Page 23 - Way Out to the Old Ballgame

Framing the Pitch

“No, sir. I just happened to be passing through town on my way
home, and saw the Daily Kernel at a coffee shop near campus. I’ve
been sent down to Grainsville by the Ferrets. I’m washed up.”
“Eh? Grainsville? Only been there once, September 23, 1991, to
buy rats.”
Luke Matthews grinned. “I was there once, myself, Professor,
playing class AA ball. But the Vultures bought my contract in 1990
and brought me up to the big leagues. I missed you by a year.”
“Yes, fascinating,” muttered the professor, having exceeded his
self-imposed limit of thirty seconds of polite chitchat. “You can see I
am quite busy here, Matthews, and I have certain obligations to fulfill
within some very tight budget constraints.”
The other man’s face fell.
“You mean you won’t help me?”
Dr. Bruce Fort’s patience vanished. “Help you? My good man, I
am a scientist, not a career counselor. Perhaps, as an ex-student, you
can get a leg up on other applicants for semi-skilled labor around
campus. I’m afraid your performance in my class precludes my giving
you a recommendation, however.”
“Ha!” Luke Matthews did not budge. He had taken many brush-
back pitches, picking himself up from the dust or mud and getting
back in the box without displaying any emotion after dodging a
fastball thrown at his head. “You know, Professor, in a funny kind of
way you are responsible for the way my career played out. If I had
made it through your class, I might have been able to stay in school
on my athletic scholarship and had other career options as a college
graduate. But I didn’t, and I had to take the first bus to Grainsville
and scuffle for a position on the Threshers. It was tough, but I had
enough natural talent and coach Rickey had taught me some good
basic skills in the little time I had here. You don’t follow pro sports,
I’m sure, but I played on four teams in the big leagues between 1990
and last year. Outfield, mainly right, because I was a slugger. Lifetime
.282 average. 231 home runs.”
The professor’s countenance changed from saturnine to mercury
rising. “And now?”
Matthews shrugged. “Two years ago I started off the season in a
slump. I got back my groove in late May, but after the All-Star break
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