Redheaded Outfield

Zane Grey

Description

Though Zane Grey is best remembered as one of the most renowned writers of Western fiction, he also had an abiding interest in baseball rooted in his own stint as a baseball player for the University of Pennsylvania. Grey wrote a number of tales that take place on or around the baseball field; The Redheaded Outfield and Other Baseball Stories collects the very best of his sports fiction.

Sujets

• Short story

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781775453017
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE REDHEADED OUTFIELD
AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES
* * *
ZANE GREY
 
*

The Redheaded Outfield And Other Baseball Stories First published in 1920 ISBN 978-1-775453-01-7 © 2011 The Floating Press While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
*
The Redheaded Outfield The Rube The Rube's Pennant The Rube's Honeymoon The Rube's Waterloo Breaking into Fast Company The Knocker The Winning Ball False Colors The Manager of Madden's Hill Old Well-Well
The Redheaded Outfield
*
There was Delaney's red-haired trio—Red Gilbat, left fielder; ReddyClammer, right fielder, and Reddie Ray, center fielder, composing themost remarkable outfield ever developed in minor league baseball. Itwas Delaney's pride, as it was also his trouble.
Red Gilbat was nutty—and his batting average was .371. Any student ofbaseball could weigh these two facts against each other and understandsomething of Delaney's trouble. It was not possible to camp on RedGilbat's trail. The man was a jack-o'-lantern, a will-o'-the-wisp, aweird, long-legged, long-armed, red-haired illusive phantom. When thegong rang at the ball grounds there were ten chances to one that Redwould not be present. He had been discovered with small boys peepingthrough knotholes at the vacant left field he was supposed to inhabitduring play.
Of course what Red did off the ball grounds was not so important aswhat he did on. And there was absolutely no telling what under the sunhe might do then except once out of every three times at bat he couldbe counted on to knock the cover off the ball.
Reddy Clammer was a grand-stand player—the kind all managershated—and he was hitting .305. He made circus catches, circus stops,circus throws, circus steals—but particularly circus catches. That isto say, he made easy plays appear difficult. He was always strutting,posing, talking, arguing, quarreling—when he was not engaged in makinga grand-stand play. Reddy Clammer used every possible incident andartifice to bring himself into the limelight.
Reddie Ray had been the intercollegiate champion in the sprints and afamous college ball player. After a few months of professional ball hewas hitting over .400 and leading the league both at bat and on thebases. It was a beautiful and a thrilling sight to see him run. Hewas so quick to start, so marvelously swift, so keen of judgment, thatneither Delaney nor any player could ever tell the hit that he was notgoing to get. That was why Reddie Ray was a whole game in himself.
Delaney's Rochester Stars and the Providence Grays were tied for firstplace. Of the present series each team had won a game. Rivalry hadalways been keen, and as the teams were about to enter the longhomestretch for the pennant there was battle in the New England air.
The September day was perfect. The stands were half full and thebleachers packed with a white-sleeved mass. And the field wasbeautifully level and green. The Grays were practicing and the Starswere on their bench.
"We're up against it," Delaney was saying. "This new umpire, Fuller,hasn't got it in for us. Oh, no, not at all! Believe me, he's arobber. But Scott is pitchin' well. Won his last three games. He'llbother 'em. And the three Reds have broken loose. They're on therampage. They'll burn up this place today."
Somebody noted the absence of Gilbat.
Delaney gave a sudden start. "Why, Gil was here," he said slowly."Lord!—he's about due for a nutty stunt."
Whereupon Delaney sent boys and players scurrying about to find Gilbat,and Delaney went himself to ask the Providence manager to hold back thegong for a few minutes.
Presently somebody brought Delaney a telephone message that Red Gilbatwas playing ball with some boys in a lot four blocks down the street.When at length a couple of players marched up to the bench with Red intow Delaney uttered an immense sigh of relief and then, after a closescrutiny of Red's face, he whispered, "Lock the gates!"
Then the gong rang. The Grays trooped in. The Stars ran out, exceptGilbat, who ambled like a giraffe. The hum of conversation in thegrand stand quickened for a moment with the scraping of chairs, andthen grew quiet. The bleachers sent up the rollicking cry ofexpectancy. The umpire threw out a white ball with his stentorian"Play!" and Blake of the Grays strode to the plate.
