Free Baseball Turnaround by Matt Christopher

Mitch Lessem scrambled in for the catch. But suddenly, a secondwhite object flashed in the sky. It was another baseball, hit into the field by a group of people playing a pickup game!
    A split second after Sandy’s ball hit the ground, the second ball landed a few feet away. Mitch ran toward one ball. Ben Eaton,
     the center fielder, ran to the other. Intent on making the play, they didn’t see each other until they had fielded the ball
     and were about ready to throw. Then they caught sight of each other. Both hesitated in mid-heave, then continued their throws.
     The second baseman just ducked out of the way.
    Sandy couldn’t help it. As he rounded second base, he started to chuckle. By the time he reached home, he could barely move
     he was laughing so hard.
    “That was the lamest home run I’ve ever hit!” he gasped. “Coach, how are you going to rule that one? A two-run homer, or an
     attempted double play?”
    The other players stared at him. Then Ben Eaton started laughing, too. Others joined in. Even Coach Winston grinned.
    For the rest of the practice, the players talkedabout the incident, changing the story until it had grown in absurdity.
    “Sandy had a ball tucked up his sleeve. What happened was, he thought he struck out. Didn’t even realize he’d hit it, he was
     so busy digging that ball out from his sleeve and heaving it into center field.”
    “No, what happened was, Jimmy fired his pitches down so quickly that Sandy hit the first ball with a regular swing, the second
     one when he was pulling the bat back into position!”
    “You’re all wrong! You know how Sandy likes to take warm-up swings with two bats? Well, Jimmy decided he’d send down two balls
     for him to hit with his two bats. Sandy hit the one as he tossed away the first bat, the second with the bat he was still
     holding!”
    Sandy laughed along with the rest. For the first time since he’d become a Raptor, he felt like part of the team.
    At the end of practice, Coach Winston called them all together. “Tomorrow, I’ll have most of you back playing your old spots.
     Some of you may find yourself in new positions. And some,” he added witha smile, “may find yourself cooling your heels until you shape up and stop all this horsing around!”
    As Sandy left practice, he heard something he hadn’t heard for a long time. It was the sound of his teammates calling out
     good-byes to him and promises to see him at practice the next day.

18
    T he next day’s practice started out with a number of routine drills. But it also featured a practice game between two squads
     the coach had put together.
    Sandy waited eagerly to hear his name called. When it was, he couldn’t help but grin. “Sandy Comstock, center field — second
     string.”
    Okay, here we go, Comstock
, he said to himself.
Here’s your big chance to show the coach who his first starting center fielder should be. Tony’s an okay guy, but you’re the
     better player
.
    Sandy played his hardest that game. He dove and jumped for balls, threw hard and accurately, took his time at the plate, and
     kept up a constant stream of encouraging chatter. And the other players of the second string responded. For the first time
     since thebeginning of the season, the starting squad lost the scrimmage.
    The next three days, he stayed in the center field position for the second string. But on Friday, when Coach Winston called
     out the roster of starters, Tony Cataldo had been moved to third base — and Sandy Comstock was named for center field.
    Coach Winston took both boys aside before the scrimmage. “Listen, Tony, I’m going with Sandy out there because he’s really
     shown me something this week. He’s played some stellar ball, and he’s earned a chance. And I want to see what you can do in
     the infield.”
    Sandy braced himself for a protest.
    Tony nodded. “Okay, Coach. Whatever’s best for the team. Sandy seems to know what he’s doing out there. And I wouldn’t