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Set your story on a baseball field.

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 39 stories

On the Mound

Submitted to Contest #136

Not one strike. That’s tough. Even one and you could walk out of here with your head held high. But the kind of failure you experienced today is a real chin-dropper. Can’t argue with that. Here’s a hot dog. Extra relish. I would judge you, but we both know an enjoyment of relish indicates sociopathic tendencies. You can be nice to puppies all you want, but slathering relish on a perfectly good wiener means I’ll probably have to have a therapist examine you before you reach adulthood just to make sure you don’t wind up stacking bodies...

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How to Play Shortstop

Shortlisted for Contest #136 ⭐️

CW: teen pregnancy and allusions to abortion She told him she would meet him at the field after the game so they could talk about the baby. The baby they just found out they were going to have. While he waits in the dugout, he does the math and figures the baby will arrive in March. If things went normally, that is. In the spring, when it would be time to prune the rose bushes. Right before the beginning of another season. Evan is playing shortstop on the varsity baseball team. To play this position, he has to be vigilant. And fast. Th...

24 likes 6 comments 6
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Plot Twist

Submitted to Contest #136

Silence cloaked the moonlit expanse. Shanti held her breath, unwilling to break the spell. Gazing upwards, her eyes got lost in the myriad of stars, shining in various wave lengths.It was after midnight. Shanti was alone on the neighbourhood baseball field. The baseball field wasn't much more than a patch of dried grass and double-g's several kilometres from the outskirts of town with no street lights. The dim outlines of the spotlights could be seen hulking around her, the great metal trees that they were. It was the only place dark enough ...

14 likes 2 comments 2
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K vs 12

Submitted to Contest #136

”Thank you for joining us on 93.1 The Groove and welcome to this years broadcast of Battle Creek’s K vs 12 ball game. I’m your host Al Average, joined by my friend and former K vs 12 superstar Bob Beltburner. How you doin Bobby?””Ill tell you what Al, it’s good to be here on this beautiful sunny day to watch this ball game.””And what a game it will be. Who do you think has the advantage this year Bob?””Well Al, the high school baseball team has won every year so it’s hard to vote against them. However, the kindergartners this year have a lot...

14 likes 4 comments 4
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Da Blind Goat

Submitted to Contest #136

At the far end of a baseball field in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago, a goat stood still. When Don Bellushi, who was responsible for the maintenance, refused to believe that it wasn't a joke, he came to view the goat. "What the hell is going on?" Don demanded to know and Stefan Grabowski, the janitor, who ran all the way to the office to tell his boss about the goat, could not stop laughing and told him that the goat got there on its own. “I want it out, fast,” Don exclaimed as if Stefan knew how to move a goat. Stefan approached ...

13 likes 3 comments 3
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Hit a home run, boy!

Submitted to Contest #136

The stadium was fully packed. Having one of the most important games in the year, Billy was constantly moving about the venue, delivering beverages and retail merchandise for elated baseball fans and weekend dads with their boys. “What can I get you, pal?” he asked a man whose side profile seemed familiar. He gestured without even looking at Billy and when a hot dog’s been handed over, Billy immediately recognized the man who just spat his chewing gum into a napkin. It’s Theo, his former life management therapist from two years ago...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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THE TRYOUT

Submitted to Contest #136

THE TRYOUT Marty Desmond had a stubborn streak. He loved playing baseball but he lacked the talent to even make his high school baseball team. But, that disappointment didn't keep him from practicing any chance he got.                His friend, Arnie, told him that The Major League team in their city was holding an open tryout on a day when The Major League team was on the road. Players who performed well at the tryout might be extended a minor league contract. Al...

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The Roar of the Crowd

Submitted to Contest #136

When the crowd roared it washed over them like a wave, starting slowly and building to a crescendo. It wasn't just the sound of cheering, it was also the sound of the wooden seats snapping as people jumped up to get a better look at just how far the ball was going. The crowd could tell from the crack of the bat it was going to be a long one, and they needed to stand to see just how far the ball would go. Eddie wasn't inside the stadium to witness any of this. It was still the Depression and there wasn't enough money to go to every home gam...

11 likes 3 comments 3
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King Kong and the Alabama Slammer

Submitted to Contest #136

Dalton Davis, manager for the last-place Cleveland Guardians, nervously spits out a volley of sunflower seeds. Paunchy, greying, and perpetually concerned for his job, the sixty-year-old field general is considered a superb strategist who identifies with his players. Dalton checks his two baserunners. Flint Concannon fidgets at third base, while Chase D’Amico takes a conservative lead off second base, scanning the stands. Once an All-Star, injuries have eroded thirty-four-year-old Flint’s skills, but the sandy-haired, affable center field...

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Superfan

Submitted to Contest #136

Larry never missed a game. He always made time for the home team - sitting on his lucky seat cushion, arms snuggling a large bag of in-shell peanuts. His gray hair, normally unkempt in appearance, was respectably combed back for today’s event. He adjusted the team jersey he was wearing to straighten out the printed number of Marty Reach, the star player of the home team. Although Larry’s bones had become weak, and his eyesight was slowly failing him, he still had impeccable hearing. The sounds of the cheering of the crowd...

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Just One of the Boys

Submitted to Contest #136

It is a slow walk up to the batter's box, the last out of the little league game, unless Shane can make something happen.  Waiting for the umpire to sweep the plate clean, he sees his teammates packing up, they don’t expect much. Shane longs to prove them wrong, to show that he deserves to be part of the team.  He takes two practice swings and then tries to find the balance in his batting stance, his weight back, his front leg cocked, ready to step into the swing.  He feels his new cleats bite into the soft dirt and rocks a li...

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Red Dog

Submitted to Contest #136

RED DOG The weekday crowd was typically light compared to the weekends, but it seemed thinner since the game was being played in cavernous Forbes Field, where the Pirates called home. But it was vociferous enough to have the illusion of a packed house. Today, their beloved Homestead Grays were in front of the Baltimore Elites by a score of 4-3. Top of the ninth, the Elites were threatening; runners at the corners, both speed merchants with one out; Jerod Cromartie on first, Timmy Gregson on third. The unfiltered sun beat...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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Fair Game

Submitted to Contest #136

It’s hot. I’m out here at the edge of a sunbaked baseball diamond, letting my eyes go unfocused so I can distance myself from the game. Sweat is dripping into my eyes, and they’re stinging, so I can’t see anyway. I’m waaay outfield, as far away from the action as I can be. No one bothers me out here; they don’t actually want me to participate, and the feeling is mutual. I was, as always, the last one chosen for a team. I say “chosen” with big, fat air quotes. Really, I was the only one who didn’t get chosen.  PE teachers are the wor...

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Hey, Murphy, Wanna Play?

Submitted to Contest #136

My 7-year-old son, Isaac, wanted to wear the shirt every day. The royal blue color had long since faded to a less vibrant hue. The neck was stretched to almost double its original size. The white letters, framed in bright red, had worn cracks running through them along with its famous number 3, an homage to Dale Murphy, the 1980s Atlanta Braves fan favorite. A hand-me-down piece, it was his first choice on most days including this one. We rode away from serving dinner at the church, trying to kill time.“Let’s go to the dinosaur park!” Isaac,...

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A tip of the cap

Submitted to Contest #136

A Tip of the Cap Frank was incredibly excited when he had been told that he was finally going to get his big chance in major league baseball. He was 29, so this might be the last time he would get such an opportunity to ‘make it’. The team’s regular right fielder had injured himself making a diving catch, and would be out of action for at least a week. Frank had to impress the owner, the coaches and the other players so that they might think of keeping him on the team. The First Game – Living the Dream The first game wen...

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