JEFFREY FOXX WORE A LIGHT blue suit with a pink bow tie and a mean smile. Jalen squirmed under the GM’s frown. He blinked in the sunshine. The smack of a baseball being knocked out of the park echoed off the stands. Batting practice was in full swing.
“I know you’re an old pro.” Foxx stood blocking their path. “And this place is like your second home, but toting this kid all around like a lunch pail is a little much, don’t you think?”
“Well, you know what they say, ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff.’ ” JY spoke in a lighthearted manner. “Especially when there are real issues to deal with. Like, where’s my new contract, Jeffrey?”
“You fell apart in Cleveland, JY,” Foxx said. “I’m surprised you’d bring up a new contract after that.”
“Only because we had a deal,” JY said. “And batting .180 isn’t really falling apart, is it?”
“It doesn’t merit a multimillion-dollar contract extension.” The GM seemed to think that was funny. “But we’re working on it.”
“You’re going to look mighty silly tonight, not getting my extension signed before I go four for four against McCullers,” JY said.
Foxx raised his eyebrows and angled his head at Jalen. “That would be because of the lucky calamari, I suppose?”
“Lucky calamari, baseball genius, call it what you like,” said JY. “Excuse us. I’m up. Come on, Jalen.”
Jalen followed JY out of the dugout, past a surprised-looking Jeffrey Foxx.
“Am I allowed?” Jalen whispered, hustling to keep up.
JY chuckled. “Sure. You heard him. This place is my home.”
Jalen removed his sunglasses from the brim of his hat and put them on as he followed JY out onto the field. They circled the big net cage that had been wheeled out to keep foul balls from zinging anyone. The third-base coach stood in front of the mound with a basket of baseballs. He threw a final pitch to Brett Gardner, who rocked it into the second deck in right field before making way for JY. The two players fist-bumped as they passed each other. Jalen let his fingers hang on the net and poked his nose through a hole to watch JY bat. JY’s swing reminded Jalen of when his father filleted a fish, one smooth effortless motion that most people could never do. He enjoyed the sunshine, the sound of the batted balls, and the slight warm breeze. Happy not to see the GM, he relaxed even more.
When JY finished, they headed back into the clubhouse, where Jalen watched YouTube clips of McCullers pitching while an episode of Law & Order played on the lounge TV. JY disappeared into the training room for some treatment on his bad ankle. Jalen texted back and forth with Cat as he watched, so he knew they weren’t far from the stadium. The thrill of being inside the players’ clubhouse was no less than it had been his first time inside the previous week. It seemed dreamlike to look up and see the ballplayers he was used to watching on TV walking past him, or playing a game on their phones, or having snacks at one of the tables. The players laughed and joked with one another like kids at a sleepover party.
When Chase Headley walked by in a pair of gym shorts, he bumped fists with Jalen. “Hey, Calamari Kid. Give me some of that good luck, will ya?”
Headley gave Jalen’s head a rub, and they both laughed.
JY finally returned, and Jalen looked up from his phone. “Victoria says they’re crossing the street, so we can head up. We set on the signals?”
“Same as last time,” Jalen said. “Four fingers for the fastball. Changeup is two thumbs up.”
“Let’s go with a C for the curve,” JY said, making a C with his hand.
“And when a reliever comes in, the sinker is a thumbs-down and the slider is this.” JY made a throat-cutting motion. “Splitter is a peace sign. Cutter is a pair of scissors.”
“We’re good.” Jalen made a peace sign and some pretend scissors with his fingers before JY gave him a thumbs-up.
“Make sure you’re subtle with these signals, okay?” JY scratched his jaw. “I don’t want people catching on to this. We gotta keep the signals down low, and we’re not going to be able to have a conversation during the game.”
“Okay. Got it.”
“And one more thing,” JY said. “You know how sometimes it takes you a few pitches before you know what’s going on?”
“Yeah,” Jalen said.
“Well, if you ever don’t know, don’t fake it, okay?” JY scowled and shook his head. “Don’t ever guess.”
“I won’t.”
“Because that would ruin everything if I can’t trust you,” JY said.
“Okay.”
