Jack and Annie knew exactly what to do. Jack felt like he’d been a batboy all his life. He hung his bag on a hook. Then he and Annie headed for the equipment trunks lined up near the door.
They started with a trunk labeled UNIFORMS. They opened the lid. They pulled out white jerseys with red letters that spelled BRAVES.
Together, they swiftly hung up all the uniforms in a row of lockers. They finished just as the Braves arrived.
All the men laughed and joked with each other as they spilled into the clubhouse. No one spoke to Jack or Annie, though. In fact, no one even looked at them.
Jack and Annie paid no attention to the team, either. Their magic caps helped them know the rules: Batboys never bother the players. They never get in their way.
Next Jack opened an equipment trunk labeled CLEATS & HELMETS. He and Annie pulled out baseball shoes and batting gear.
They used rags to wipe everything off. Then they quickly lined up the shoes on benches.
Jack and Annie hurried to a trunk labeled BATS. Together they pushed the trunk out of the visitors’ clubhouse and toward the ball field.
“Yikes, look at the time!” said Annie. She pointed to a large clock over the scoreboard. “We only have twenty minutes till the game starts.”
“And lots more to do!” said Jack. “Full speed!”
They pushed the trunk over to the visitors’ dugout under the stands. Then, racing against the clock, they flew through the rest of their tasks.
Jack quickly unloaded bats from the trunk. He handed them to Annie. She placed them on the shelves of a bat rack inside the dugout.
They rushed back to the visitors’ clubhouse and unloaded another trunk. They pulled out a first-aid kit, shin guards, a catcher’s mitt and mask, and boxes of chewing gum. They carried all these things to the Braves dugout.
By now, the home team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, had left the field. The visiting Boston Braves had started their warm-up. The noise in the ballpark was deafening. The stands were full.
“Hey, batboys!” a girl yelled.
“Get us an autographed ball!” a boy yelled.
Jack looked up. Kids were shouting at them from the stands.
“An autographed ball!”
“Please! Please!”
“Sorry!” yelled Annie.
Jack shook his head. They both knew the rule: Batboys never do favors for fans.
Jack and Annie hurried back into the clubhouse. They unloaded towels from a trunk. They filled jugs with water from a sink. They packed baseballs into a canvas bag. Then they carried everything to the dugout and put it in all the right places.
“Uniforms, cleats, shin guards, masks…,” said Annie.
“Water, first-aid kit, bats, towels, baseballs, chewing gum,” said Jack. “Anything else?”
“Nope. We did it!” said Annie, looking at the clock. It was 2:25. The game would start in five minutes.
“Good job, boys!” said the clubhouse manager as he passed by.
“Thanks,” said Annie.
Jack and Annie quickly took their seats on the bench in the dugout. The Boston Braves players sat near them, looking tense. Some scowled and folded their arms. Others chewed gum or tapped their feet.
A voice came over the loudspeaker: “Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the national anthem.”
The crowd stood. The players stepped out of the dugout and placed their baseball caps over their hearts.
Oh, no! thought Jack. He and Annie couldn’t take their caps off! If they did, everyone would see them as young kids—and see Annie as a girl!
Annie took Jack’s arm. She pulled him back into a shadowy area inside the dugout. There, they placed only their hands over their hearts. Jack desperately hoped none of the players would turn around and notice them.
A man sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a deep, rich voice.
O say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight’s last gleaming…
Jack nervously kept his eyes on the flag flapping in the breeze. Hurry, hurry, he thought.
Finally the singer sang the last lines:
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?
The national anthem was over. The players all put their caps back on.
“Play ball!” roared an umpire at home plate.
“Whew,” Jack said to Annie, and they stepped out from the dugout.
Noise filled the park—fans cheering, horns honking, bells clanging.
“See ya!” said Annie.
“Yep!” said Jack.
They both knew exactly what to do.
Annie was in charge of bats. She ran to the batting circle. She knelt on the ground, ready to pick up the bats the players dropped at home plate.
Jack was in charge of baseballs. He hauled the canvas bag over to a stool near the edge of the diamond. He sat down.
A strong breeze gusted over Ebbets Field. Jack pulled his cap down firmly on his head. Then he leaned forward to watch the game. His heart was racing.
Now the hard part begins, he thought.