Stealing Home
Chapter One
Joey Gallagher bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. He
pounded his mitt with his right fist and stared in toward home plate
from deep center field, ready to catch the ball that came his way.
Nicky Canelo, the Marlins pitcher, reared back and fired the ball so
hard that he went airborne for a second. The Oriole batter, with his
bright-orange helmet, swung a second too late. The ball smacked into
the catcher's mitt, sending up a cloud of powdery dust. The batter
fell to his knees in a twisted, frustrated heap.
"Stee-rike two!" the umpire yelled. Parents clapped and yelled on
both sides of the field. Joey bounced up and down on the balls of
his feet some more and looked around him. In left field, Huey
Brewster had his glove hand on his hip. Ellis Suggs, in right, was
digging a hole in the outfield grass with his cleats. "What is he
doing, looking for worms?" Joey asked himself disgustedly.
Neither of the other two outfielders looked prepared. And why should
they be? None of the Orioles was going to hit Nicky Canelo's
fastball. Nobody ever did. Still, it was important ... read full excerpt from Stealing Home ebook
