Free Extra Innings by Ronde Barber and Paul Mantell Tiki Barber Page A

right field,” he told his twin.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYeah,” Tiki said with a sigh. “He said it was because of Chris Jones’s weak arm. But I kind of think it’s because I was throwing wild at second.”
    â€œWell, it’s not all bad,” Ronde offered. “Just think—it’ll be the two of us out there, side by side. The Barber brothers. That’s a first for us in any sport!”
    Tiki had to admit, it was an appealing idea when you looked at it that way. He decided to set aside his feeling that it was a punishment and go with whatever was best for the team. It wasn’t just a mantra with him and Ronde. It was what they really believed, when push came to shove. Being all about the team had carried them to two straight state championships in football, and neither Tiki nor Ronde was going to change their approach now, so close to the end of their time at Hidden Valley.
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    The next afternoon the Eagles traveled to William Byrd Junior High to play the Badgers, a team that had been talked about before the season as a real powerhouse but that had started out 0–4. Either (a) they weren’t as good as everyone thought, or (b) they were just about to break out and crush their next opponent. Tiki sure hoped it was a, not b.
    The game turned out to be a slugfest and a nail-biter, with both pitchers giving up four runs before the third inning was over.
    Tiki and Ronde were two for two, and each of them had made a nice play in the outfield, where a lot of Ian’s pitches were being hit.
    In the fourth, John Benson took over the pitching duties, and things got quieter. The score remained 4–4 into the bottom of the sixth, when with one out and men on second and third, the Badger’s cleanup hitterlaunched a high, sinking fly ball to shallow right center.
    Tiki took off after it like a shot. It was in the no-man’s-land between right and center field, but he was the closest man to it. Just as the ball was about to fall into his glove, he got hit in the head, hard—so hard, he fell to the ground, seeing stars!
    For a moment he didn’t know where he was or what had happened. Then a second later came the realization that everyone was screaming.
    The ball! Where was the ball? Tiki got up, looked into his glove, and saw that it wasn’t there. He looked around and realized that Ronde was lying on the ground next to him, motionless!
    But there in Ronde’s glove was the ball! Tiki grabbed it and threw it in to second base, but he didn’t watch its flight long enough to see if he’d doubled up the runners. Instead he kneeled down next to his twin and said, “Ronde! Are you okay? RONDE!”
    â€œOooohhhh,” Ronde moaned, slowly opening his eyes, then squinting as the sunlight hit them. “Wha’ happened?” Then, as he tried to sit up, “OW! My head hurts!”
    â€œMine too!” Tiki said. “We butted heads, yo. Are you okay?” He helped Ronde come to a sitting position, then saw that a welt was beginning to rise on his twin’s forehead.
    â€œMan, why didn’t you call for it?” Ronde asked Tiki.
    â€œIt was my ball all the way!” Tiki replied.
    â€œMine too,” Ronde said. “I guess I didn’t think about who was playing right field.”
    â€œSame here. If I’d have thought about it being you in center, I’d have called you off for sure.”
    â€œNo way. I would have called you off!”
    That was the end of the argument, because at that moment Coach Raines, together with two or three other coaches from both teams, reached them and started checking to see if both boys were okay.
    Tiki told them he was fine, even though his head did still hurt. But he could tell that Ronde was still shaky on his feet as they walked them both back to the bench.
    â€œDid we get the out?” Ronde asked weakly.
    â€œWe got TWO!” Coach Raines said