Hitting safely, he started the game with a rush. With Dorr up, the Starinfield played for a bunt. Like clockwork Dorr dumped the first ball asBlake got his flying start for second base. Morrissey tore in for theball, got it on the run and snapped it underhand to Healy, beating therunner by an inch. The fast Blake, with a long slide, made third base.The stands stamped. The bleachers howled. White, next man up, batteda high fly to left field. This was a sun field and the hardest to playin the league. Red Gilbat was the only man who ever played it well.He judged the fly, waited under it, took a step hack, then forward, anddeliberately caught the ball in his gloved hand. A throw-in to catchthe runner scoring from third base would have been futile, but it wasnot like Red Gilbat to fail to try. He tossed the ball to O'Brien.And Blake scored amid applause.
"What do you know about that?" ejaculated Delaney, wiping his moistface. "I never before saw our nutty Redhead pull off a play like that."
Some of the players yelled at Red, "This is a two-handed league, youbat!"
The first five players on the list for the Grays were left-handedbatters, and against a right-handed pitcher whose most effective ballfor them was a high fast one over the outer corner they would naturallyhit toward left field. It was no surprise to see Hanley bat askyscraper out to left. Red had to run to get under it. He bracedhimself rather unusually for a fielder. He tried to catch the ball inhis bare right hand and muffed it, Hanley got to second on the playwhile the audience roared. When they got through there was someroaring among the Rochester players. Scott and Captain Healy roared atRed, and Red roared back at them.
"It's all off. Red never did that before," cried Delaney in despair."He's gone clean bughouse now."
Babcock was the next man up and he likewise hit to left. It was a low,twisting ball—half fly, half liner—and a difficult one to field.Gilbat ran with great bounds, and though he might have got two hands onthe ball he did not try, but this time caught it in his right, retiringthe side.
The Stars trotted in, Scott and Healy and Kane, all veterans, lookinglike thunderclouds. Red ambled in the last and he seemed verynonchalant.
"By Gosh, I'd 'a' ketched that one I muffed if I'd had time to changehands," he said with a grin, and he exposed a handful of peanuts. Hehad refused to drop the peanuts to make the catch with two hands. Thatexplained the mystery. It was funny, yet nobody laughed. There wasthat run chalked up against the Stars, and this game had to be won.
"Red, I—I want to take the team home in the lead," said Delaney, andit was plain that he suppressed strong feeling. "You didn't play thegame, you know."
Red appeared mightily ashamed.
"Del, I'll git that run back," he said.
Then he strode to the plate, swinging his wagon-tongue bat. For allhis awkward position in the box he looked what he was—a formidablehitter. He seemed to tower over the pitcher—Red was six feet one—andhe scowled and shook his bat at Wehying and called, "Put one over—youwienerwurst!" Wehying was anything but red-headed, and he wasted somany balls on Red that it looked as if he might pass him. He wouldhave passed him, too, if Red had not stepped over on the fourth balland swung on it. White at second base leaped high for the stinginghit, and failed to reach it. The ball struck and bounded for thefence. When Babcock fielded it in, Red was standing on third base,and the bleachers groaned.
Whereupon Chesty Reddy Clammer proceeded to draw attention to himself,and incidentally delay the game, by assorting the bats as if theaudience and the game might gladly wait years to see him make a choice.
"Git in the game!" yelled Delaney.
"Aw, take my bat, Duke of the Abrubsky!" sarcastically said Dump Kane.When the grouchy Kane offered to lend his bat matters were critical inthe Star camp.
Other retorts followed, which Reddy Clammer deigned not to notice. Atlast he got a bat that suited him—and then, importantly, dramatically,with his cap jauntily riding his red locks, he marched to the plate.
Some wag in the bleachers yelled into the silence, "Oh, Maggie, yourlover has come!"
Not improbably Clammer was thinking first of his presence before themultitude, secondly of his batting average and thirdly of the run to bescored. In this instance he waited and feinted at balls and fouledstrikes at length to work his base. When he got to first base suddenlyhe bolted for second, and in the surprise of the unlooked-for play hemade it by a spread-eagle slide. It was a circus steal.
Delaney snorted. Then the look of profound disgust vanished in a flashof light. His huge face beamed.
Reddie Ray was striding to the plate.
There was something about Reddie Ray that pleased all the senses. Hislithe form seemed instinct with life; any sudden movement wassuggestive of stored lightning. His position at the plate was on theleft side, and he stood perfectly motionless, with just a hint of tensewaiting alertness. Dorr, Blake and Babcock, the outfielders for theGrays, trotted round to the right of their usual position. Delaneysmiled derisively, as if he knew ho