Alive on Opening Day (14 page)

Croft was nodding, trying
to get his breathing under control as the two men walked at a
slower pace. “Well, there’s no need to sound so gloomy about the
whole thing, Dan. It’s not like you’re hanging up your spikes any
time soon. I mean, the American Legion season is just around the
corner, right? And weren’t you going to look into starting college
in the fall?”

Dan thought about the
conversations he and Croft had had that spring in the dugout during
HBM games. The plan had been for Dan to go the high school to pick
up his transcript and start applying to colleges. It was already
late in the season, but he would probably have some luck with the
more local schools, Croft had told him. Somehow, though, between
work and Gabbie and Troy and trying to get back in shape, Dan
hadn’t made it in to the South Pickens offices, and now they were
closed for the summer.

Croft didn’t know about
this.

Worse for Dan, and also
unknown to Croft, was the downturn in Dan’s health. He had gone to
see the endocrinologist as Parks had suggested, and the specialist
found little more than what Parks did — Dan’s endocrine levels were
going haywire, but the doctors did not know why. It seemed each day
brought more fatigue and grogginess, and less motivation to do
anything other than sleep. While the endocrinologist was treating
Dan with hormone therapy, his condition was growing
worse.

His hair growth had also
slowed down again. He hadn’t shaved in four days, but his face was
still smooth … tangible evidence of his decline.

So Dan hadn’t meant to
sound morose or pessimistic, but the truth was, his future looked
pretty uncertain, at least from his vantage point. Still, there was
no reason to bring Croft down, especially when the man had given
him such an incredible experience.

“
Yeah, I guess that’s
right, Coach,” Dan said. “Anyway, I really appreciate your setting
it up for me. I owe you one.”

“
You
think you owe me now,” Croft said, “just wait ‘til you hear what I
have to tell you
next
!”

Dan’s pulse quickened.
What could possibly be better than working out for a real Major
League scout? Maybe Croft was just messing with him, repaying the
bad-mouthing Dan had dished out in jest earlier that
day.

“
Um, what’s that?” Dan
asked, trying to steady his voice against the building
excitement.

“
How would you like to go
to Cincinnati, Dan?”

Dan loved the Reds, but he
already attended at least a handful of games per season. Another
trip to Cincy would hardly be earth-shattering.

“
Sure, that would be
great. Are you taking the team down to see a game?”

“
No, no,” Croft said. “I
can’t go, but YOU are gonna have to find a way to get to Riverfront
this weekend.”

Dan racked his brain
trying to remember Cincinnati’s schedule. He thought the Reds would
be traveling that weekend, but he couldn’t remember for sure. At
any rate, Croft was confusing him.

“
I guess
I could ask my dad to take me,” Dan said. “But I don’t see why it’s
so important. Do I
need
to be there for some reason?”

“
Only if you don’t want to
miss your tryout,” Croft said.

Dan stopped in his tracks,
but Croft kept walking, looking straight at the ground.

After a few moments, Dan
said, “Tryout! Did you say tryout? Come on, Coach, it’s not nice to
tease me about something like that!”

Finally, Croft stopped and
turned toward Dan, a warm grin spreading across his
face.

“
I wouldn’t kid you about
a tryout, bud,” Croft said. “This is life-and-death stuff we’re
talking about here, at least as far as baseball players are
concerned.”

Dan shook his head as if
trying to clear cobwebs from between his hears. “So what are you
talking about, then? What tryout?”

“
Oh, Danny Boy! Stop being
so coy. Harry loved what he saw this morning, and what he’s heard
from me over the last few months. He wants you to come to
Cincinnati, to the stadium on Saturday evening. The Reds are having
an open tryout for undrafted free agents, and he thinks you should
be part of that group.”

Dan couldn’t believe it.
“You’re joking!”

Croft held up his
scout’s-honor fingers and said, “No, son, I’m not. Harry said
you’re in the top 10% of hitters he’s looked at this spring, and
not far behind in the field. There’s going to be a handful of Reds’
scouts at the open call plus some minor league coaches and
instructors. Harry will even throw breakfast into the deal if you
stay in the city overnight. And, rumor has it Howsam might walk
through if he can pull himself away from his desk for a
while.”

“
Bob Howsam?” Dan
marveled.

“
That’s the one!” Croft
said. “So, what do you say, Dan: wanna go to the Riverfront this
weekend?”

Dan nodded vigorously,
forgetting all his cares. “More than anything!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Cold Water

Dan was bursting with
excitement when he left Gabbie and Troy after a quick lunch at
McDonald’s. He hadn’t told his girlfriend about the encounter with
Harry that morning or the scout’s invitation to come to Cincinnati
the following weekend, but he had been bouncing in his seat
throughout the meal. Gabbie gave him a questioning look a couple of
times and seemed as if she were going to comment on his behavior,
but both times, baby Troy got fussy and pulled her attention
away.

Dan was happy for the
diversion because he didn’t know how he would have deflected
Gabbie’s questions. After all, he wasn’t sure he’d be going to
Cincy on Saturday, and even if he did, it was a tremendous long
shot he’d turn any heads, especially among a crowd of young,
talented athletes who had played more than a few company-league
games in the last year. It was better to hold his news close to the
vest, at least for the moment.

But as soon as Dan walked
into the office and saw his father, his stomach tumbled, and the
excitement from his session with Foster came flooding back to
him.

