Plunking Reggie Jackson by James Bennett Read Free Book Online Page B

shave. Brown dribbles ran down his chin among the gray stubble.
    â€œYou just blew us away. You picked a good day to do it too.”
    â€œWhat d’you mean?” Coley asked.
    â€œEasterbrook and O’Connel were here from the White Sox. Sittin’ right over there behind third base.”
    â€œOh, yeah?” Coley didn’t know the O’Connel name, but he remembered from lots of correspondence that Easterbrook was director of player personnel for the Chicago team. It would be something he could tell the old man when he got home, something that would occupy his mind. In the meantime, he needed to get away from this coach; the guy was gross.
    They had to pack their things early the next morning. They were playing two games against another high school in Clearwater, but their flight home was early in the evening, which meant they would be squeezed for time.
    Coley hit a home run in the first game, but they lost anyway, 10-2. The homer came in the fourth inning, and he got all of it. The ball elevated quickly, then sailed on out over the Cyclone fence and the row of palm trees, eventually landing in a 7-Eleven parking lot. It traveled at least 420 feet. One of the Clearwater coaches said it was the longest homer he’d ever witnessed on this field. Coley didn’t get much of a rush from it; the team was still losing.
    The Clearwater team pitched a left-hander in the second game, so he had to sit out. One of his father’s rules, and one in which Coach Mason was thoroughly schooled, was that Coley was not allowed to bat right-handed under any circumstances. As a right-handed batter he was nearly as good as he was from the left side, but it exposed his left arm.
    Quintero got another chance on the mound. Because he had worked three strong innings, the game was tied 1-1 heading into the fourth. “He’s gonna be a helluva pitcher one day,” said Coach Spears.
    Coley, who was squirming on the bench nearby, agreed. “Oh, yeah. For sure.”
    But the fourth inning was a rocky one for the freshman. A couple of walks, a wild pitch, an error, a solid double down the line, and they were behind 5-1. Quintero slammed his glove in the dugout after the third out. He commenced some angry pacing and a lot of cursing under his breath so Coach wouldn’t hear. When he finally took his seat on the bench, it was next to Coley.
    â€œWhen there’s runners on and you come to the set position,” Coley said, “you’re pitchin’ too quick.”
    â€œOh, yeah?”
    â€œYeah. You’re gonna get called for a balk. Hold the set position at least one more count. Say ‘a thousand one’ to yourself, then take a deep breath in and out.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œIt’ll freeze the runner all the way, and it’ll put you in a comfort zone before you throw.”
    â€œOkay, Coley.”
    In the fifth, Kershaw doubled to left, and so did Kuchenberg. It was Kershaw’s third hit and Kuchenberg’s second. “We’re startin’ to hit,” said Coach Mason. “We’re startin’ to get comfortable at the plate.”
    It was true, but Coley knew it was also a sales pitch. Don’t worry about winning and losing . We came to Florida because it’s an opportunity to get better, and that’s what’s happening . “We’re still losin’,” said Coley quietly, without looking in the coach’s direction.
    â€œAll of this will pay off later in the spring.”
    â€œRight.”
    Lovell and Ingram were finding the groove as well. They both homered in the sixth, Lovell’s coming with a man on. Suddenly the game was tied 6-6 with one inning to go. Spirits soared in the dugout, where Lovell and Ingram were getting pounded on the back. There was a lot of indiscriminate chest thumping, and Coley found himself on board all the way. The game was still tied in the top of the seventh when he talked Coach Mason into