The Little League Team from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures) Read online

  THE

  LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM

  FROM THE

  BLACK LAGOON

  Get more monster-sized laughs from

  The Black Lagoon

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  #2: The Talent Show from the Black Lagoon

  #3: The Class Election from the Black Lagoon

  #4: The Science Fair from the Black Lagoon

  #5: The Halloween Party from the Black Lagoon

  #6: The Field Day from the Black Lagoon

  #7: The School Carnival from the Black Lagoon

  #8: Valentine’s Day from the Black Lagoon

  #9: The Christmas Party from the Black Lagoon

  #10: The Little League Team from the Black Lagoon

  #11: The Snow Day from the Black Lagoon

  #12: April Fools’ Day from the Black Lagoon

  #13: Back-to-School Fright from the Black Lagoon

  #14: The New Year’s Eve Sleepover from the Black Lagoon

  #15: The Spring Dance from the Black Lagoon

  #16: The Thanksgiving Day from the Black Lagoon

  #17: The Summer Vacation from the Black Lagoon

  #18: The Author Visit from the Black Lagoon

  #19: St. Patrick’s Day from the Black Lagoon

  #20: The School Play from the Black Lagoon

  #21: The 100

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  Day of School from the Black Lagoon

  #22: The Class Picture Day from the Black Lagoon

  #23: Earth Day from the Black Lagoon

  #24: The Summer Camp from the Black Lagoon

  #25: Friday the 13

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  from the Black Lagoon

  by Mike Thaler

  Illustrated by Jared Lee

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

  THE

  LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM

  FROM THE

  BLACK LAGOON

  To Yonatan,

  Who loves baseball—M.T.

  To the good guys,

  Rick, Doug, Brian and Larry—J.L.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

  Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,

  downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into

  any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means,

  whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without

  the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding

  permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557

  Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  e-ISBN: 978-0-545-37553-5

  Text copyright © 2007 by Mike Thaler.

  Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.

  SCHOLASTIC, Little Apple, and associated logos are trademarks and / or

  registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, May 2007

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Take Me Out to the Ball Game . . . 6

  Chapter 2: Hand in Glove . . . . . . . . . . 13

  Chapter 3: Catch a Falling Star . . . . . . . . 17

  Chapter 4: Got Ya Covered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

  Chapter 5: Class of the Field . . . . . . . . 26

  Chapter 6: Recessive Genes . . . . . . . . 34

  Chapter 7: Going Batty . . . . . . . . . . . 41

  Chapter 8: Hits, Runs, and Terrors . . . . . . . 45

  Chapter 9: Diamonds Are a Boy’s Best Friend 49

  Chapter 10: A Rose by Any Other Name . . . . 56

  Chapter 11: The Rest Is History . . . . . . . 59

  CHAPTER 1

  Take Me Out to

  the Ball Game

  It’s baseball season. The sky

  is filled with little white balls, and

  the air with the swing of bats. All

  of my friends are pulling out their

  baseball gloves and pounding

  the pockets. I look for my mitt.

  It’s not under my dresser. It’s

  not under my bed. It’s not in the

  refrigerator.

  I finally find it in the corner of

  the garage. It’s as stiff as a board.

  It’s so old—it’s prehistoric! It’s a

  fossil. I feel like an archaeologist

  finding a dinosaur bone. I’d be

  6

  7

  better off using a paper plate

  or a pillow. But I put lots of oil

  on it and try to fold it around a

  ball. No way, it doesn’t budge.

  Little League tryouts are this

  Saturday. Freddy’s got it made.

  He’s the only one who wants to

  be catcher. Eric’s got it easy . . .

  his dad’s the coach. Derek’s a

  slugger —he hit the only home

  run last year. Penny and Doris

  will make the team because

  they’re girls. And Randy just

  wants to keep score and figure

  out everybody’s statistics.

  Last year, my batting average

  was zero. I walked twice, got hit

  by a pitch, and struck out ten

  times.

  8

  9

  The only reason I played at

  all was they needed someone to

  stand in right field. They hoped

  no one would hit the ball out

  there. I hoped no one would,

  too.

  You’re out there all by yourself.

  You can hardly see the game. It

  gets lonely.

