Pee Wees on First Read Free

league.”
    “Baseball with training wheels!” chanted Roger. Some of the others joined in.
    Poor Sonny, thought Molly. But why did he say such dumb things? Still, Molly herself said dumb things sometimes. Like dusting baseballs. Sometimes you couldn’t help it. Probably even Mrs. Peters and Brett Brady said dumb things sometimes. Maybe even her parents!
    Mary Beth and Molly waved good-bye to the others, and turned at their corner.
    “We can practice tomorrow after school,” said Mary Beth. “I’ve got a bat and a softball.”
    “I can’t hit a ball!” said Molly.
    “How do you know?” asked MaryBeth. “You just think you can’t. You haven’t tried lately, have you?”
    Molly shook her head. “I did when I was five,” she said.
    “Well we’re a lot older now. Just wait and see.”
    Molly said good-bye and went in the house and told her mom and dad the awful news.
    “I like the notebook part,” she said.
    “You’ll be able to play ball,” said her dad. “It just takes a little practice. And remember, the old Ace here can help you. I wasn’t the star pitcher in college for nothing.”
    “I don’t remember that,” said Mrs. Duff, smiling.
    “Well, maybe not the
star
,” said her dad.
    By the time they ate dinner, Molly had forgotten baseball. Mary Beth would help her. She ate her lasagna and told her momand dad about Sonny teaching the twins to read. They all laughed, until her dad got the newspaper and opened it up. On the front page it said, B RETT B RADY IN TOWN TO SCOUT FOR HITTERS .
    Molly helped clear the table, and then she fed her dog, Skippy. She went to her room and did her homework. Then she took out a new notebook and wrote
What I Know About Baseball
on the cover. Then she got her pajamas on and brushed her teeth. She said good night to her parents and got into bed. As soon as she went to sleep, she dreamed that Brett Brady came to her door and asked her dad to play on the new big-league team. Her mother said he wasn’t a star player, but that Molly was! Brett gave Molly a uniform and a bat and a ball and when they got to the ballpark, Roger was on first base! Mary Beth was the pitcher, and Kevin was running around all the bases pushing Jody inhis wheelchair. In her dream, Molly tried to lift the bat to hit the ball, but it was too heavy. Instead of hitting the bat, the ball hit Molly on the head!
    “Rat’s knees!” she was saying as she woke up. “I
told
you I couldn’t hit the ball!”
    In the morning she got up and got dressed, and hoped her dream wasn’t going to come true in the park after school.

CHAPTER 4

Baby Ruth
    “O kay,” said Mary Beth. “This is the way you hold the bat.”
    Mary Beth swung the bat loosely between her knees. The girls were in the park, where there was a lot of room to hit balls. There were some children in a sandbox, and some mothers pushing strollers. There was a dog chasing a Frisbee too. It felt good to be outside in spring. The sun made the top of her head warm.
    “Now you throw me the ball,” said Mary Beth. “Stand back there and be the pitcher.”
    Molly threw the ball. It didn’t go anywhere near Mary Beth. It went closer to the dog, who stopped chasing the Frisbee and went after the ball.
    “He thinks you are playing fetch with him,” laughed his master.
    The dog brought the ball back to Molly and dropped it at her feet. The ball was wet.
    “Throw it right here,” called Mary Beth, pointing to the ground beside her. “This doesn’t look like home plate, but it is. Just pretend.”
    This time the ball Molly threw fell to the ground and rolled to the middle of the park into a little puddle.
    Mary Beth sighed. Molly could hear her. It seemed that Molly couldn’t even throw a ball, let alone
hit
one!
    Mary Beth ran and got the ball out of the water and threw it to Molly. She missed it. Things did not look good.

    The next time Molly threw the ball, it went closer to Mary Beth. It went right to her swinging bat. And the bat hit