Baseball Dreams

The day was warm and breezy, and the sun was brilliantly shining down on the new baseball field. Freshly cut grass could be smelled as the new players for the Valley Little League lined up by the baseball diamond. Today was the big day: everyone was trying out for positions on the team, The Golden Rangers.

Soon, Coach Mike called the boys out to practice. Everyone stampeded to the field, and balls were thrown, shooting from one mitt to another, like a barrage of gunfire. All the boys knew that Jake had the best arm- it seemed like he could throw the ball a mile and hit a grasshopper. Bobby was the slugger; many a ball was lost when he'd hit them while practicing with friends. But poor Joey just watched and tried not to get hit. Coach Mike decided to put him out in right field- where the ball rarely comes.

All the other kids had experience playing ball with their friends, but Joey didn't have any companions who liked to play the game. He dreamed of being as good as Jake and Bobby, but practice, and especially the upcoming big first game, made him really scared. So when the boys stopped to line up for their turns to hit the ball in the batter's box, Joey could already sense his approaching failure. "Strike one... Strike two... Strike three! You're out!" yelled the coach. All the kids laughed and many of them called him names.

As Joey started to walk away, feeling terrible, a boy named Daniel pulled him aside to talk with him. "Hey, wait a sec, Joey. I know it's hard on the first day, but you'll get better."

"You don't understand. I can't. I don't have any friends who like to play with me", Joey replied.

"What about your Dad?", Daniel inquired.

"He's too busy to help me."

Daniel looked at the ground and was silent for a minute. He finally answered, "You know what? I know my Dad will help you. He's the assistant coach. Just come to practice every day thirty minutes early."

Joey brightened up. "Really?! Thank you so much! I will."

From then on, before practice each day, Mr. Johnson, Daniel's father, would play catch with Joey, giving him all kinds of tips. When practice started, Mr. Johnson would also yell things for Joey to do when he was trying to hit the ball with the bat.

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