The Submarine Pitch by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online

out to left. Mick popped out to Bill and Luke grounded out, ending the Shark’s fat half-inning. Rangers 2, Sharks
     4.
    Maybe Jeff should’ve started instead of me
, Bernie thought.
    Rudy Sims led off in the top of the fourth with a series of foul balls, then struck out. Chuck doubled. Fred, belting three
     fouls in a row, finally popped out to Mick.
    Bernie had visions of the game going down the drain and of Vince popping off to him, uttering sarcastic remarks. He had agood idea why Vince acted that way toward him; it had started shortly after track season, when Bernie had outrun Vince in
     the 50-and 100-yard dashes. That had qualified Bernie to run against other schools in the league and had earned him over half
     a dozen first prizes. Vince hated to see that somebody was better than he was.
    Jeff waited out Luke’s pitches to the limit, then cracked the three-two pitch to short. Tim MacDonald muffed it and Jeff was
     safe on first. Then Bill lined out a streaking single, scoring Chuck. Ed flied out, and that was it.
    Tim, leading off for the Sharks, lined Jeff’s first pitch to center field for a hit, scooted to second on Jess’s sacrifice
     bunt, then scored on Butch’s shot to left field. Vince popped a foul fly to Deke, who caught the ball near the Sharks’ dugout.
     Then Bob bashed a double over third base to score Butch, and SamNorton grounded out, ending the Sharks two-run rally.
    Buzz’s triple, and Rudy’s single, gave a breath of life to the Rangers as they picked up one run in the top of the fifth.
     The Sharks couldn’t score at their turn at bat, but held the Rangers scoreless too in the top of the sixth and won 6–4.
    Bernie hoped to avoid meeting Vince as he left the field, but Vince cornered him almost immediately.
    “What happened to your submarine pitch, Bernie?” he asked. “Run out of fuel? It didn’t even surface!”
    “Why don’t you go and haunt somebody else for a while, Vince?” Frankie snapped.
    Vince punched him lightly on the shoulder, hardly enough to hurt. “What are you — your brother’s dummy?” He laughed then and
     dropped back, waiting for Mick to join him.
    “Why’s he like that?” Dave asked as he, Bernie, and Frankie started off the field. “He picks on you as if he’s mad at you.”
    “He is mad, because I beat him out in track,” said Bernie. “I’ve got ribbons to show for it and he doesn’t.”
    “So
that’s
what bugs him.” Dave shook his head. “I don’t know about him. He’s a good baseball player. What else does he want?”
    “He wants to show me that he can hit my submarine pitch,” replied Bernie.
    “He won’t, though. Not if you’re on. What happened to you today, anyway? Frankie told me that you hit Vince, then couldn’t
     get a pitch over the plate.”
    Bernie looked at him. “That’s right. But what happened to
you?
Where did you disappear to?”
    Dave shrugged. “I went for a drink.”
    Bernie stared at him. “That’s all you did?”
    Dave matched his stare. “That’s all I did.Why? Was that what bothered you? My not being there for a little while?”
    Bernie nodded, letting out a deep breath.
    “Let’s forget it,” he said, but he wondered if Dave was telling the whole truth.
    The Rangers’ next scheduled game was against the Atoms. Jeff wasn’t present and Bernie figured he’d have to pitch the whole
     game. Well, if he was going good, he wouldn’t mind it. Anyway, he shouldn’t have to worry much. They had beat the pants off
     the Atoms in the practice game, 9–3.
    The Rangers batted first. Pitching for the Atoms was a short, stout kid called Petey Waterman. Bill, leading off, looked over
     Petey’s first two pitches, both strikes, then laced the next one into right center for a long triple. Ed flied out, but both
     Deke and Buzz pounded the ball for safe hits. Then Tom grounded out.
    Rudy found the handle of Petey’s pitches again and walloped out a double, scoring Deke and advancing Buzz to third.