  10

  Then you hear the crack of the

  bat, and a little white missile sails

  out toward you. It’s like a meteor

  falling from the sky. If you don’t

  catch it, your team will lose the

  game.

  You’re out there all alone.

  Do you run in? Do you run

  back? Do you run to the

  left - do you run to the right?

  11

  You look up and are staring

  right into the sun. You can’t see

  the ball at all. Then, all of a

  sudden, it drops on your head.

  The only one who is out . . . is

  you. When you wake up, you

  are surrounded by the team that

  lost . . . your team. They’re glad

  you’re okay so they can tell you,

  “You lost the game.”

  12

  CHAPTER 2

  Hand in Glove

  This year I’m ready. I’ve been

  practicing. I play catch with

  Tailspin. I practice batting with a

  broom. I’ll be able to sweep the

  bases, but I need a new mitt. Rigor

  mortis has set in my old one.

  13

  I ask Mom. I plead. I beg. She

  says okay, but I have to cut the

  lawn all year to pay for it. I say

  okay. I’m desperate.

  We get in the van and drive to

  Sports World. They have all sorts

  of gloves lined up in a leather

  parade.

  There are all kinds. Ones with

  one finger, ones with two fingers,

  ones with three fingers. I want

 
; one with five fingers. I need all

  the help I can get!

  14

  If the store had one with ten

  fingers, I’d get it. The bigger—

  the better. But they’re all about

  the size of an apple pie. Some are

  signed by famous players. Others

  are just signed by a guy named

  Wilson. Never heard of him.

  We finally find one that fits my

  hand and mom’s pocketbook. I

  now have a new glove. It’s like

  coming home with a new pet.

  It even smells like an animal.

  15

  The first thing I do is oil it

  and wrap it around a ball.

  Then I set it on my dresser

  overnight. We’re going to be

  great friends. We’re going to

  do great things. We’re going

  to work together hand in glove.

  I fall asleep dreaming about my

  new baseball career.

  16

  CHAPTER 3

  Catch a Falling Star

  It’s the 9

  th

  inning. I’m

  standing in right field in a big

  ballpark. I hear the crack of

  the bat. I look up into the sky.

  No sun - it’s a night game. The

  sky is full of stars---thousands

  of stars. Suddenly, one begins

  to fall. I have to catch it or

  we’ll lose the game. It’s falling

  fast. But a star has a long way

  to fall.

  17

  Should I run forward? Should

  I run back? It looks like it’s going

  to fall outside of the stadium. I

  run into the street. It’s falling

  out of town. I run down the road.

  It’s going to fall in the ocean.

  I get into a boat and row after

  it. But I can’t row fast enough.

  The star splashes down in the

  water. Eight sharks in baseball

  caps surround my boat and

  shout out, “You lost the game!”

  18

  19

  I wake up. My new mitt is still

  on the dresser. I inhale its aroma

  for reassurance . . . cowlogne . . .

  I’m ready. This season things are

  going to be different.

  20

  CHAPTER 4

  Got Ya Covered

  I wear my mitt to breakfast.

  I’ve named it Grabber. It’s a little

  hard to butter my toast, but I’m

  not taking it off. We’re going to

  become one. We’ll think as one,

  we’ll move as one, we’ll be one.

  21

  While I’m waiting for the

  school bus, I hit the pocket.

  No ball will escape my grasp.

  Grabber will grab anything that

  comes near us. Nothing will

  escape. I hold my schoolbooks

  in my mitt.

  22

  When I get on the bus, T-Rex

  says, “Got a new mitt there,

  Hubie?”

  “Its name is Wilson,” I answer,

  “but I call it Grabber.”

  “Cool,” says T-Rex, closing the

  door.

  “Hey, you got a new mitt,”

  exclaims Derek. “Let me try it on.”

  “No way,” I say. “My hand

  will be the only one it will ever

  know.”

  “Welll!” declares Derek. “Fussy,

  fussy.”

  “Tryouts are tomorrow,” states

  23

  Eric. “My dad says to be there at

  10 a.m. . . . sharp. He says this

  year we’re going to do better.”

  “That won’t be hard,” snickers

  Randy, “0-and-12 is not a tough

  record to beat.”

  “Let’s hope that the other team

  won’t show up to a game—so

  we’ll have at least one win,” says

  Penny.

