep.

  They had breakfast and Josh ate, forcing himself to think positive. When he got his chance to play, he’d need his strength. The food tasted like glue to him. Benji got defensive when Josh asked him if he had any news.

  “Dude, my dad got hurt. He could have bled to death.” Benji scowled. “It’s not all about you all the time.”

  Josh bit the inside of his mouth and walked out of the dining room. The team rode to the field on the bus, and although Josh spoke with Jaden during the short trip, Benji’s dad still hadn’t picked her up by the time he had to turn his phone in before the game. Outside, the sun shone brightly, but inside Josh’s head it was a foggy thunderstorm. Josh sat in his same spot on the bench with his skin crawling as the morning game dragged by.

  The Titans won again, this time in a last-inning squeaker with Benji hitting a single to knock in the winning run. Benji went wild, and the team swarmed him. Josh stood up from his spot on the bench but didn’t join in the group hug. He wasn’t a part of it, and no one seemed to care. His teammates all seemed to accept that Coach Swanson had good reason to punish him, and they were evidently emboldened by winning without him. It would have made Josh feel even worse, but he was already at rock bottom.

  Even when Coach Swanson gathered the team around him, Josh stayed on the outer edge of the circle.

  Coach held up both hands. “Guys, another great win. We get this last one, and it’ll be a clean sweep for fall ball. You made me proud, and you did it through hard work and being a team.”

  “Coach Swanson!”

  Everyone turned his head at the sound of a man shouting.

  Josh’s eyes went from the man rounding the dugout from the stands back to Coach Swanson’s look of disbelief.

  “Hey, Coach.” The man wore a blue Nike sweat suit and track shoes with bright-blue laces. He had dark eyes that matched his dark buzz cut hair and stylish metal-frame glasses that made his serious face even more so. He walked right up to Coach Swanson as if he was the boss.

  Josh’s heart jumped with excitement at the sight of Ty Rylander, the Nike rep.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

  “TY, NICE SURPRISE.” COACH Swanson stiffened like the soldier he was, as if awaiting orders.

  Josh studied the Nike rep’s face, looking for signs of displeasure. His greatest hope was that Ty Rylander was there to chastise the coach for not letting Josh play. His hope flared that Rylander would insist that Josh be put back into the lineup and he could get his twentieth home run. But it fizzled when he saw no such signs.

  Instead, Rylander wiggled his nose to shift his glasses into place and smiled. “Well, I’ve got to be in Chicago tomorrow, and I thought I’d drop in and see if our U13 team can really do what people said couldn’t be done: a clean sweep of the YBEL fall ball tournament season. You’ve done us proud, Coach, and I wanted to take the team to lunch at Primanti Bros. You haven’t lived until you’ve had one of their Almost Famous sandwiches.”

  Benji stepped up and put a hand on the Nike rep’s sleeve. “Mr. Rylander, nothing could be more rewarding than to celebrate my game-winning RBI with a famous sandwich, or even an almost-famous sandwich. It’s like . . . destiny.”

  The whole team laughed and poked Benji, who grinned from ear to ear. Josh felt even more useless as they piled onto the bus. When he asked Martin where the bag of phones was, Martin frowned at him. “Coach said no phones. He wants the team to bond.”

  “But—” Josh started to complain, but Martin cut him off with a sharp “No!”

  Josh sat by himself in the back of the bus as they cruised into downtown Pittsburgh. Benji was standing in the aisle, walking up and down, slapping high fives and gossiping about what an Almost Famous sandwich could really be. When they got off the bus, Josh was last and surprised to see Benji waiting for him.

  “Come on, dude.” Benji slung his arm around Josh’s shoulder. “You gotta enjoy the moment. Our team is rocking it, and I knocked in the winning run. Dude, when you get the win, that’s a special moment.”