“
How did your morning go?”
David asked, looking up from a stack of papers he had been pouring
over. When he caught the glint in son’s eye, David knew something
was up.

He lay the papers flat on
the desk and broke into a grin, standing to motion Dan over to a
chair in front of David’s desk.

“
Oooo … I can see that you
really DO have something to say, son,” David said. “Why don’t you
have a seat and tell Daddy all about it?”

Dan knew his father was
teasing him a little, but he didn’t mind. They’d always had an easy
and open dialog, and Dan was grateful to have his father as a
trusted confidant. He took two steps toward David’s desk and then
stopped, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“
Well, Dad, I don’t know
if I can sit down right now,” Dan said. “The morning went really
well …”

As Dan told his father
about the surprise of meeting with Harry Foster and the even bigger
surprise of being invited to a walk-on tryout at Riverfront
Stadium, he could see the older man’s expression move from interest
to elation to thoughtful concern.

“
What’s wrong?” Dan asked
when he had finished his story. “Don’t you think I should go to the
tryout?”

“
I think it sounds like a
tremendous opportunity, Dan, and I know it’s something you’ve
wanted since you were a little boy,” David said with
hesitancy.

“
But?” Dan
prodded.

“
But
, I’m concerned about your
health. Didn’t Dr. Parks and Dr. Eisenflower tell you to rest as
much as possible and avoid any long trips? I’m just worried about
your well-being.”

Now it was Dan’s turn to
look pensive. “I thought of that, Dad, and maybe you could help
me.”

David raised his eyebrows.
“You know I’m always here for you, son. What do you have in
mind?”

“
Well, if you were to
drive me down to Cincinnati, I could sleep on the way there and
back. And we’d be staying in a hotel overnight, so I shouldn’t miss
any sleep on Saturday. Besides, it would be another trip together,”
Dan smiled at his father. “Wouldn’t that be great?”

David grinned and nodded
his head. “Yes, that would be wonderful, Dan,” he said. “But what
about the team?”

“
What team?” Dan asked,
confused.

“
You know, the team you’re
supposed to be helping to coach?” David prodded.

Dan’s eyes grew large. Of
course! How could he forget why he had been at the field that
morning in the first place? Coach Croft had asked him in mid-May if
he would like to serve as a sort of informal hitting coach for the
Eagles during the stretch run of the season and into the playoffs.
It was an arrangement which let Dan stay connected to the game and
which had ramped up South Pickens’ offense, as the Eagles were
scoring about three runs per game before Dan stepped in and
nearly
six
since
he had started coming around.

Tuesday morning’s practice
had been abbreviated because sectionals were set to start that
night, with the Eagles traveling to Addison for a six-o’-clock
first pitch against White Water. If they won that game, round two
would be on Thursday, followed by the sectional championship on the
Bulldogs’ home field Saturday evening — hopefully.

If South Pickens made
it
that
far, they
would take the field the same time as the tryouts in Cincinnati,
which of course meant Dan could not be both places. And he had
already promised coach Croft he’d be in the dugout for as long as
the Eagles were still playing.

“
Oh, man, I can’t believe
I forgot about the sectionals!” Dan said, slapping his forehead
with an open palm. “I feel like a real heel for the way I acted
this morning with Coach Croft. I just said I’d go to Cincinnati and
didn’t even think about South Pick’s game. I guess I’d better call
and apologize to him.”

David patted his son on
the shoulder. “Why don’t you wait until you see him this evening,
Dan?” David counseled. “He’s probably busy with preparations this
afternoon, anyway, and that will give you some time to
think.”

“
Think about what, Dad?”
Dan asked rhetorically. “I gave my word, so I need to keep my
obligation.”

David nodded and squeezed
Dan’s shoulder.

“
That’s right, and it’s
what I would have expected you to say. Still, there is no guarantee
South Pickens will make it all the way to the championship game.”
David pursed his lips, thinking. “Say, I wonder if this Foster
character would let you come on the condition that the Eagles
aren’t playing. I mean, what would he have to lose,
really?”

Dan nodded.

“
That’s right, Dad,” he
said. “He doesn’t have anything to lose. I’ll talk to Coach Croft
about it this evening.”

—

“
No doubt,” Croft said.
“Harry doesn’t have a damn thing to lose by letting you show up
according to your own whim. But you know what?”

Croft grabbed Dan by the
shoulders and peered straight into the young man’s eyes. “He
doesn’t have a damn thing to lose by just cutting you loose,
either. You know how many guys would kill for this chance? You know
how many will be there on Saturday?”

“
A lot,” Dan answered the
rhetorical question in a quiet voice.

“
Damn right, there’s a
lot,” Croft said.

Dan was feeling small: he
had never seen Coach this angry.

“
But Coach,” Dan said
despite his reservations, “I can’t bail on these guys. Haven’t they
been hitting better since I started helping out?”

Croft nodded and replied,
“You bet your bippy, they have, Dan. But this is about YOU and your
future.”

The big man took in a big
breath and then sighed, the tension flowing out through his mouth
and relaxing his rounded shoulders.

“
Look,
Dan,” Croft continued, “you’re the most talented player I’ve ever
coached, and you’re one of the best high school players I’ve
ever
seen
.
I really think you could have a chance to play professional ball.
Isn’t that what you want?”