Pee Wees on First Read online

  “Anyway, when he sees how good I am, he’ll start another team. A Pee Wee league. Or else he’ll put my name on the list for when I’m grown up.”

  “I wish he’d discover me too,” said Sonny.

  Now not only Ashley laughed, everyone did.

  “You still can’t ride a two-wheel bike,” said Lisa. “If you play baseball like you ride a bike, you haven’t got a chance even in the baby league.”

  “Baseball with training wheels!” chanted Roger. Some of the others joined in.

  Poor Sonny, thought Molly. But why did he say such dumb things? Still, Molly herself said dumb things sometimes. Like dusting baseballs. Sometimes you couldn’t help it. Probably even Mrs. Peters and Brett Brady said dumb things sometimes. Maybe even her parents!

  Mary Beth and Molly waved good-bye to the others, and turned at their corner.

  “We can practice tomorrow after school,” said Mary Beth. “I’ve got a bat and a softball.”

  “I can’t hit a ball!” said Molly.

  “How do you know?” asked Mary Beth. “You just think you can’t. You haven’t tried lately, have you?”

  Molly shook her head. “I did when I was five,” she said.

  “Well we’re a lot older now. Just wait and see.”

  Molly said good-bye and went in the house and told her mom and dad the awful news.

  “I like the notebook part,” she said.

  “You’ll be able to play ball,” said her dad. “It just takes a little practice. And remember, the old Ace here can help you. I wasn’t the star pitcher in college for nothing.”

  “I don’t remember that,” said Mrs. Duff, smiling.

  “Well, maybe not the star,” said her dad.

  By the time they ate dinner, Molly had forgotten baseball. Mary Beth would help her. She ate her lasagna and told her mom and dad about Sonny teaching the twins to read. They all laughed, until her dad got the newspaper and opened it up. On the front page it said, BRETT BRADY IN TOWN TO SCOUT FOR HITTERS.

  Molly helped clear the table, and then she fed her dog, Skippy. She went to her room and did her homework. Then she took out a new notebook and wrote What I Know About Baseball on the cover. Then she got her pajamas on and brushed her teeth. She said good night to her parents and got into bed. As soon as she went to sleep, she dreamed that Brett Brady came to her door and asked her dad to play on the new big-league team. Her mother said he wasn’t a star player, but that Molly was! Brett gave Molly a uniform and a bat and a ball and when they got to the ballpark, Roger was on first base! Mary Beth was the pitcher, and Kevin was running around all the bases pushing Jody in his wheelchair. In her dream, Molly tried to lift the bat to hit the ball, but it was too heavy. Instead of hitting the bat, the ball hit Molly on the head!

  “Rat’s knees!” she was saying as she woke up. “I told you I couldn’t hit the ball!”

  In the morning she got up and got dressed, and hoped her dream wasn’t going to come true in the park after school.

  CHAPTER 4

  Baby Ruth

  “Okay,” said Mary Beth. “This is the way you hold the bat.”

  Mary Beth swung the bat loosely between her knees. The girls were in the park, where there was a lot of room to hit balls. There were some children in a sandbox, and some mothers pushing strollers. There was a dog chasing a Frisbee too. It felt good to be outside in spring. The sun made the top of her head warm.

  “Now you throw me the ball,” said Mary Beth. “Stand back there and be the pitcher.”

  Molly threw the ball. It didn’t go anywhere near Mary Beth. It went closer to the dog, who stopped chasing the Frisbee and went after the ball.

  “He thinks you are playing fetch with him,” laughed his master.

  The dog brought the ball back to Molly and dropped it at her feet. The ball was wet.

  “Throw it right here,” called Mary Beth, pointing to the ground beside her. “This doesn’t look like home plate, but it is. Just pretend.”

  This time the ball Molly threw fell to the ground and rolled to the middle of the park into a little puddle.

  Mary Beth sighed. Molly could hear her. It seemed that Molly couldn’t even throw a ball, let alone hit one!

  Mary Beth ran and got the ball out of the water and threw it to Molly. She missed it. Things did not look good.

