Free Hit & Miss by Derek Jeter Page B

point completely.
    â€œHey, you know what? I’m going home,” Derek said.
    â€œWhy? What’d we do?” Jeff asked, holding his hands out. “Come on, Jeter. Don’t make such a big deal out of it.”
    â€œYou want to hang with me? You’ve got to be all right with my friends,” Derek said, staring at each of them in turn. “Besides, Dave’s on our team, and we need him to play better ball.”
    There. At least none of them could argue with that point.
    â€œI’m going to invite him back here again soon, and I hope he comes,” Derek went on. “And if he does, we’re going to make him feel welcome. All right?” He waited for their answer, but none came. “All right?”
    â€œI guess,” Jeff said, shrugging. “Sure, okay.”
    â€œMe too,” said Isaiah.
    â€œYeah, all right,” said Jason.
    â€œVijay?”
    Vijay stared at the ground and nodded. Derek guessed that there was something else eating at him, but he couldn’t figure out what that might be.
    Oh well, he thought. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
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    For each game, one of the players was assigned to bring snacks and drinks, and today was Derek’s turn. He and his mom had brought carrots, orange slices, bananas, and juice boxes.
    â€œThat should hold ’em,” said Mrs. Jeter. “Power food. You guys are going to score a lot of runs today!”
    â€œIf only it were that easy,” said Derek sadly.
    â€œHey, old man, what’s the matter?” His mom could always tell when something was on his mind. “Where’s your fighting spirit today?”
    Derek sighed. “Aw, Mom, the guys are ganging up against Dave, and I’m caught right in the middle.”
    â€œWell, that’s the place to be, if you want to solve the problem. You just tell the guys to ease up. Dave’s their teammate, for goodness’ sake.”
    â€œI told them,” Derek said. “But it doesn’t seem to help.”
    â€œHmm . . . . Well, my advice is, concentrate on your own game right now. Maybe the others will pick up on your focus and you guys can win the game. That’ll put everybody in a more friendly mood.”
    Derek smiled and nodded. His mom was always full of good advice.
    The kids started arriving, and soon Derek was fully involved in warm-ups. Dave showed up for the game, much to Derek’s relief. He’d been afraid that after what had happened on the Hill yesterday afternoon, Dave might just drop out of Little League altogether!
    But Dave seemed to have a fighting spirit much like Derek’s. He might have given up on making friends with the other guys, but he hadn’t given up on baseball. He seemed focused and ready, even if he didn’t say much to anyone but Derek.
    â€œHow’s it goin’?” Derek asked him.
    â€œI’m all right,” Dave assured him. “I’m gonna hit one out today, and show those guys.”
    â€œAttaboy,” Derek said. “Me too.”
    They high-fived, just as the umpire yelled, “Play ball!”
    Today they were facing the Yankees, the team Derek had always wanted to be a part of—even in Little League.
    The Yankees’ pitcher started out wild, walking Cubby and Jason. Derek came to the plate with two men on and nobody out. He was psyched!
    In fact, he was so excited about driving those two runs in that he struck out swinging. He returned to the bench, furious with himself. He’d overswung at every pitch. He promised himself not to do that again next time up.
    Luckily, the Yankees’ pitcher was so wild that he walked three runs in before the coach came in and made a substitution. Derek felt bad for the kid, but he was happy his team was up 3–0.
    Unluckily, the new pitcher threw strike after strike, mowing down Vijay and Miles to end the inning.
    Worse, in the bottom of the first, the