Free Too Hot to Handle by Matt Christopher Page A

he wasn’t good enough. That was why Coach Beach had him exchange
     positions with Bonesy in the third inning. David had a good arm, but he was short and squat. He was not able to cover as much
     ground as Bonesy could.
    “Think you’ll keep up that good Kroft name, David?” a voice said from the stands.
    There was humor in the man’s voice. There was nothing nasty about it. But the words burned into David’s mind.
    He knew why that person had said that. Dad had been a great baseball player in his day. Dad had two brothers who were still
     pretty great. They didn’t live here anymore. They had married and moved south. Both were playing baseball with professional
     teams.
    Don was good, too. He was David’s older brother. He was sixteen, a junior in high school and just about the best shortstop
     Penwood High School had ever had. Even Mr. Wooley, the high school athletic coach, said that.
    Practically everyone in Penwood who followed baseball knew that there had never been a Kroft who wasn’t a good player. A
real
good player.
    And that was why the fan had asked Davidthat question,
“Think you’ll keep up that good Kroft name, David
?”
    David didn’t answer. He didn’t even look to see who had spoken. He scooped up his glove, got into position near the bag and
     waited for the practice throw from first baseman Jimmy Merrill.
    Brad bore down on the first hitter. Four pitches and he had the man out of there. Then the Gulls’ catcher came to bat. He
     smashed a hard grounder down to third. It took two hops and was at David before he could blink an eye. The ball bounced up
     face-high, struck the top of his glove and sailed far over his head.
    Another error!
    “Come on, Dave!” shouted Rex disgustedly.
    The fans yelled. David heard some of them talking to him. He tried to ignore them. He had learned a long time ago that a ballplayer
     should never listen to what the fans said.

    But two errors in one game! How long would Coach Beach stand for that?
    David began to chatter, mixing his voice with the rest of the infielders’. It was a good thing Brad was a cool pitcher. It
     took a lot for Brad to get sore.
    The Gulls banged out a hit, but it did no damage. They didn’t score.
    David led off for the Flickers. He had singled in the second inning. This was his second time at bat.
    “Ball!” Inside.
    “Ball!” Again it was inside.
    “Ball!” Too low.
    David stepped back. His heart hammered. The Flickers were trailing 4 to 2. He had to wait out the pitcher.
    He stepped back into the box and saw two strikes cross the plate. Full count.
    The next pitch came in. It was in there. David swung.
Crack!
A long ball to left field.Not high enough. It was caught, and David returned to the dugout.
    “Tough luck, David,” said Coach Beach. “You hit that solid. Legs Mulligan will finish the game at third, David. Warm him up.”
    “Okay,” said David softly.
    He went to third to pick up his glove. Some of the fans commented on his hit. He appreciated it, but didn’t let on that he
     did. He and Legs went behind the stands and played catch until the Gulls retired the side.
    Legs was built something like Bonesy, except that he seemed to be more legs than anything else. He spat into the pocket of
     his glove and kept up a steady chatter at third. That was all he did that half inning, just chatter, for not a ball was hit
     to him.
    In the bottom of the fifth Jimmy Merrill walked and finally scored on a single by Bonesy Lane. In the sixth the Gulls picked
     up another run to make their total 5. Then Ken Laceyknocked another single, his third hit of the game, and Chugger walked. Jimmy flied out, and Rex singled, scoring Ken. That
     was the best the Flickers could do. They came out on the tail end, 5 to 4.
    “Tough game to lose,” said Dad as he, Mom, Don and Ann Marie walked out of the ballpark with David. “But it was very exciting.”
    “Guess it was my fault we lost,” said David.
    “Because of those errors?” Don