  The next time Molly threw the ball, it went closer to Mary Beth. It went right to her swinging bat. And the bat hit the ball so hard, it flew out of the park and across the street into someone’s backyard. Mary Beth ran around the three imaginary bases and said, “That was a home run for my team.”

  So pitching well was bad too! If Molly threw a good pitch, the other team could get a home run and win the game!

  Mary Beth ran to get the ball.

  “Now it’s your turn,” she said, handing Molly the bat. Molly swung it back and forth the way her friend had. It felt heavy. Like in her dream! And it was so thin! How could anyone hit a ball with such a thin stick?

  Mary Beth threw the ball to her. Molly swung the bat at it but missed it.

  “See?” she said. “I told you I can’t hit the ball.”

  “You just need practice,” said Mary Beth. “You are new at this.”

  Mary Beth pitched the ball again.

  Molly missed the ball again.

  Mary Beth tried once more.

  And Molly missed it once more.

  “It’s too thin!” shouted Molly. “Why don’t they make bats fatter?”

  A few people gathered around the girls to watch. Some of them were Pee Wee Scouts. One was Roger!

  “Go away!” she said to him.

  “It’s a public park,” said Roger. “You can’t make me go away.”

  He sat down on the grass as if he intended to stay for good.

  “Batter up!” he shouted. “Let’s see some action!”

  The only action Roger would see, thought Molly, was the girls leaving.

  She handed the bat to Mary Beth.

  “I’m no good,” she said.

  “Don’t give up so fast,” said Mary Beth. “We can go over to my house and play.”

  Roger got up and began to follow the girls, but Mary Beth told him her yard was private property and she would call the police if he went in it.

  “Ho, ho, I’m really scared,” he scoffed. But Molly noticed he didn’t follow them.

  In Mary Beth’s backyard Molly could not hit the ball either.

  Or in the empty lot next door. Even when Mary Beth stood really close and almost set the ball on top of her bat.

  “I’m going to get a fatter bat,” said Molly.

  “They don’t make them fatter than this,” said Mary Beth.

  “Maybe I’ll make my own,” said Molly.

  Molly said good-bye, and went home. She gave Skippy a run. She even threw him a ball. He caught it with no problem. Then she looked in her garage for something to make a fat bat out of. There were rakes and hoes and gardening shears. There was a lawn mower and a snow plow. But there was nothing to make a bat from.

  Rat’s knees, she thought. It’s not easy to find a fat bat. She would do it later. Right now she would get her notebook and go to the library. At least she could do that.

  She looked in the encyclopedia under baseball.

  A game has nine innings, the article said. Molly wrote that down. She wondered what an inning was. It must be the opposite of an outing. An outing was like a picnic or a hot dog roast.

  She wrote down home run and grand slam and rain check.

  She wrote down bunt and bench and bases.

  Home plate is made of white rubber, she read. She had never heard of a rubber plate, but the book must be telling the truth. Authors didn’t lie.

  Farther on it said that the baseball was made of leather, with twine-covered cork inside! What a funny place for a ball of yarn! She had never seen a ball of yarn anywhere but in her grandma’s knitting basket.

  Another book had lots of “amazing baseball facts.�
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  Someone named Baby Ruth had hit 714 home runs. Molly didn’t remember seeing any women on the baseball teams her dad watched on TV. But Ruth must have been on a team if she hit all those home runs. And she must be very young to be called “baby.” If she could do it, maybe there was a chance for Molly herself, and for Sonny. He was a baby if anyone was! She would have to remember to tell Sonny at the next meeting. She wrote it all down in her notebook. Then she drew pictures of balls and home plates and even some baseball players. She drew a picture of Baby Ruth. She even made up a story about a girl in a wheelchair who could not hit the ball with a thin bat. She would have the best baseball book of all! Even if she couldn’t hit the ball.

  CHAPTER 5

  Acting Casual

  The next afternoon the Pee Wees practiced in the park. Afterward, Roger said, “I’m going to find that guy Brett Brady. I’m going to show him how good I can play.”

  “He’ll make a fool of himself,” whispered Mary Beth.

