Mrs. Fletcher didn’t wait for Mr. Griffin to take Stu out of the game. She took him out herself. Manny learned later that she’d driven him straight to the doctor’s office. There he received a definite diagnosis of a concussion and an order to stay off the field for the next month.
Meanwhile, Mr. Griffin was given permission to assume coaching duties for the remainder of the championship match. He did pretty well at it, too—the Grizzlies won, three runs to two. The score might have looked different if Sean, subbing in for Stu at second, hadn’t hit a double that sent Gary across home plate during the Grizzlies’ last turn at bat.
But everyone agreed that Manny had the play of the game. It happened at the bottom of the sixth. The Sharks needed one run to send the game into extra innings. They had a chance to get that one and more, for although they had two outs, the bases were loaded.
The batter got the count to three and two. On the next pitch, he hit a short-arcing pop fly into foul territory just to the right of the plate. Manny yanked off his mask, dove sideways with his glove outstretched, and nabbed the ball just before it hit the ground.
With that catch, the Grizzlies were crowned the league champs! The players were presented with individual trophies, and Mr. Griffin was handed a large team trophy, which he accepted with a rather embarrassed shrug.
The Griffins and the rest of the parents decided to celebrate the victory by taking the team out for pizza and ice cream. While they were waiting for their food to arrive, Mr. Griffin excused himself to make a phone call. Manny was going to ask who he was talking to when the waiters delivered their pizza. Then all he cared about was getting a slice of the pie!
Manny was digging into his second slice of pepperoni when someone started tapping a glass with a fork. He looked up and almost choked with surprise. It was Coach Flaherty.
“Hello, boys, parents.” He found Mr. Griffin and smiled. “Coach Griffin, thank you for filling in for me, and for calling to let me know you all were here. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to say a few words.”
Manny nudged his father. “Is he going to start screaming again?”
Mr. Griffin smiled and shook his head.
Coach Flaherty cleared his throat. “I’m sure you all can hear me just fine. You know how I’m sure? Because I’m a LOUDMOUTH! Know why I’m a loudmouth? Because I love the game of baseball so much, I just can’t help myself sometimes!”
He grinned broadly and a few of the players snickered.
“I’m also a demanding coach,” he continued. “So demanding, in fact, that I might just have rubbed some of you the wrong way.” He met Manny’s eyes and gave a small nod.
Then he shook his head. “I’ve just learned, too, that I was so caught up in wanting to win the championship that I ignored some very important signs. Those signs pointed to trouble for one of our players. You all know I’m talking about Stu. When he started acting out of character, I should have realized that something was wrong. As his coach, I should have taken the time to find out what that something was.”
Everyone was silent, thinking about what the coach had said. Then Mr. Griffin got to his feet and picked up the team trophy. “Coach Flaherty, on behalf of the Grizzlies, it’s my pleasure to present this championship award to you. I think I speak for all of them when I say, job well done!”
The players broke out into hearty applause that only stopped when Coach Flaherty held up his hands for quiet. “Thank you, everyone, and especially to you, Mr. Griffin, for stepping into my shoes today. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble?”
“Not at all,” Manny’s father said. “In fact, it was fun.”
The coach grinned broadly “Glad to hear it, because I could really use an assistant coach next season. What do you say?”
Manny’s father straightened his glasses and grinned. “It would be my pleasure!”
Manny and his parents returned home that night full of pizza and ice cream. Up in his room, Manny tucked his trophy onto his bookshelf. He was changing into his sleep shirt and shorts when he heard the phone ring. His mother called up that it was for him.
“It’s Stu,” she said, handing him the receiver.
“Hey, Manny,” Stu said.
“Hey back at you! How are you—oh, never mind. I already know what you’re going to say. ‘I’m fine,’ right?”
Stu chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like me. But guess what? Turns out I’m not fine after all. But you knew that, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Manny said quietly. “Listen, Stu, I’m sorry I ratted on you.”
“No, I’m sorry I made you make that stupid promise. I’m sorry I went all berserk on you, too.”
Manny smiled. “Yeah, it was like you were out of your head or something!”
“Very funny.” Manny could hear the laughter in Stu’s voice. “As it turns out, that’s exactly what was happening. The doctor said irritability is sometimes a side effect of a concussion.”
Neither of them said anything for a moment. Then Manny asked, “So, are we cool?”
“Cool? We’re better than cool. We’re teammates, man, champions! Oh, that reminds me: Sign up for summer baseball, okay? I may be out at second for now, but come July, I’ll be back in action!”
Manny laughed. “I’ll be there! You can count on me.”
“Yeah,” Stu said. “I know. See you tomorrow, Manny.”
Manny hung up the phone. Then he grabbed his notebook of scorecards and hurried downstairs. “Hey, Coach, you got a minute for your favorite player or what?”