Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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22 THE VOTAGEUR 0 SHORT STORY Q A Foul Trick by ALLAN LESLIE THE SKEETERS had been at their spring training camp for more than a week and were rapidly rounding into form. The players were struggling through some limberingfup exercises when Rookie Zeke Duffy arrived. Manager Sam Williams was administering a biting tongueflashing to Brickyard Hogan, who was performing in too lackadaisical a manner, when someone exclaimed, Look! Coming across the diamond was the most disreputf abledlooking youth. His clothes were dusty, his straw hat battered, and his pants were flying at halffmast. He was a tall gangling kid and he walked with enormous strides. He strode up to Williams and after gaping at him for several minutes asked, Is yo' the boss of this hyar ball team? Yeh, what dly' want? - I'm supposed to play fo' yo'. Ma name's Zeke Duffy and ah hails from Centreville which is up in the mountingsf' After Williams had recovered from the shock he began to see the light. He remembered that last fall one of the scouts had recommended to him a Kentucky hillebilly, claiming he could knock a baseball into the next state. U.K., go and get a uniform from Mike. That's Mike over by the dug' out. Yes sahf' Batting practice came next. Williams buckled on the chestfprotector and shin guards. He wanted to catch so he could look over the batters and see how his hurlers were shaping up. Bill Richardson, veteran hurler went out on the mound. Bill was throwing a few warmfup pitches to the manager when the hillfbilly appeared again. He looked even funnier in a baseball uniform. On his feet, instead of baseball spikes, were enormous hobfnailed boots Why didn't you give him a pair of spikes?'i asked Sam. I'll bet anybody ten bucks there isn't a pair of spikes in Florida that will fit that guy, replied Mike. Sam turned to the rookie. What side do you swing from kid? Zeke looked at him blankly. Swing? Why the only time I swing is when ah've had too much corn lickerf' Sam almost keeled over at this remark. I mean which way do you bat, right or left? Oh! Right,eAh thinks. You can't think, but come on and we'll see what you can dof' Williams took his place behind the plate and Zeke ambled up to the batterls box. Sam signalled to the grinning pitcher for an outfcurve. Richardson wound up and let go. Crack! and the ball soared over the leftffield bleachers but was foul

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THE VOTAGEUR 7 J by about ten feet. My gosh! that was some clout, thought the manager. Maybe I've made a find after all. Zeke proceeded to hit fifteen fouls in a row and the part that hurt was that they were all long clouts. After this exhibition of fouling Williams became disgusted and sent Zeke out to play first. joe Moore was taking his turn at the plate and he evidently thought the man from the hills would look good fielding a hot one for he laid a nice one down the Hrst base line. Zeke went after it, tripped over his own feet, and then fell on top of the ball. Zeke was immediately sent to right field. It wasn't long till a high fly came out to him, and he went galloping after it. He stretched out his arms to pick it off but the ball tore through his hands and hit him on the head. Williams kept Zeke around all training season and he still hit nothing but fouls and his fielding failed to improve. Williams didn't know himself why he kept himg but he amused the players and they regarded him as a sort of mascot. When the Skeeters started around the circuit on their first road trip. Zeke was still with the club. They were now in a three game series with the powerful Blue Sox and were badly in need of a win. It was the first of the sixth and the Skeeters led 4f3. However, the Sox were beginning to hit the southpaw slants of L'Lefty Brown and Sam was wishing the threatening clouds would do more than just threaten. The first two Skeet's batters were retired on strikes. A few drops of rain began to fall. The Skeeters were stalling in hope that the rain would conicg but the umpire hurried them up. Brown was up, but Sam thought he had better take him out for a pinch fhitter. He was trying to decide who to use when an idea popped into his head. Zeke, he ordered, get up there and hit. The pitcher let go his first pitch and Zeke slammed it into the bleachers but on the wrong side of the foul pole. As Zeke was hitting his thirteenth foul the storm broke and in ten min- utes the diamond was a small lake. No more baseball could be played that day and as five innings had been played the Skeeters were the winners. It was a foul trick, Williams admitted, but worth it. On Saturday Eve Wlien theres nothing to do We take a heave At flinging woo.