Jalen followed JY out of the locker room and up the stairs toward the VIP lounge. They found Cat, her mom, and Daniel waiting in the hallway. Cat’s mom gave JY a kiss on the cheek. Cat frowned and looked away, and Jalen couldn’t help wondering about JY and Cat’s mom. He’d keep his mouth shut, though, because it was a sore subject between him and Cat.
“Okay, buddy.” JY turned to Jalen and slapped a high five. “We got this.”
JY disappeared. Cat’s mom led them all through the VIP lounge and out into the stands, where the Astros were finishing up their own batting practice. The only thing between their seats and home plate was a low padded concrete wall. If he stood up and looked sideways, Jalen could see over Daniel and the four older men sitting next to them and right into the Yankees dugout. He put on his sunglasses and took his seat.
The on-deck circle was just the other side of the wall. Jalen knew that JY had gotten the tickets from the owner’s private stock. He assumed the four men next to them were friends of the owner’s, and he wondered where Mr. Brenneck stood on the issue of JY’s contract extension. His only comment in the media was that the team was working on it.
It was a perfect evening for baseball, warm without being hot, with a breeze that tickled Jalen’s skin and was just this side of being windy. Daniel filled out an order card for food, knowing from their prior visits that sitting in these VIP seats you could get anything you wanted for no extra charge.
“How about a burger and a smoothie?” Daniel asked.
Jalen shrugged. He wasn’t hungry.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Daniel said. “I can eat two if you change your mind.”
The Astros retired before both teams reappeared to take the field for the national anthem. After the music, JY gave his friends a smile and a wave before jogging out to second base. CC took the mound and threw his eight warm-up pitches before the first Astros batter stepped up. CC gave up one double but held the Astros scoreless. JY was sixth in the batting order, so Jalen concentrated hard on the Astros pitcher, wanting to zero in on what he was doing. It could take Jalen anywhere from a couple of pitches to a couple dozen before he began to know what that next pitch was going to be. He had no idea why it sometimes happened faster or slower.
After a Reuben Hall single, McCullers put the next two batters down with a steady mix of fastballs and those devastating curves. By the time Tollerson struck out on a 3–2 count to end the inning, Jalen had McCullers pegged.
“I recognize that look.” Cat studied Jalen’s face. “You got this, right?”
“I do,” Jalen said.
Cat’s mom and Daniel had both been listening for his answer, and they nodded their approval.
JY emerged from the dugout. Before heading for second base, he gave Jalen a silent, questioning look. Jalen rewarded him with a grin and an okay signal. JY’s face lit up with the knowledge that he’d know McCullers’s pitches when he got up in the next inning.
The top of the second dragged. CC got himself into some trouble but pulled out of it with a relentless succession of sinkers that rivaled the action of his opponent. Headley was up for the Yankees. JY took the on-deck circle to swing his bat, and once he even winked at Cat’s mom.
Jalen focused on McCullers. He remembered the fist bump Headley had given him in the locker room and wished he could help the third baseman out of the 1–2 tight spot he found himself in. Jalen knew the next pitch would be a low inside fastball, but there was nothing he could do about it. When it came, Headley swung and missed. The crowd’s groan turned to cheering as JY marched toward the plate. Jalen glanced around and saw several people looking or even pointing his way. There weren’t many Yankees fans who hadn’t heard the story about the lucky Calamari Kid.
Cat nudged his ribs with an elbow. “JY’s looking at you.”
“Right. Sorry.” Jalen shifted his focus to McCullers. He wanted to read his body language, and it told him clear as day that JY was going to see a nasty curveball out of the gate.
Jalen made a C with his hand, but the instant before he could raise it above the concrete wall for JY to see, a shadow fell across him.
Jalen blinked in confusion and realized that some enormous person had stepped out of the dugout to stand right in front of him, blocking his view of the batter.
“Hey!” The sound escaped Jalen at the same moment that he realized the man was a police officer.
As McCullers went into his windup, Jalen recognized the officer as the same one who’d taken him to Jeffrey Foxx’s office. He also knew as certain as he knew the next pitch that the officer being there was no coincidence.
The giant cop Foxx had called Jimmy was intentionally blocking Jalen’s signals.