One Last Swipe

Mike and Kate rushed closer. Mike took out his phone.

Click! Click! Click! He snapped three pictures of Jane holding the trophy. “Want to hold it up so I can get a picture of that stolen trophy next to your face?” Mike asked.

Jane swung around. “Wh-wh-what are you doing here?” she asked.

Click! Click! Mike snapped a few more pictures.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Jane said. “Please, I can explain everything.”

“You can explain it to Tony,” Kate said. “We have all the evidence we need. We’re going to show these pictures to him now. You want to come along and talk to him?”

Jane’s shoulders slumped. She unzipped the backpack and slipped the trophy in it. “I can talk to Tony, but I’ve got to close the stand first,” she said.

Mike and Kate followed Jane back to the hot dog stand. As she was closing up, a big roar rose from the crowd. Mike ran over to the railing overlooking the field. The Tigers had just won! The players were giving each other high fives and heading back to the dugout.

By the time Jane was finished, most of the fans had left. Mike and Kate led the way to the Tigers’ dugout. On the way, they passed Kate’s dad. He was still sitting in his seat making notes. Kate waved for him to come over. He met them at the edge of the dugout and put away his notebook.

The security guards had shooed away the last of the fans who had been waiting nearby, hoping to get an autograph. The dugout was empty except for discarded paper cups and sunflower seed shells.

Kate walked over to one of the security guards. After she explained that they were there to see Tony, the security guard disappeared into the locker room. A few minutes later, Tony came out. He waved everyone into the dugout.

“Jane, what are you doing here?” Tony said.

Jane looked at the floor of the dugout and scuffed her feet on the concrete. She put the backpack down on the bench.

“We caught her red-handed,” said Kate. She explained how they discovered that the notes were written on paper from Jane’s notebook, and how they left a note for her and then followed her to the trophy.

When Kate was finished, Mike unzipped Jane’s backpack. He dipped his hand in and pulled out the stuffed tiger. He felt the tiger’s belly. Lump, lump, lump, lump, lump. The five baseballs were in there! Mike handed the tiger to Tony.

Tony felt the baseballs in the tiger and then shook his head. “I can’t believe you were behind this, Jane,” he said. “Just like Mike and Kate told me. Are you making extra money selling the autographed stuff?”

“No! I can explain. One of the sick kids at the hospital asked me to get an autograph from you,” Jane said. “It meant a lot to him, but you’re not signing things now. I thought if I held on to your trophy, I could get an autograph for him.”

“But how’d you steal the trophy?” Kate asked.

Jane blushed. “I didn’t exactly steal it,” she said. “Tony left the trophy behind after a meeting. I think he forgot to put it back in his bag. I picked it up and went to look for him, but he had already left. I was just going to give it back to Tony the next time I saw him. But then I figured out I could use it to get autographs for the kids. I guess I got carried away.”

“What did you do with all the stuff that Tony autographed?” Mike asked.

“I gave it to the kids at the hospital,” Jane said. “They’re huge fans of Tony’s. You wouldn’t believe how much it meant to them that he was signing things for them. I know I should have stopped, but I just couldn’t. I figured a few baseballs, shirts, and other stuff wouldn’t mean that much to the Tigers.”

“You should have just come to me,” Tony said.

“But I know the coach won’t let you sign autographs now,” Jane said. “That’s why I had to do it this way. All the kids at the hospital want Tony the Tiger’s autograph. I was just trying to get it for them.”

Tony hung his head for a moment. “You meant well,” he said, looking up. “But taking my trophy and blackmailing me is still wrong, even if you’re doing it for a good reason.”

Jane nodded. “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“What about the trophy?” Tony asked. “I need that back.”

Mike reached into the backpack again. This time he pulled out the shiny gold trophy. It had a baseball player hitting a baseball on top. The black base of the trophy had a big brass plate with writing on it.

“My missing Little League trophy!” Tony said. “That’s great!”

Tony tried to reach for the trophy, but Mike took a step back and read the writing on it. When he was finished, he burst out laughing. “No wonder you didn’t want anyone on the team to see this!” Mike said.

He handed the trophy to Kate. She read the words on the brass plate out loud. “East City Little League MVP—Tony ‘Baloney’ Maloney.”

“Tony Baloney?” Mike asked. “Your nickname was really Tony Baloney?”

Tony sighed. “It was. That trophy’s my good-luck charm,” he said. “But if the guys on the team saw it, they’d start calling me Tony Baloney. That’s why I took the trophy with me to the meeting. My locker was being cleaned, so I wanted to keep it close to me, but then I lost it.”

Tony picked up the trophy. “I loved playing Little League. But I sure didn’t like that nickname.”

Tony bared his teeth and let out a loud ROAR! “Now I’m Tony the Tiger!” he growled.

Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins laughed.

“Thanks to you two, I can be Tony the Tiger once again!” he said. “If you still have the baseball card, Mike, I’d be happy to sign it.”

“Sure! That would be great,” Mike said. He pulled the card out of his pocket and handed it to Tony. Tony found a pen in the back of the dugout and started to sign the baseball card for Mike.

“Wait!” Kate said. “I thought you weren’t supposed to sign things.”

Tony smiled. He held the pen up with his left hand and wiggled it. “I’m not,” he said. “But I’ve been practicing at home, and I’ve learned how to write with my left hand, so there’s no problem now!”

Tony finished signing and handed the card back. Mike read the message out loud: To Mike and Kate, the two fiercest tiger cubs I know!—Tony the Tiger

“Thanks, Tony!” Kate said. “I’m glad we found your trophy.”

“So am I,” Tony said. He turned to Jane. She was slumped on the bench. “I’m going to have to tell your manager about what you did.”

“Please don’t have me fired,” Jane said. “I love working for the Tigers. I know I made a big mistake.”

Tony picked up his trophy and studied it. “As long as I have this back, I guess it’s not a big problem,” he said. “But if you want to put this behind you, you’ll have to do something for me.”

Jane looked up. “I’ll do anything to make this right,” she said.

“Then go buy thirty baseballs and meet me at the front gate tomorrow morning at ten o’clock,” Tony said. “You’re going to take me to visit your friends in the hospital. Now that I can write with my left hand, I’ll be able to sign all the balls they want.”

Jane jumped up. She gave Tony a hug. “Thank you!” she said. “The kids will be thrilled. And I’ll never do anything like this again. I’m going to go get those baseballs. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins followed Tony out of the dugout. Just as Kate left the dugout, an orange and white paw swiped down in front of her. She gasped and tried to jump out of the way. But she wasn’t fast enough. The paw sent Kate’s blue L.A. Dodgers baseball cap flying! It landed upside down on the field.

Kate jumped forward and looked up. It was Tabby, the cat from the ballpark entrance. Kate shook her head and picked up her hat. “I guess I have to be a lot more careful around these tigers,” she said. “They’re fierce!”

“Or maybe you just need to follow me,” Tony said. He walked over to the edge of the dugout and picked up the cat. Tabby nestled snugly in his broad arms while he petted her. “I think Tabby is saying that it’s time for me to buy you both some brand-new Detroit Tigers baseball hats!”