Stu and Sean grabbed their gloves and headed for the infield, while Manny took the bat and moved toward the plate.
He started off with an easy grounder toward shortstop. Sean darted forward, scooped the ball in his glove, and covered it with his bare hand.
“Pretend there’s a runner!” Stu called as he raced toward first base. “Throw it here for the out!”
Sean tried, but he made the rookie mistake of releasing the ball while he was coming out of his pivot. Not surprisingly, the ball soared far off its mark.
“Whoops! Sorry, Stu!” Sean shouted.
“No sweat!” Stu called over his shoulder as he chased the ball into the dugout. “But next time, plant your feet and square off to me before you throw!” He tossed the ball back to Manny, and both infielders returned to their positions.
This time, Manny hit a fungo just to the right of the pitcher’s mound. Stu moved in for the catch and then turned to look for Sean. When he saw Sean still standing in his original spot, he shook his head.
“Okay, if you only learn one thing this afternoon, it’s this: When I move to the ball or to cover first, you have to cover second. If you don’t, the runner from first has a free ticket to the bag. Of course, if you field the ball, then I’ll be on second for the throw. Right?”
Sean nodded his understanding, and they returned to their positions.
Manny tapped a grounder that was supposed to roll midway between second and first. Instead, it headed much closer to first. He was about to call out his apologies, sure that the ball was out of play. But Stu surprised him by dashing forward, snaring the ball from the ground, and pivoting for a throw to second.
Sean had learned his lesson and stood on the bag, waiting with his glove stretched out in front of him. The throw never came, however.
“Hang on!” Stu said. “Sean, don’t reach for the ball until you know where it’s going.”
Sean didn’t seem to understand, so Stu came to his side to explain further. “If you stretch before the ball is thrown, you narrow down the area you can cover. Watch.”
He reached out with his glove as far as he could go and then moved his arm to the right. “This position would be perfect if I knew for sure that the ball was going to hit my glove dead-on. But what if it’s thrown off to the left? Now I have to move way over here.” He swept his arm in an arc to his left.
Sean’s face brightened. “I get it,” he said. “If I hold my glove closer to my body, I can move it to meet the ball directly instead of adjusting after the throw. Is that right?”
“Exactly!” Stu said.
While Stu was explaining the catching principles to Sean, Manny stood to one side, nodding. He felt like a third wheel on a bicycle. He knew a lot about the game. But he was pretty clueless about everything Stu was saying!
When he said as much to the guys, Stu laughed. “I’ll bet you know more than you think you do,” he said. “You just aren’t getting a chance to explain it because I’m doing all the talking!”
Manny and Sean laughed, too. “Guess we’ll never get the benefit of my vast knowledge then,” Manny teased, “since you never shut up!”
Stu continued to do most of the talking as they practiced. Sean soaked up the information like a sponge. Before long, he was making good catches and throws every time and the right decisions on when to move to the bag and when to field the ball.
“How strong is your arm?” Manny asked when they took a water break.
“It’s strong,” Sean replied confidently. “In fact, I’d hoped I’d get to pitch in one of our games. Guess not, though.”
Manny shook his head. “It would have been tough putting you in the pitching rotation since the team already has Howie, Abe, and Domingo.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t show us your stuff,” Stu cut in. He picked up a ball and tossed it to Sean. “Go on, get on the mound so we can see what you’ve got! I’ll hit and, Manny, you can catch.”
Manny hesitated. “I don’t know, Stu. I didn’t bring any of my catcher’s gear.”
“I can try pitching without you catching,” Sean offered.
Stu shook his head. “You need his glove for a target. Come on, Manny. It’s just a few lousy pitches.”
Manny knew that even one lousy pitch could still cause him some pain, but he gave in. “Okay, fine,” he said. “Be careful, though, Sean.”
Sean nodded reassuringly and then headed to the mound. When he was out of earshot, Manny turned to Stu, glowering. “If I take a fastball in the—”
“You won’t,” Stu interrupted, “because I’ll knock every one of his pitches out of the park.” He used his bat to prod Manny to his spot behind the plate.
Sean took a few practice pitches to warm up. To Manny’s relief, each throw hit his mitt’s pocket without him having to move very much.
“I’m ready if you are,” Manny told Stu. He spotted the batting helmet by the bench. “But I see you’re not. Your helmet’s over there.”
Stu rolled his eyes. “Who are you, my mother?” Then he stepped into the batter’s box. “Bring the heat!” he called to Sean.
“Okay,” Sean replied, “but remember: You asked for it!”
Stu hefted the bat over his shoulder. Manny crouched down. Sean reared back to throw. Manny widened his glove to give him a bigger target—and then gave a yelp as a mosquito bit him in the back of his neck!
Stu glanced back at him. “What th—?” he started to say. He never finished.
Sean unleashed a bullet pitch that was high and inside. Thock! The ball struck Stu right in the head! He staggered sideways. Then he dropped like a ton of bricks at Manny’s feet.