  Josh opened his mouth to say something harsh, then exhaled slowly. “Benji, you’re right. Sorry, buddy. I should be happy for you, and I am. It’s just . . . I thought maybe Jaden figured out a way to get Ty Rylander to come and save the day or something, but he looks like he’s ready to give Coach Swanson a contract extension and a raise, and we can’t even use our phones to find out where they are.”

  “Hey, my dad will come through.” Benji held up a fist and looked down the city street as if expecting to see his dad’s pickup truck at any moment. A bus rounded the corner. Benji shrugged. “Let’s go get a sandwich. A man’s gotta eat, right?”

  “Yeah,” Josh said. “I guess.”

  They walked into the noisy restaurant, packed with people. Ty Rylander apparently knew the owners, because they had pushed several tables together to seat the entire group. Benji and Josh sat on the end farthest from the coaches, the Sheridan brothers, and the Nike rep. As Benji questioned the waitress about what kind of double-meat sandwich was the most popular, Josh couldn’t help imagining walking up to Ty Rylander and just telling him everything and begging him to make Coach Swanson let him play in the final game. He was tired and worried and frazzled, and didn’t know if he got the chance now whether he even could hit the home run he needed.

  He ordered an Almost Famous pastrami like Benji just to get the waitress to move on and sat back, pinning everything on the hope that Jaden and Mr. Lido would arrive in time.

  When the sandwiches arrived, they were impressed. Soft Italian bread piled high with meat, coleslaw, and French fries, of all things. Benji got so happy with the flavor of fries and meat and coleslaw, and so intense about eating, he broke out in a sweat.

  When he’d finished, Benji looked at Josh’s plate like a half-starved dog. “Not hungry?”

  Josh sighed and shook his head. He’d taken just two bites.

  “You mind?” Benji leaned toward the sandwich.

  “It’s more pastrami,” Josh said.

  “Works for me. Hate to see something this pretty go to waste.” Benji dug in with both hands.

  The meal took longer than Josh liked, and Coach Swanson announced they’d head right for the ballpark instead of go back to the hotel. “Let’s win this thing, Titans!”

  With a cheer, they boarded the bus and returned to the stadium to face a team from Barbourville, Kentucky, in the championship game. When Josh got off, he went straight to Coach Swanson.

  “Coach, can’t you let me use my phone? I think Jaden is almost here,” he said.

  Coach Swanson studied him, then reached into his pocket. “Here, use my phone.”

  Josh looked at Coach Swanson suspiciously but took it and dialed.

  “Hello?” Jaden sounded confused and uncertain.

  “Jaden?” Josh could barely breathe. “Where are you?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  WHEN JOSH GOT OFF the phone, he handed it to
Coach Swanson and started to beg. “Coach, please. She’s on her way, but they were taking a shortcut on Route 219 and some bridge was closed so they had to go back, and I don’t know if they’ll make it before the game begins. Jaden didn’t share that audio file with anyone. She’s sorry. She wants to get here and apologize.”

  Coach Swanson broke in with an angry voice. “You think you can change my mind?”

  “Coach, I—”

  Coach Swanson cut him off again. “Look, Josh. I want her to get here. I want to know that she knows she’s crossed the line. She’s broken a trust. I want that phone, and I want that audio file. When I say something, I mean it. It’s the way I am, always was, always will be. She makes it here, you get your shot at the derby. She doesn’t, you’re finished.”

  Josh’s voice trembled. He was scared and crushed, but he had to go on. “Coach, please. You gotta let me play. I can win that house. My mom and my little sister, we live in Bricktown.”

  Coach Swanson snorted. “I’ve seen places that make Bricktown look like New York City’s Park Avenue. You’ll get through it.”

  Coach Swanson turned and walked out onto the field without looking back.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  JOSH SAT IN THE corner of the dugout, depressed and nearly destroyed, watching Canby at second base.

  When he felt a hand on his shoulder from behind, he jumped and turned to see Ty Rylander. So many things went through Josh’s mind: strategies he could use, markers he could call in using his father’s name. Instead, he choked.

