Keeping Score Read Online Free Page A

interrupt him. Maggie turned to leave.
    "
...and Mays rounds third—he's going to try to score! The throw comes in—he slides—the ump ... SAFE! HE'S SAFE! He's in under the tag! Mays has just scored from first base on a single! Howdya like that!?
"
    Jim let out a whoop and raised his arms in celebration. That was when he saw Maggie.
    "Hey there!" he said.
    "Hi. I just—I brought a bone for Charky."
    Jim turned around to look at the dog and grinned. "Lucky dog," he said. "Say, did you hear that last play? Wasn't that something?"
    Maggie nodded.
    Jim shook his head, still smiling. "It's gonna seem like a mistake," he said. "Later, if anyone sees this, they're gonna think I left out a play—a throwing error or something." As he scribbled in the notebook, his voice lowered, so he seemed to be talking to himself, but Maggie could still hear what he was saying. "Scoring from first on a single ... drew the throw too, so now they got a runner on second."
    Maggie took a step closer and tilted her head so she could read sort of sideways rather than upside-down. There was writing on both pages of the open spread, and a lot of little squares filled with tiny numbers and letters and lines. In a column on the left side of each page, Jim had written the names of the players—the Cubs on one page, the Giants on the other.
    "What's that you're doing?" Maggie asked.
    "You never seen anyone keep score before?"
    She shook her head. "What do the numbers mean?"
    His eyebrows went up. "It's kinda complicated," he said. "I dunno—oh, hold up a minute."
    The next batter hit a hard liner caught by the shortstop, who then beat the baserunner back to second: Unassisted double play to end the inning.
    Jim shook his head. "Great play," he said ruefully as he wrote something down. "Okay, where was I? The numbers. Well, for a start, you gotta know the game pretty good."
    Maggie stuck out her chin. "I know the game just fine."
    Jim stared at her for a moment, then grinned. "Wouldn't doubt it, you being Teeny Joe's kid. Even seeing you're a girl. But lemme see you prove it."
    "How?"
    "Well ... okay. What was so special about that scoring play just now?"
    Maggie shrugged. "Nobody hardly ever scores from first base on a single," she said, with a bored little drone in her voice, as though she was reciting a lesson at school. Who did this guy think he was, quizzing her on baseball? "Depending on where it's hit, you usually only get to second, but if it's hit to right field and you got good speed, you could maybe get to third, but if the right fielder has a strong arm it'll prob'ly be a close play, so for him to make it all the way home—he musta had a big jump on the pitch, or maybe the hit-and-run was on, and then—"
    Jim held up his hands, laughing. "Okay, okay! Wow, you oughta be on the radio your own self! The thing is, keeping score, you gotta be more than just a fan...."
    His voiced trailed off. He was looking at her hard, his head tilted and his eyes narrowed, but there seemed to be a twinkle there, too. Maggie looked right back at him and kept her chin high, but inside she squirmed a little. It was like he was trying to see right inside her brain.
    Jim seemed to make up his mind. He handed her the notebook and pencil, then went inside the bay doors to fetch another folding chair, which he set up next to his own.
    "Sit," he said. "Easiest way is if you watch while I do it. If you're really interested, you'll pick it up on your own, most of it anyhow, and I'll explain the rest."
    By the end of the game, Maggie knew how the defense was numbered. Not their uniform numbers, but their
position
numbers. Jim tore a sheet out of the
back of the notebook so she could write it down to study at home.
1 – pitcher
2 – catcher
3 – first base
4 – second base
5 – third base
6 – shortstop
7 – left field
8 – center field
9 – right field
    Jim also showed her what the numbers in the little