Sugar House (9780991192519) by Jean Scheffler

over his heart when a man walked to the mound and
began to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The song was not sung at
every game, but because this was the last game of the season, it
had been decided that it would be appropriate to finish the year
with the national anthem. Ojciec stood proudly next to Joe with his
hand over his heart. "Joe, will you teach me the words to America's
song?" he asked when the man finished. "I would like to learn my
new country's anthem."
    "Sure Ojciec. I can teach you tonight after
supper. We had to learn all the words at school."
    A Cleveland player walked up to home plate
and the crowd quieted, settling in for the game. A man in a navy
blue uniform walked down the aisle shouting, "Peanuts! Arachidi!
Földimogyoró! Orzeski ziemne!" The vendor was announcing his
product in different languages; English, Hungarian, Italian and
Polish. Ojciec bought a small brown bag of warm peanuts, and they
shared the bag, cracking the shells and throwing them on the
concrete floor. Ojciec left in the second inning to buy a beer and
came back with a Vernors Ginger Ale for Joe.
    "Try it, Joe" he said. "It's made right here
in Detroit." Joe sipped the spicy smelling amber liquid. His tongue
was surprised by the bite of the flavor. As he drank more he began
to enjoy the taste.
    The stadium was not filled to capacity as Joe
had thought. Approximately six thousand fans had come to watch the
final game of the season—many, perhaps, with the free tickets given
away by Mr. Ford. The day was sunny and the air crisp with the
promise of autumn. With no pressure to win the game, the crowd was
relaxed and the players seemed to be having a good time playing for
the fans.
    That is, all the players but Cobb. He played
each inning as if the Tigers were in the World Series. He never let
up; catching each ball that neared him in the outfield and gunning
it back to the shortstop for an out or a double play. Joe watched
Cobb as he sat on the steps of the dugout. Cobb looked over angrily
at the Indians' bullpen, while he sharpened his cleats till they
were like dozens of tiny knives.
    Detroit scored five runs in the first three
innings. Cobb had one run batted in. Covelskie was pitching, and
the Indians could not get a run in. The Tigers looked unstoppable
until the fourth inning. Covelskie threw a few fastballs by the
first batter for the strikeout, but it was downhill from there. The
Indians batted in four runs, and the Tigers were only up by one.
The shortstop caught the final out, and the Tigers were up to bat.
George "Tioga" Burns was up first. Cobb was on deck. Cobb grabbed
three bats and swung over and over again in the batter's circle.
Joe stared at Cobb's arms.
    "He swings three at once so his bat feels
light when he is up," Joe told Ojciec. The boys at school had told
Joe that Cobb was the first player to warm up like that, though
many players now copied his style. Tioga struck out, and Cobb
walked up to the plate. The pitcher seemed nervous as he watched
Cobb swing a couple of practice swings. Cobb gave the pitcher an
evil stare. He choked up on the bat. The pitcher threw two balls
and then Cobb nabbed his first hit of the game, with a ball into
right field. He took first base unchallenged, and Veach was up.
    Cobb stood ten feet out from first base,
taunting the pitcher to throw him out. Turning his back on the
Georgia Peach, the pitcher began his delivery. Before the ball left
the pitcher's hand Cobb was barreling toward second. The pitch was
outside, and the catcher threw to second. Cobb slid into the base
with his cleats in the air. The second baseman took a small step
back to avoid the sharp blades of his spikes. The umpire called,
"Safe!" The crowd stood and applauded. Cobb had just stolen his
ninety-sixth base of the season, beating the 1912 record of
eighty-eight held by Clyde Milan of the Washington Nationals.
    Veach struck out. Harry "Slug'" Heilman hit a
pop fly, leaving Cobb stranded on second to end the inning.