  “I wonder what this Brady guy looks like,” said Kenny.

  “He’s real tall and he’s got glasses,” said Sonny. “I saw him on TV a long time ago.”

  “He’s got black hair,” said Tim. “And it’s real curly.”

  “How do you know?” demanded Jody.

  Tim shrugged. “Someone told me,” he said.

  “I wonder where he’s staying when he’s here,” said Kevin. “We could go find him and hit a few balls while he’s watching.”

  “Maybe he is staying with somebody he knows,” said Lisa.

  “I don’t think he knows anybody here,” said Ashley. “His friends probably live in big cities where there are big ball teams. You know, major leagues.”

  “When you’re from out of town, you stay at a hotel,” said Rachel.

  “There’s a hotel downtown,” said Patty. “A big one.”

  “Hey, I’m going to go find him,” said Roger.

  The Pee Wees followed Roger. They all wanted to see Brett Brady. They all wanted to see a famous person.

  Molly wanted to get a head start finding out more baseball facts. Facts that came from a real player, instead of from a book or even from Mrs. Peters. Maybe he knew this Baby Ruth! Maybe he knew why she was named after a candy bar!

  Some of the others wanted Brett Brady to see how well they played.

  Roger wanted to get signed up for a team!

  When the Pee Wees got to the hotel, they were all out of breath from running. They sat on a bench in front of the building to rest.

  “We can’t miss him here,” said Mary Beth. “If he goes in or out, we’ll see him.”

  The Pee Wees sat on the bench a long time. They watched and watched for Brett Brady to walk by.

  “What are you going to say when you see him?” Jody asked Roger.

  “I’ll just grab him and say, ‘Hey, come and watch me hit some grand slams,’ ” said Roger.

  “I don’t think we should let him know we know who he is,” said Kevin. “That might scare him off. Everybody wants to get chosen. You have to be cool and let him discover us.”

  “That’s smart,” said Ashley. “To act casual about it.”

  “Well, maybe,” said Roger. “Just keep our balls and bats out in plain view. When he sees them he’ll know we are pros. No one else would walk around with bats and balls.”

  “Hey, here comes a guy!” whispered Lisa.

  A man came out the door.

  He was tall.

  He had glasses.

  But he didn’t have dark curly hair.

  He was bald.

  “Brett isn’t bald,” whispered Tracy. “It’s not him.”

  The next person who came out was a woman.

  Then two men went in. One was short and fat. The other one was limping.

  “Does Brett limp?” asked Tim.

  “Naw,” said Roger. “He couldn’t run around those bases very fast if he limped.”

  “Handicapped people play ball,” Jody reminded them.

  “He could have hurt his leg in a ball game,” said Mary Beth.

  “Maybe that’s why he retired,” said Kenny.

  By that time the men were out of sight.

  “I have to go,” said Jody. “My dad is picking me up at the library.”

  Some of the other Pee Wees had to leave too. Soon only Molly and Mary Beth and Roger and Sonny were left.

  “I’m not moving till I see this guy,” said Roger.

  Molly felt the same way. This was her chance to get the inside scoop on Baby Ruth.

  “It’s good those guys are gone,” said Sonny. “Now we get a better chance to get chosen for his team.”

  More time went by, and Molly almost fell asleep in the warm sun. Suddenly, Mary Beth nudged her in the ribs.

  “Look!” she said. “That’s him!”

  A tall man was coming down the street. He had dark curly hair. He wore glasses. He did not limp. And he was carrying a big package.

  “Baseballs!” said Roger. “He’s got baseballs in there!”

  “Or else trophies he’s won,” said Sonny.

  “What do we do?” said Mary Beth.

  “Act casual, like Ashley said,” said Molly.

  The Pee Wees yawned. Roger got up and swung a bat.

  Sonny tossed a ball in the air and caught it.

  As the man got closer, the Pee Wees casually blocked his path. The man couldn’t get by.

  “Hi, kids!” he said. “You baseball players?”

  Now Molly knew he was their man!

  “You bet!” said Roger. “Batter up!”

  The man tried to walk around Roger, and bumped into Sonny.