  “You okay?” Rylander asked.

  Josh half nodded, half shook his head.

  “Good.” Rylander kept his hand on Josh’s shoulder but looked out at the field. “Sorry fall ball has to end for you like this, not playing and all, but you know the best coaches I’ve seen were the toughest ones. I remember when I first started in this business. I was with Adidas, and I got to meet Lou Holtz at Notre Dame. What a battle-ax. He was running his team into the dirt. They were dropping like flies, and he just kept blowing that whistle. It was brutal, and I didn’t mean to say anything, but I was like, ‘Wow,’ and he must have heard me, and you know what he said?”

  Josh looked up, but Rylander was still staring out at the field, squinty eyed and dreaming of the past.

  “He said, ‘Ty, no one has ever drowned in sweat.’ How about that? I mean, I know he’s known for that quote, but he said it to me.”

  Josh wanted to point out that Holtz was a football coach and this was a baseball team, but instead he said, “Wow.”

  “Yeah. ‘Wow’ is right. I don’t know what it is you did that caused Coach Swanson to sit you; but he’s the coach, and he’s gotta be able to make those decisions, even for the best player on the team. You’ll be better for all this come spring. The whole team will.” Rylander clapped Josh on his shoulder before walking out of the dugout and disappearing in the direction of the stands.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  IT WAS A 2–2 game in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jaden appeared looking scared and frantic. She slipped into the dugout with her head down, sat next to Josh, removed the phone from her pocket, and placed it in his hand.

  “I’m so sorry. Here. The code is 9-8-9-9.”

  If Coach Swanson noticed Jaden, he didn’t show it. He kept focused on the field, where Esch was atop the mound with a 1–2 count on the Barbourville batter. They both knew not to disturb him.

  Jaden looked like she was about to cry. “I’m so sorry about this,” she said, turning to Josh.

  Josh shook his head and touched her arm. “Don’t. You’re the best friend anyone could ever have.”

  “Thirty minutes down the thruway, he wanted to stop for lunch.” Jaden tried to control her voice. “I was, like, ‘Mr. Lido, please.’ He wasn’t happy with me.”

  Mercifully, Esch struck out his batter, ending the fourth inning.

  “Well,” Josh said, taking a deep breath, “here goes.”

  He took the phone over to Coach and told him the password. Coach Swanson grabbed the phone with a stern look and gave it to Martin, who headed out of the dugout like he’d known his orders in advance.

  “Coach, can you put me into the lineup now?” Josh begged.

  “When Martin says we’re good.” Coach Swanson’s voice was hard, and he walked away, leaving Josh standing in the middle of the dugout as the team filed in.

  Josh walked back into the corner where Jaden sat, miserable.

  She looked up at him. “Well?”

  “I don’t know. I guess Martin’s going to check to see that you didn’t share the file. Can he do that?”

  Jaden nodded. “Sure. Everything leaves a footprint if you have the software to track it.”

  “And . . .” Josh felt guilty asking, but he had to. “He’s not going to find anything, right?”

  Jaden gave him a weary smile. “No, Josh. We’re all set.”

  “I figured. It’s just, you know. You being a devious girl and all that.” Josh nudged her.

  “Ha ha,” she said. “Speaking of devious, hi, Benji.”

  Josh turned and saw Benji standing there. “Jaden, my dad is here?”

  “In the stands with a hot dog in his good hand and a plate of nachos at his feet,” Jaden said.

  “Man, I’m hungry myself.” Benji licked his lips. “Hungry for another shot at this pitcher too. Josh, you ready, dude? I know I struck out in the second, but we can hit this guy. I was worried about facing Tucker Holland. Everyone’s talking about the no-hitter he threw in his last tournament. I don’t know why he’s not pitching, but this kid’s a heavy hitter’s dream—high and hot, that’s all he’s got.”

