Ray & Me
Chapter One
Wally Pipp and Me
I felt sick. All morning, I felt like I was going to throw up. It must've been something I ate. As much as I love baseball, I really didn't feel like playing today.
"Hey, Stosh, c'mere! I need to talk to you 'bout somethin'."
It was my coach, Flip Valentini. He always calls me Stosh. Most people do. Flip is a really old guy, and he's a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, so I do what he says. I dragged my tired body off the bench and went over to where he was standing near the backstop.
The rest of the team was straggling in to Dunn Field on their bikes. Kids were tying their shoelaces and stretching. The sound of baseballs popping into gloves was starting to echo across the grass. Louisville can get pretty hot by the end of April. It felt like it was already 90 degrees.
"I need to talk to you too, Flip," I said.
The coach put an arm around my shoulder. I supported some of his weight. He's been like a father to me ever since my parents split up.
Flip wasn't always a Hall of Famer. What happened was that I took him ... read full excerpt from: Ray & Me ebook
