A Topps League Story #4: The 823rd Hit

A Topps League Story #4: The 823rd Hit — page 3 — I decided it was time to play my best card Dylan’s parents are letting him work on the weekends Dad sighed You can work on the weekends until the Porcupines are done he finally agreed But only under two conditions I felt a mixture of hope and dread What two conditions First once school starts you have to do all of your homework before you go to the ballpark Of course I wasn’t worried We didn’t get that much homework at the beginning of the year Second if you try to argue your way into working on a school night the whole deal is off Dad was smart I had been hoping to wheedle my way into working one school night He saw this coming a mile off OK I said It’s a deal I accept the two conditions I won’t even ask to work on a school night No matter what Dad said I’m serious Chad No matter what I said The Porcupines were going to be in the Prairie League playoffs for sure Each of the top four teams earned a spot in the playoffs Even if the Porcupines lost the rest of their games they’d be in at least fourth place The Porcupines had never been in the playoffs since I could remember Now that they were headed there I would get to see the playoffs and watch them from the dugout I loved my job A few days later I took a closer look at the playoff schedule

A Topps League Story #4: The 823rd Hit — page 4 — What I read made me groan In playoff tournaments there’s a thing called seeding The seeding determines who plays who when and where When there are four teams the best-ranked team plays the last-ranked team and the second-best ranked team plays the second-to-last ranked team The Porcupines were probably going to finish in either first or second place The top two teams would have home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs which would be a five-game series That was great news for the Porcupines but bad news for me The playoffs would be starting on a Wednesday night That meant the Porcupines would play their home games on school nights and then be out of town for the weekend So the only way I could work a game during the playoffs would be if the Porcupines lost a bunch of games now and sank into third or fourth place Then they would start the series on the road and play at home over the weekend That would also give me a chance to see the Porcupines win the first series They could win one of the first two away games then come home to win the next two I could be there for the celebration That would be awesome beyond belief I clenched my teeth There was only one way for things to work out my way and it meant betraying my favorite team I felt sick to my stomach doing it I was the biggest Pines fan in Pine City As a batboy I was part of the team That made it twice as wrong to root against the Porcupines But I couldn’t help it I cheered to myself when the Pines went on the road and lost

A Topps League Story #4: The 823rd Hit — page 5 — five out of six games including three in a row to the Swedenberg Swatters Then the Rosedale Rogues came to Pine City I started to worry when the Porcupines came home and won three straight games against the Centralville Cougars In the dugout I was all smiles and high fives and Way to go and First place here we come I was glad the Pines were playing well But I had my heart set on being there for some of the playoff games Now it looked like the Porcupines were headed for second place I was miserable I would miss the playoff games Even worse I had betrayed my favorite team for nothing

A Topps League Story #4: The 823rd Hit — page 6 — t was my turn to help the opposing team I walked into the visitors locker room and one of the Rogues asked me to relace his shoes I was hunched over in the corner and the players forgot I was there Glad this is the last series in this crummy stadium one of the Rogues said agreed It’s the sorriest sight in the Prairie League another player I don’t like the showers here said a third player The water’s not hot enough and there’s no pressure

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