The Redheaded Outfield, and Other Baseball StoriesGrey, Zane
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The Redheaded Outfield, and Other Baseball Stories
Grey, Zane
Baseball stories, American; Fiction; Short stories
In the last half of the sixth, with Ash on first base and two men out,
old Spears hit another of his lofty flies, and this one went over the
fence and tied the score. How the bleachers roared! It was full two
minutes before they quieted down. To make it all the more exciting,
Bogart hit safely, ran like a deer to third on Mullaney's grounder,
which Wiler knocked down, and scored on a passed ball. Gregg ended the
inning by striking out.
"Get at the Rube!" boomed Ellis, the Bison captain. "We'll have him up
in the air soon. Get in the game now, you stickers!"
Before I knew what had happened, the Bisons had again tied the score.
They were indomitable. They grew stronger all the time. A stroke of
good luck now would clinch the game for them. The Rube was beginning to
labor in the box; Ashwell was limping; Spears looked as if he would
drop any moment; McCall could scarcely walk. But if the ball came his
way he could still run. Nevertheless, I never saw any finer fielding
than these cripped players executed that inning.
"Ash--Mac--can you hold out?" I asked, when they limped in. I received
glances of scorn for my question. Spears, however, was not sanguine.
"I'll stick pretty much if somethin' doesn't happen," he said; "but I'm
all in. I'll need a runner if I get to first this time."
Spears lumbered down to first base on an infield hit and the heavy
Manning gave him the hip. Old Spears went down, and I for one knew he
was out in more ways than that signified by Carter's sharp: "Out!"
The old war-horse gathered himself up slowly and painfully, and with
his arms folded and his jaw protruding, he limped toward the umpire.
"Did you call me out?" he asked, in a voice plainly audible to any one
on the field.
"Yes," snapped Carter.
"What for? I beat the ball, an' Mannin' played dirty with me--gave me
the hip."
"I called you out."
"But I wasn't out!"
"Shut up now! Get off the diamond!" ordered Carter, peremptorily.
"What? Me? Say, I'm captain of this team. Can't I question a
decision?"
"Not mine. Spears, you're delaying the game."
"I tell you it was a rotten decision," yelled Spears. The bleachers
agreed with him.
Carter grew red in the face. He and Spears had before then met in
field squabbles, and he showed it.
"Fifty dollars!"
"More! You cheap-skate you piker! More!"
"It's a hundred!"
"Put me out of the game!" roared Spears.
"You bet! Hurry now--skedaddle!"
"Rob-b-ber!" bawled Spears.
Then he labored slowly toward the bench, all red, and yet with
perspiration, his demeanor one of outraged dignity. The great crowd,
as one man, stood up and yelled hoarsely at Carter, and hissed and
railed at him. When Spears got to the bench he sat down beside me as
if in pain, but he was smiling.
"Con, I was all in, an' knowin' I couldn't play any longer, thought I'd
try to scare Carter. Say, he was white in the face. If we play into a
close decision now, he'll give it to us."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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