The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson Read Free Book Online

greeting up until a few seconds ago. Guess all the practice fogged up his head.”
    I listened intently as my dad talked baseball with Jackie and Roy. He made it look so easy, I couldn’t even get my own name to come out of my mouth! Jackie turned away from my father and looked directly at me.
    â€œNow that we have a few home games, you’ll be seeing me around,” he said.
    I smiled. If words wouldn’t come out, at least I could get my mouth to do that. I handed Jackie my baseball and watched as he and Roy signed it. “Thank you,” I whispered when the autographed ball was back in my hand.
    My dad shook hands with the ballplayers and wished them a successful season.
    â€œSteve, Roy and I have to get inside for batting practice. Why don’t you drop by the house sometime? My son would get a kick out of having a big boy to play with.”
    â€œOkay,” I whispered.
    â€œThank you,” Dad replied.
    I looked over at my dad. He’d set this up just for me. But how?
    When Jackie turned to leave, I called out, “What should I call you?”
    Jackie flashed me a smile that would warm the North Pole. “Call me Jackie.”

Dad and I maneuvered our way through crowds down to the field. We stood among hundreds of fans who were cheering on their favorite players taking batting practice. I looked over the faces in the crowd when Jackie got up to take his practice swings. They burst into loud cheering when he hit his third homer in a row!
    â€œDid you see that, Dad?” I shouted over the roar of the crowd.
    â€œSure did, son. Roy’s up next,” he replied.
    We welcomed our new catcher by screaming, “Roy! Roy! Roy!” He rewarded us with a solid line drive that hit the outfield wall.
    â€œHit it higher,” I screamed, hoping for a home run the next swing.
    As batting practice wound down, players made their way over to the crowd to sign baseballs. I leaned over the wall, extended my arms toward the players, and called out to my favorite stars. Pee Wee, Duke Snider, and Ralph Branca signed the same ball as Jackie and Roy. By the time Dad and I took our seats, my heart was racing. The game hadn’t even started yet and it was already my best day ever!
    I handed Dad my signed ball. “Please put it away for me, Dad. I want to save it forever!”
    Dad slid my precious baseball into his jacket pocket. “Don’t worry, son. I’ll keep it safe.”
    More than 25,000 fans attended the season home opener. My eyes filled with tears as we all stood to sing the national anthem. Many of the Dodgers fans stayed on their feet to boo the Phillies lineup. But the stadium rocked with cheers when the Brooklyn Dodgers players were announced.
    A few minutes later the crowd roared again when a padded Roy Campanella came out of the dugout and squatted behind home plate. Campanella caught a few warm-up pitches from the Dodgers starter, Joe Hatten, until finally the announcer yelled, “Let’s play ball!”
    The crowd’s energy could be felt throughout the stands. Our Dodgers were back! I looked around in amazement. I was so pumped up, it was hard to settle into my seat. At each new roar from a section of the crowd, I jumped up to see what was happening.
    Across the park was the Dodgers Sym-Phony—a group of fans with instruments who played off-key as fans gathered around, cheering them on. No one minded that they didn’t sound like a real symphony. If an umpire made a questionable call, the Sym-Phony played “Three Blind Mice,” which sent laughter from one side of the park to the other.
    â€œThis is
so
much better than listening to the game on the radio,” I said, giddy with anticipation.
What was going to happen next?
Just as I thought that, Philadelphia’s base runner, Richie Ashburn, stole home. The Phillies were off to a strong start.
    â€œYou’re right. There’s nothing like Ebbets Field.”
    Jackie