  “I still need Coach to give me the okay.” Josh had barely paid attention to the pitcher, but even as distracted as he’d been, he knew Benji was right. The pitcher guy was a home run waiting to be hit.

  Esch cracked a ball into the left-center gap and stopped at second, bouncing on the bag, grinning, and exchanging a thumbs-up with Coach Moose, who shouted with both hands around his mouth. “Atta boy, Esch!”

  Instead of feeling better, Josh felt worse. He kept glancing at the door in the back of the dugout. He knew there was Wi-Fi in the brick clubhouse connected to the dugout by a tunnel; he assumed that’s where Martin had gone.

  Goldie struck out before Jack Sheridan stepped up to the plate. Jack banged one deep into left field. Josh willed it over the fence because a home run would give them a 4–2 lead, and he felt like a happy Coach Swanson would be good for him. The left fielder leaped, made the catch before he hit the wall, and fell into a heap. Esch tagged up and took off from second base. Josh held his breath as the outfielder got up slowly, reared back, and fired a bullet just as Esch rounded third with Coach Moose waving him on.

  The shortstop cut off the throw, turned, and fired it to the catcher, low and hard so that it cracked when the ball hit his glove. Esch slid with perfect form, and it looked like a tie as a cloud of dust exploded above the plate.

  The umpire leaned in and yanked out his thumb. “Yer out!”

  The abrupt end of the inning filled Josh with panic. He darted toward the back door to the dugout, praying for Martin to return, knowing he had to get into the lineup at the bottom of the inning if he was to have a chance to bat in the next.

  He gripped the handle and flung the door wide.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  JOSH SAW NOTHING BUT an empty underground hallway leading under the stands into the clubhouse. He glanced back over his shoulder. Players were grabbing their gloves and heading out onto the field. Esch started to the mound, still dusting himself off.

  Josh looked back, and his heart gushed with joy as Martin appeared, heading his way. Josh looked back into the dugout. “Coach, he’s here! Coach!”

  Coach Swanson walked over with his arms folded across his chest. He barked out into the hallway. “Martin! Thumbs up or thumbs down?”

  Martin’s thumb was sideways. Josh wanted to scream.

>   “Thumbs up,” Martin called. “It’s all good!”

  Hope and fear crowding his mind, Josh turned to the coach.

  “Okay, LeBlanc, take second,” Coach Swanson said. He got Canby’s attention and waved him in before Josh made it out of the dugout.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

  THE SUN WAS LOW in the sky, nestling down into a bed of purple clouds pushing in from the west. The stadium lights hummed and glowed white with hints of blue and green. Josh caught a whiff of grass and hot popcorn, and his heart galloped inside his chest as he took his position near second base. Josh made a few extra pegs to first as Coach gave the home plate umpire the lineup switch.

  Before he knew it, the first batter was up. Josh pounded his glove and got ready. Esch sat the batter down with four pitches.

  The next batter let a strike go by, then blasted a line drive right at Josh. It was so hot he barely knocked it down. Josh didn’t miss a beat, though; he scooped up the ball and rifled it to first, throwing the runner out on a close call. His teammates cheered.

  Josh took a deep breath of the cool evening air and laughed out loud.

  Baseball was a beautiful thing.

  Esch struck out the third batter, and the Titans jogged quickly back to the dugout, inspired by their pitcher and the momentum he’d created. Josh knew he’d get only one chance to bat. Since he replaced Canby, he’d be batting right after Benji.

  Jaden sat in the corner of the dugout, still looking uncomfortable. “I feel so weird sitting here. Martin and Coach act like I don’t exist.”

  Josh sat next to her and whispered, “Everything will be okay.”

  “Will it?” she asked.

  “I think so, yeah. I think as long as that story doesn’t get written, Coach Swanson’s okay. He shut it down, and he’s moving on.”

  “I just don’t understand why Coach and Martin were so upset. It’s a great story, with Swanson as the hero.” Jaden shook her head. “I hope Martin can forgive me.”