  “I think I’d like a candy bar,” said Molly clearly. “Maybe a Baby Ruth.”

  She looked at the man’s face. He smiled! He knew! But she must remember to be casual.

  Sonny tossed a ball to the man. He caught it and tossed it back.

  “The park might be a better place to play ball,” said the man. “It’s hard to play in the middle of the sidewalk.”

  “He’s right!” shouted Sonny. “Let’s go!”

  Roger grabbed one of the man’s arms, and Sonny grabbed the other. The man tried to pull away, but the boys held on. Roger was strong. And Sonny was wiry. No one wanted Brett to get away.

  CHAPTER 6

  A Pee Wee Error

  Brett didn’t seem to want to go to the park, thought Molly. He kept trying to escape. Molly and Mary Beth ran along in front of him, turning around to talk.

  “You don’t happen to know Baby Ruth, do you?” asked Molly politely. And casually.

  “Baby Ruth?” he asked. He looked puzzled.

  “He has to pretend he doesn’t know anything about baseball,” Molly whispered to Mary Beth. “So we won’t know who he is. He’s playing dumb.”

  Mary Beth nodded. “He’s doing a good job of it,” she whispered back.

  “Baby Ruth, Baby Ruth,” sang Molly. “Have you ever heard of Baby Ruth?”

  “The ballplayer?” asked Brett. “Babe Ruth?”

  Now they were making progress! It was Brett! No one else would know about Baby Ruth, the little girl ballplayer who was named after a candy bar!

  “Babe or Baby,” said Molly. “Did you ever play with her?”

  Now the man looked worried. Molly’s question seemed to bother him! He pulled away from Sonny and Roger. As he did, his package of baseballs and trophies fell to the ground. The package opened, but what fell out were not baseballs or trophies.

  What fell out were lots and lots of papers. Papers with writing on them, and people’s names. Papers that said ACME INSURANCE AGENCY at the top.

  A sandwich fell out too. It was wrapped in waxed paper and it smelled like tuna fish.

  Brett scrambled to pick everything up. The Pee Wees helped.

  “I’m an insurance salesman,” said the man.

  “He’s just saying that,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly. “To put us off. He doesn’t want to let us know who he really
is. That’s why he carries around these fake papers.”

  “Sure, sure, you’re an insurance salesman!” said Roger, winking at the man in a knowing way. Sonny winked too.

  Roger sidled up to the man. When he got close, he whispered, “We all know you really aren’t an insurance man, don’t we?”

  Molly took Roger aside.

  “We could pretend to buy some insurance,” she said. “We could play along with him, and then we could work in some baseball questions.”

  “I don’t think we have to do that,” said Roger. “I think he can tell us who he really is. Hey, we won’t blow your cover,” he said, jabbing the man in the ribs in a confidential way.

  Now the man looked nervous. It was true the Pee Wees were on to him, but it wasn’t as if he were a crook or something, thought Molly. There was nothing to be embarrassed about just because you were a retired baseball player.

  “Being a ballplayer is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Molly kindly.

  “Lots of people play ball,” said Sonny.

  “You’re going to speak at our Scout meeting on Tuesday,” Roger confessed.

  “We just wanted you to see us play first.”

  “And we wanted you to answer some questions,” said Molly.

  Brett looked confused. Just then a man came up to him and said, “There you are, Roland! I’ve been waiting at the office for you. Our meeting starts in five minutes! This is our chance to insure all of those airport workers!”

  Roland? Airport workers? What was happening here?

  The Pee Wees were stunned. “He really is an insurance man!” said Molly.

  “That’s what I told you,” grumbled Roland.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you weren’t Brett?” demanded Mary Beth, stamping her foot.

  “You lied to us!” said Sonny.

  “He didn’t lie,” said Molly. “He never said he was Brett.”

  Roland brushed his suit off and straightened his papers.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said to the man. “These kids are crazy! They kept calling me Brett!”

  How could the Pee Wees have made such a mistake? What made them think Roland was Brett? Poor Roland, thought Molly. It wasn’t his fault they thought he was Brett. And now they had made him late for a meeting!