The Ball Player

A love signal from the infield

A ball player took his girlfriend to the baseball tryouts.

"I'm going to send you a signal, baby, when I'm fielding the ball. I'm going to throw one way over the first baseman's head and into the stands. That's my signal of how much I love you."

"How sweet," she replied as she pecked him on the cheek. "Good luck, sweetie."

"Thank you, baby."

Then he suited up with the team in a gleaming uniform and joined the infield warm-up before one of their home games.

He was fielding effortlessly, ripping balls into first base.

"You are on fire," commented the second baseman.

Just then, the ball player remembered his promise. He swept up a hard-hit grounder, then threw it with all his might, sending it sailing into the bleachers.

The players looked at him oddly. The coach jotted down a note on his clipboard with a pencil.

Then the ball player resumed—fielding and firing perfect throws that popped when they hit the first baseman's glove.

At the end of practice, the coach said, "You really looked good out there. Do you want a bonus?"

The ball player responded, "Coach, I just want to play ball."

The coach smiled and scratched out the higher figure he had intended to give and wrote in a lower amount.

"Son, I have a contract for you."

The ball player smiled.

When the ball player met his girlfriend, she hugged him, held the ball he had thrown in her hands, and whispered, "I love you too," into his ear.

A story by Pemba Umoja