  24

  “That’s not positive thinking,”

  replies Eric.

  “It’s positively the truth,”

  snorts Doris.

  Why do girls always

  stick together? I just sit in the

  back and pound Grabber’s

  pocket all the way to school.

  25

  CHAPTER 5

  Class of the Field

  “What happened to your

  hand?” asks Mrs. Green.

  “He has baseball fever,” says

  Freddy. “Your hand swells and

  you see stars.”

  “Can you hold a book?” asks

  Mrs. Green.

  “Grabber can hold anything,” I

  answer.

  “Grabber!” chuckles Derek.

  “Well, open to page 32,” directs

  Mrs. Green. “Who was George

  Washington?”

  I raise my hand with Grabber

  on it.

  26

  27

  “Hubie,” says Mrs. Green. “I

  see your hand is up.”

  “George Washington played 2

  nd

  base for the Cleveland Indians.”

  “No way,” says Randy. “George

  Washington played 3

  rd

  base for

  the Boston Red Sox.”

  28

  “Baseball fever,” comments

  Penny with a knowing nod.

  “All right,” says Mrs. Green.

  “Who invented baseball?”

  I wave my glove.

  29

  “Yes, Hubie,” sighs Mrs.

  Green.

  “Abner Doubleplay,” I answer.

  “Abner Doubleday,” corrects

  Eric.

  “I like Abner Doubleplay

  better,” I say.

  30

  “Well, my dad took me to

  Cooperstown and we spent a

  whole day in the Baseball Hall

  of Fame, and it’s Doubleday,”

  asserts Eric.

  “Now, now,” says Mrs.

  Green. “Who would like to tell

  us the history of baseball?”

  31

  My glove shoots up again.

  “Hubie,” groans Mrs. Green.

  “Well, Abner Doubleplay

  invented baseball at the dinner

  table. He was at home sitting in

  front of a plate. They were having

  chicken, and his wife was mixing

  up the batter to throw it in. There

  was also a pitcher of milk on the

  table.

  A fly flew on the table. Abner

  tried to hit the fly, but instead hit

  a ball of mashed potatoes which

  shot up into the air and landed on

  the chicken.

  32

  ‘It’s a fowl ball,’ declared

  Abner...and baseball was born.”

  All the kids sat there with their

  mouths open.

  “Well,” said Mrs. Green. “It’s

  time for recess.”

  33

  34

  CHAPTER 6

  Recessive Genes

  “Let’s play ball,” I yell. I’m

  totally pumped.

  “All right,” says Eric, “I’ll be

  captain and choose the teams.”

  “Why are you captain?” asks

  Penny.

  “’Cause my dad’s the coach,”

  says Eric, folding his arms.

  “Well, I want to be a captain,

  too,” says Penny.

  “Okay, o
kay, you can be a

  captain, too. Let’s choose teams.”

  35

  “I go first,” declares Penny.

  “Why do you go first?” asks

  Eric.

  “’Cause I’m a girl,” says

  Penny.

  “Oh,” says Eric.

  36

  “I choose Doris,” says Penny.

  “I choose Derek,” says Eric.

  “I choose Randy,” says Penny.

  “I choose Freddy,” says Eric.

  “Who’s left?” asks Penny. I

  wave my mitt. “Okay, I choose

  Hubie.”

  37

  “Ha,” snickered Eric. “I have

  all the good players.”

  “We’ll just see,” says Penny.

  “We’re up first.”

  “Because you’re a girl?” asks

  Eric.

  “Right,” says Penny, grabbing

  the bat.

  38

  Eric pitches the first ball high

  in the air. Penny swings and spins

  around.

  “Strike one,” grins Eric.

  Penny brushes the hair out of

  her eyes. Eric rolls the ball on the

  ground. Penny swings.

  “That’s the old eye,”

  taunts Eric. “Strike two.”

  39

  Then Eric winds up and

  pretends to throw the ball —but

  doesn’t. Penny swings.

  “Strike three,” shouts Eric,

  tossing the ball in the air. “You’re

  out!”

  “I get four strikes,” demands

  Penny.

  “Why?” asks Eric.

  “Because she’s a girl,”

  sneers Derek.

  40