would be the last batter of the day—they were going to quit a little early. Then he jogged back tothe mound, Gary hit a liner to Joey Johnson and Coach said it had been a great practice, for everybody to pick up and he’d see them tomorrow.
As the rest of the guys started to leave, Nick sat at the end of the bench on the first-base side and started to take off his gear.
Coach came over and said, “Leave it on for a second.”
“How come?”
“Just leave it on.”
Joey Johnson was the last of the varsity players to leave the bench area. When he did, catching up with everybody else as they walked toward the gym, Coach Williams said, “Okay, then.”
This must be when he tells me he’s sending me back to JV.
The thought of
that
didn’t make Nick want to cry; it made him feel relieved more than anything.
“It really is okay, Coach,” Nick said. Trying to help him break the news.
If Coach Williams had heard what Nick said, he didn’t let on, just stood up and said, “Let’s get to work.”
“Work?”
Nick felt a little bit like he was getting kept after class for doing something wrong. In this case, it just happened to be baseball class.
“Well, work in the sense that we have to work to get you to start playing baseball again,” Coach Williams said. “Make you feel the way you did when you first started playing ball.”
Nick said he didn’t understand.
Coach Williams said he’d show him.
For the next half hour, just the two of them on the varsity field, that is
exactly
what he did.
They played.
It was like he was a Riverdale Redbird all over again.
EIGHT
The first thing Coach Williams did was take out his car keys.
Took them out, handed them to Nick at home plate, walked away until he was halfway between Nick and the pitcher’s mound, turned around with this great big grin on his face, as if he knew something that Nick didn’t.
“Toss me the keys,” Coach Williams said.
“Toss you the keys?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can I ask why?”
“No.”
“Okaaay.”
“No questions, no comments. Just throw me the keys.”
Nick tossed him the keys, underhanded.
Coach caught them and tossed them back.
“Again.”
Nick didn’t say anything this time, just threw back the keys.
“Good,” Coach said, and then came back to where Nick was standing.
“What just happened here?” he said to Nick. “Oh, wait. I know. You made two perfect throws. If I hadn’t grabbed the suckers with my hand, they would have hit me in the middle of the chest both times.”
“I threw you your keys,” Nick said, “not a baseball.”
“I don’t care if you were throwing me a bag of peanuts like those vendors do at the ballpark,” Coach Williams said. “The point is, you didn’t
think
about making a perfect throw. You didn’t worry about putting too much on the ball. Or whether you were throwing sidearm or coming over the top. You didn’t worry, period. I said throw, you threw.”
Nick said, “It’s not that easy when it’s for real.”
“With an arm like you’ve got?” Coach said. “Yeah, it is. Or at least it should be.”
“I feel like I’ve got to make a perfect throw every time to show these guys I belong.”
“You’re
kidding
!” Coach Williams said. Acting shocked in a funny way. “I hadn’t picked up on that at
all.
”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Nick said. “It’s just that the harder I try—”
“The worse you throw. And even worse than that, the worse you think you look.”
Nick decided to just come right out with it, before he wasted any more of Coach Williams’s time.
Get this over with once and for all.
“You should find another catcher now, before the season starts,” he said. “And send me back to JV where I belong.”
“No,” he said. He clapped his hands together, as if the fun were really about to start now. “Now that we’ve conquered key throwing, let’s advance to baseball throwing.”
Coach Williams went over to the old canvas
As the rest of the guys started to leave, Nick sat at the end of the bench on the first-base side and started to take off his gear.
Coach came over and said, “Leave it on for a second.”
“How come?”
“Just leave it on.”
Joey Johnson was the last of the varsity players to leave the bench area. When he did, catching up with everybody else as they walked toward the gym, Coach Williams said, “Okay, then.”
This must be when he tells me he’s sending me back to JV.
The thought of
that
didn’t make Nick want to cry; it made him feel relieved more than anything.
“It really is okay, Coach,” Nick said. Trying to help him break the news.
If Coach Williams had heard what Nick said, he didn’t let on, just stood up and said, “Let’s get to work.”
“Work?”
Nick felt a little bit like he was getting kept after class for doing something wrong. In this case, it just happened to be baseball class.
“Well, work in the sense that we have to work to get you to start playing baseball again,” Coach Williams said. “Make you feel the way you did when you first started playing ball.”
Nick said he didn’t understand.
Coach Williams said he’d show him.
For the next half hour, just the two of them on the varsity field, that is
exactly
what he did.
They played.
It was like he was a Riverdale Redbird all over again.
EIGHT
The first thing Coach Williams did was take out his car keys.
Took them out, handed them to Nick at home plate, walked away until he was halfway between Nick and the pitcher’s mound, turned around with this great big grin on his face, as if he knew something that Nick didn’t.
“Toss me the keys,” Coach Williams said.
“Toss you the keys?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can I ask why?”
“No.”
“Okaaay.”
“No questions, no comments. Just throw me the keys.”
Nick tossed him the keys, underhanded.
Coach caught them and tossed them back.
“Again.”
Nick didn’t say anything this time, just threw back the keys.
“Good,” Coach said, and then came back to where Nick was standing.
“What just happened here?” he said to Nick. “Oh, wait. I know. You made two perfect throws. If I hadn’t grabbed the suckers with my hand, they would have hit me in the middle of the chest both times.”
“I threw you your keys,” Nick said, “not a baseball.”
“I don’t care if you were throwing me a bag of peanuts like those vendors do at the ballpark,” Coach Williams said. “The point is, you didn’t
think
about making a perfect throw. You didn’t worry about putting too much on the ball. Or whether you were throwing sidearm or coming over the top. You didn’t worry, period. I said throw, you threw.”
Nick said, “It’s not that easy when it’s for real.”
“With an arm like you’ve got?” Coach said. “Yeah, it is. Or at least it should be.”
“I feel like I’ve got to make a perfect throw every time to show these guys I belong.”
“You’re
kidding
!” Coach Williams said. Acting shocked in a funny way. “I hadn’t picked up on that at
all.
”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Nick said. “It’s just that the harder I try—”
“The worse you throw. And even worse than that, the worse you think you look.”
Nick decided to just come right out with it, before he wasted any more of Coach Williams’s time.
Get this over with once and for all.
“You should find another catcher now, before the season starts,” he said. “And send me back to JV where I belong.”
“No,” he said. He clapped his hands together, as if the fun were really about to start now. “Now that we’ve conquered key throwing, let’s advance to baseball throwing.”
Coach Williams went over to the old canvas
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