Free Steal That Base! by Kurtis Scaletta, Eric Wight

t was five minutes before midnight and the bottom of the ninth inning, and I was about to break a promise.
    I was a batboy for the Pine City Porcupines. When I took the job, I promised my parents I would try to be home by ten o’clock and would
never
work past midnight. “That’s just too late for a boy your age,” Dad had said.
    But there had been a rain delay and the game started late. The Porcupines were tied with the Attica Finches, 3–3. If the Porcupines didn’t score here, the game would go into extra innings.

    Â 
    I’d also made a life-long promise to my uncle Rick that I would never leave a baseball game before it was over. Uncle Rick took me to a game when I was six. The Porcupines fell behind by ten runs, and I wanted to go home. “If you leave early, you might miss a thrilling comeback,” he’d told me. “You might miss a walk-off home run. Never leave before the last out, Chad.”
    â€œI won’t,” I told him, and I meant it. The Porcupines ended up losing that game, but they did get a grand slam in the eighth inning. We would have missed it if we hadn’t stuck around.
    Tonight there was no way to keep both promises unless the Pines scored really soon.
    Victor Snapp’s deep voice boomed over the speakers. “Now batting: the designated hitter, Sssssammy Sssssolarisss!” Victor Snapp had been the announcer for the Pine City Porcupines since before I was born. He was myidol. I wanted to be a baseball announcer when I grew up.
    â€œCome on, Sammy!” I shouted. Sammy was the best hitter on the team.
    He swung at the first pitch. The ball sailed into the outfield. The Finches’ center fielder ran after it.
    â€œIt’s a gapper!” said Victor Snapp. He said that whenever a ball got between two outfielders. My heart nearly leaped out of my chest.
    The ball hit the fence and rolled back toward the outfielder. Sammy took a big turn at first base, then stopped.
    I went to fetch the bat.
    â€œSolaris stretched that double into a single!” I heard someone shout. It had to be Ernie Hecker. Ernie had the biggest mouth in Pine City, and he always shouted stuff at the players and umpires. This time he was right. Most baseball playerswould have reached second base easily on a hit like that.
    Sammy took his lead off first. The pitcher didn’t even look at him. There was no way Sammy would try to steal a base.
    â€œNow batting: the first baseman, Teddddddddy Larrrrrabeeeee!” Victor Snapp announced.
    Teddy hit the ball hard, and it sailed to the right field corner. The outfielder caught it. Sammy took a couple of steps toward second, then changed his mind and stayed at first.
    The crowd groaned again. Most runners would have tagged up and advanced a base.
    â€œNow batting: the right fielder, Danny O’Brien!” Victor announced.
    Sammy must have heard the crowd boo, because he did something crazy. The pitcher threw an off-speed pitch to Danny, and Sammytook off. He kicked up a cloud of dust and started toward second.
    Danny didn’t swing. The catcher threw the ball to second. The second baseman took two steps off the base to catch it. He ran back to the base and tagged Sammy.
    Sammy was out by a mile.
    â€œI could have stolen that base from up here!” Ernie Hecker shouted.
    â€œSammy Solaris is caught stealing!” said Victor Snapp. “And so we head to the tenth inning.”
    Sammy returned to the dugout and slumped onto the bench.
    â€œGood try, Sammy,” I told him.
    â€œNice of you to say that,” he said.
    â€œI didn’t signal for you to steal a base,” said the Pines’ manager. His name was Harry Humboldt, but everybody called him Grumps.“You’ll know when I do, because it’ll be never. That’s when it’ll happen.
Never
.”
    â€œAh, come on. I just thought I’d get into scoring position,” Sammy replied.
    I missed the rest of their