All-Star Fever Read Online Free Page A

okay?”
    “Okay!” said Bus. He stuffed the note into his pocket and sped away. “Thanks again!” he called over his shoulder.
    It wasn’t until he saw the baseball diamond up ahead that something strange occurred to him.
    I never told that man my name. I wonder how he knew what it was?
But he brushed the thought aside just as quickly as it had come to him. To his dismay, the Mudders were already running in
     from their warm-up in the field. If he was going to explain things to Coach Parker in time, he had to hurry!

10

    Coach Parker read the note Bus handed him, then looked up.
    “You sure you didn’t get hurt in that fall, Bus? You know I can’t play you if you’re injured,” the coach said.
    Bus told him he felt fine. “I was wearing my helmet,” he added.
    The coach nodded his approval. “That’s good, but it doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t make it here in time for the warm-up.
     Bus, I’ve already put Jack Livingston in theroster as shortstop. You’ll have to sit out the first inning or two.”
    Bus’s heart sank. No way he’d make the All-Star team now. Who would pick someone who was riding the pines, especially if that
     someone had made stupid mistakes in each of the past few games?
    Then suddenly the coach’s advice from the first game rang in his head.
    “A good attitude is as important as a good play. Don’t dwell on something you can’t change — just try harder the next time.”
    Bus straightened up. The coach was right. Each game, each turn at bat, each ball hit your way was another chance to play the
     best ball you could. But to do that you had to
learn
from your past mistakes, not
worry
about them. Somehow, Bus had forgotten that. But he’d remembered it now.
    The Mudders were on the field first, with Sparrow on the mound. His first pitches tothe Stockade Bulls were sizzlers — two batters went down swinging. The third batter blasted a hot grounder to shortstop. Bus
     held his breath as Jack Livingston caught it on a high hop. But his throw to first was wild! The runner made it safely to
     first.
    “C’mon, Jack, shake it off, shake it off!” Bus yelled along with the rest of the bench. Jack did. He made a beautiful play,
     covering second base when Nicky stepped off to field a ground ball hit between first and second.
    The Mudders took their turn at bat, but by the end of the first inning the score still read Mudders 0, Bulls 0.
    The second inning saw no change in the Bulls’ score. But thanks to a single from Sparrow Fisher followed by a line drive from
     Barry McGee, the Mudders crossed home plate. Mudders 1, Bulls 0.
    Bus was cheering for Turtleneck Jones when he heard Coach Parker call his name.
    “Bus, grab a glove and warm up with Rudy. Jack, you’ve played a good couple of innings, but now it’s Bus’s turn.”
    Bus wasted no time. He and Rudy played catch for about ten minutes, watching first José, then T.V. get out at first. The inning
     ended when Nicky hit a pop fly that the pitcher caught.
    Bus ran out onto the field, determined to make every play count. And he did just that.
    His throws hit their mark every time. He remembered to “keep his tailgate down,” as Coach Parker would say, when fielding
     grounders. He covered second and third base when Nicky and T.V. needed backup support. He even managed to make a double play
     by catching a line drive and throwing the runner out before he could get back to first.
    And at bat, he concentrated on each pitch as never before. He was rewarded with two singles, plus a double that scored AlfieMaples. By the end of the fifth inning, the Mudders had earned five runs. The Bulls had three.
    The Bulls looked ready to change that score at the beginning of the sixth and last inning. The first batter socked a high
     fly ball to deep center field. José Méndez was just able to catch it before it could go sailing for a home run. One out.
    “Okay, Sparrow! One down, two to go!” Bus yelled.
    The second batter