slid past the second-basebag, reaching up over his head to grab it with one hand. The throw coming in from the outfield wasnât even close.
His legs were churning, his knees were pumping high, and his elbows were flailing out in every direction.
Pittsburgh Pirates
âWow!â Sunrise said after the umpire made the safe sign.
I think even she could appreciate the beauty of what we had just witnessed. The Cincinnati fans, of course, werenât nearly as appreciative, and they let loose a chorus of boos. Clemente jumped up and slapped the dirt off his pants. Stargell trotted across the plate for the first run of the game.
Pirates 1, Reds 0.
12
Royalty in Rightfield
AFTER CLEMENTEâS HIT, THE PIRATES WENT DOWN QUIETLY in the third inning. A vendor came around hawking popcorn, and Sunrise bought a bag. We munched on the popcorn while waiting for the Redsâ turn at bat. I put my arm around her shoulder like guys do in the movies. She didnât push it away. All in all, things were going pretty well for a first date.
âHow are you going to talk with Roberto Clemente?â Sunrise asked me. âYou canât interrupt him in the middle of the game, can you?â
I had been asking myself the same question.
âHereâs my plan,â I told her. âIâm guessing the Pirates will be taking a bus back to their hotel after the game. Weâll find the bus outside the ballpark and try to talk to him before he gets on it. If that doesnât work, we can try to go to the hotel.â
âIâll help,â Sunrise said.
The pitcher for the Pirates was Bob Moose. I recognized his name because one year I did a school project about baseball players who had animal names. There were a lot of them: Rabbit Maranville, Rob Deer, Catfish Hunter, Hippo Vaughn, Mule Haas, Steve Trout, Frank âDodoâ Bird. There was a guy named Turkey Tyson whose entire major-league career consisted of one at-bat for the Phillies in 1944. You could look it up.
And Bob Moose, of course.
Anyway, in the bottom half of the third, Moose didnât have his best stuff, and the Reds started a rally. It ended with Bobby Tolan smashing a three-run homer to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
âI feel sorry for that guy,â Sunrise told me as Tolan came around and stepped on home plate.
âYou feel sorry for Bob Moose because he gave up a homer?â I asked.
âNo,â she said, âI feel sorry for the other guy. The guy who hit the ball.â
âTolan? He hit a three-run homer!â I said. âWhy feel sorry for him ?â
âBecause he had to run all the way around the bases,â she explained. âIf you strike out, you get to go back to the dugout and sit down. Itâs not fair.â
I couldnât help but laugh. She couldnât help but punch me in the arm.
Roberto Clemente came to bat again in the fifth inning. This time he hit an easy grounder to shortstop. Even though it was obvious to everyone in the ballpark that he was going to be thrown out, Clementehustled down the line at full speed, as if somebody was chasing him with a knife. It was actually a close play at first.
Thatâs what Flip always tells us: run hard, all the time. You never know when the shortstop might muff the play or the first baseman might drop the ball.
Clemente got two more singles in the game, but it wasnât his hitting that made him stand out from everyone else. It was the work he did in rightfield. He made a few plays that were justâ¦impossible.
Like this one: In the fourth inning, the Reds had a runner at second base with one out. There was a left-handed batter at the plate, and he stroked a screaming liner to right. It was slicing as it streaked toward the rightfield corner.
A few feet away from the wall, he leaped.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Clemente was off with the crack of the bat, sprinting toward the foul line. A few feet away from the wall he leaped, his body fully
His legs were churning, his knees were pumping high, and his elbows were flailing out in every direction.
Pittsburgh Pirates
âWow!â Sunrise said after the umpire made the safe sign.
I think even she could appreciate the beauty of what we had just witnessed. The Cincinnati fans, of course, werenât nearly as appreciative, and they let loose a chorus of boos. Clemente jumped up and slapped the dirt off his pants. Stargell trotted across the plate for the first run of the game.
Pirates 1, Reds 0.
12
Royalty in Rightfield
AFTER CLEMENTEâS HIT, THE PIRATES WENT DOWN QUIETLY in the third inning. A vendor came around hawking popcorn, and Sunrise bought a bag. We munched on the popcorn while waiting for the Redsâ turn at bat. I put my arm around her shoulder like guys do in the movies. She didnât push it away. All in all, things were going pretty well for a first date.
âHow are you going to talk with Roberto Clemente?â Sunrise asked me. âYou canât interrupt him in the middle of the game, can you?â
I had been asking myself the same question.
âHereâs my plan,â I told her. âIâm guessing the Pirates will be taking a bus back to their hotel after the game. Weâll find the bus outside the ballpark and try to talk to him before he gets on it. If that doesnât work, we can try to go to the hotel.â
âIâll help,â Sunrise said.
The pitcher for the Pirates was Bob Moose. I recognized his name because one year I did a school project about baseball players who had animal names. There were a lot of them: Rabbit Maranville, Rob Deer, Catfish Hunter, Hippo Vaughn, Mule Haas, Steve Trout, Frank âDodoâ Bird. There was a guy named Turkey Tyson whose entire major-league career consisted of one at-bat for the Phillies in 1944. You could look it up.
And Bob Moose, of course.
Anyway, in the bottom half of the third, Moose didnât have his best stuff, and the Reds started a rally. It ended with Bobby Tolan smashing a three-run homer to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
âI feel sorry for that guy,â Sunrise told me as Tolan came around and stepped on home plate.
âYou feel sorry for Bob Moose because he gave up a homer?â I asked.
âNo,â she said, âI feel sorry for the other guy. The guy who hit the ball.â
âTolan? He hit a three-run homer!â I said. âWhy feel sorry for him ?â
âBecause he had to run all the way around the bases,â she explained. âIf you strike out, you get to go back to the dugout and sit down. Itâs not fair.â
I couldnât help but laugh. She couldnât help but punch me in the arm.
Roberto Clemente came to bat again in the fifth inning. This time he hit an easy grounder to shortstop. Even though it was obvious to everyone in the ballpark that he was going to be thrown out, Clementehustled down the line at full speed, as if somebody was chasing him with a knife. It was actually a close play at first.
Thatâs what Flip always tells us: run hard, all the time. You never know when the shortstop might muff the play or the first baseman might drop the ball.
Clemente got two more singles in the game, but it wasnât his hitting that made him stand out from everyone else. It was the work he did in rightfield. He made a few plays that were justâ¦impossible.
Like this one: In the fourth inning, the Reds had a runner at second base with one out. There was a left-handed batter at the plate, and he stroked a screaming liner to right. It was slicing as it streaked toward the rightfield corner.
A few feet away from the wall, he leaped.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Clemente was off with the crack of the bat, sprinting toward the foul line. A few feet away from the wall he leaped, his body fully
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