Chapter 1

Chapter 1 CRACK! The baseball popped into the warm June air and rose slowly toward the sky. The crowd leaped to its feet, yelling, "Run! Run!" Mr. Dillon, the school principal, dropped the bat and raced toward first base.

第1章啪!棒球突然进入六月温暖的空气，慢慢地升向天空。 人群一跃而起，喊道:“快跑!快跑!”校长狄龙放下球棒，冲向一垒。

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were sitting in the front row of bleacher seats. Dink's full name was Donald David Duncan, but his friends called him Dink. "Having a baseball game to raise money was a great idea," Ruth Rose said. "Yeah," said Josh. "We have fun raising funds!" The kids in Green Lawn had sold enough tickets to fill the bleachers at the town baseball field. The money would go to Camp Challenge, a summer camp for kids with special needs. Out in center field, Josh's mom watched the baseball as it started to fall. She raised her glove and the ball dropped neatly into it. Mr. Dillon was out! He trotted back toward home plate. "I didn't know my mom could catch like that!" Josh said. Dink grinned at Josh. "Too bad she couldn't teach you how," he said, giving Josh an elbow in the side. "Great catch, Mom!" Josh yelled. "Gentlemen, yer out!" yelled Pete Unkenholz, the umpire at home plate, motioning with his thumb. "Ladies, yer up!"

丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯坐在看台前排的座位上。 丁克的全名是唐纳德·大卫·邓肯，但他的朋友们都叫他丁克。 “举办一场棒球比赛来筹集资金是个好主意，”露丝·罗斯说。 “是啊，”乔希说。“我们很高兴筹集资金!”绿草坪的孩子们卖的票足够填满镇上棒球场的露天看台。 这笔钱将捐给挑战营，这是一个为有特殊需要的孩子开设的夏令营。 在外野，乔希的妈妈看着棒球开始落地。 她举起手套，球利落地掉了进去。 狄龙先生出去了!他小跑着回到本垒板。 “我不知道我妈妈能接得那么好!”杰克说。 丁克朝乔希咧嘴一笑。“可惜她不能教你怎么做。”他说着，用胳膊肘捅了捅乔希的腰。 “抓得好，妈妈!”杰克喊道。 “先生们，出局了!”本垒板的裁判皮特·昂肯霍尔兹(Pete Unkenholz)用拇指示意着喊道。 “女士们，快起来!”

Pete was a tall, friendly guy with spiky blond hair. He was a good worker, too. He had helped set up the bleachers for the game. Josh's mom's catch was the third out for the men's team. The women ran off the field, highfiving each other. The men began to take their positions on the field, joking with the female players. Josh turned to Ruth Rose. "Want to make a bet the men beat the women?" he asked. Ruth Rose nodded, making her black, curly hair bounce. She liked to dress all in one color. Today she wore red from her headband down to her hightop sneakers. "Sure, I'll bet you an ice cream cone that the women win," Ruth Rose said to Josh. Josh flashed a grin. "You're on!" he said, shaking Ruth Rose's hand. The three kids watched the men take their positions. Their friend Mr. Thaddeus Pocket was head coach. He walked around the field, chatting with the players. "How did Mr. Pocket learn so much about baseball?" Dink asked.

皮特个子高，很友好，留着一头金色的尖头发。 他也是个好工人。 他帮忙搭建了比赛的露天看台。 乔什妈妈的接球是男队第三次出局。 女人们互相击掌，跑出了场地。 男人们开始在球场上各就各位，和女球员开玩笑。 乔希转向露丝·罗斯。“想打个赌吗?男人赢了女人。”他问道。 露丝·罗斯点了点头，她那乌黑的卷发跳了起来。 她喜欢穿一种颜色的衣服。 今天她从发带到高帮运动鞋都是红色的。 “当然，我跟你赌一个甜筒，赌女队赢，”露丝·罗斯对乔希说。 乔希咧嘴一笑。“你上场了!”他握着露丝·罗斯的手说。 三个孩子看着男人们各就各位。 他们的朋友塞迪厄斯·朴凯特先生是总教练。 他绕着球场走着，和球员们聊天。 “朴凯特先生是怎么学到这么多棒球知识的?”丁克问道。

"He told me he played a lot in college," Josh said. "It was great of him to bring some of the baseballs from his collection to the game today," Ruth Rose said. "Yeah! I guess they're worth a lot of money," Dink added. "He let me hold the one signed by Babe Ruth!" "Cool! I'm named after a famous baseball player!" Ruth Rose said. "Ha!" Josh said. "I think they named a candy bar after him, too." Six of Mr. Pocket's autographed baseballs were on display in the clubhouse. Everyone who bought a ticket to the game had a chance to admire them in the locked case. The men were all in their field positions. Ellie was up first on the women's team. She grabbed a bat and headed for the batter's box. Pete smiled at Ellie and gave her a thumbs-up. "Pete seems like a nice guy," Dink said. "I'm glad he volunteered to ump." "Where did he come from?" Josh asked. "He just showed up a couple of weeks ago, right?"

“他告诉我他在大学时经常打球，”乔希说。 露丝·罗斯说:“他把自己收藏的一些棒球带到今天的比赛中来，真是太好了。” “是啊!我猜它们值很多钱，”丁克补充道。 “他让我拿着贝比·鲁斯签名的那张!”“酷!我是以一位著名棒球运动员的名字命名的!”露丝·罗斯说。 “哈!”杰克说。“我想他们也用他的名字给一种糖果命名了。” 俱乐部里陈列着六个普凯特亲笔签名的棒球。 每个买了比赛门票的人都有机会在锁着的箱子里欣赏他们。 士兵们都在各自的阵地上。 埃莉是女队第一名。 她抓起球棒，向击球手区走去。 皮特对艾莉笑了笑，对她竖起大拇指。 “皮特看起来是个好人，”丁克说。 “我很高兴他自愿退出。” “他是从哪儿来的?”杰克问。 “他几个星期前才来，对吧?”

Dink shrugged. "I don't know, but everyone seems to like him a lot." "He sure is big," Ruth Rose observed. "Look how he towers over Ellie!" Pete threw the ball to the men's pitcher, Mr. Linkletter. The scoreboard read: MEN 1, WOMEN 0. "Play ball!" Pete yelled. Ellie stepped up to the batter's box. Everyone cheered as she got ready for the first pitch from Mr. Linkletter. Behind Ellie, Jake, a local firefighter, was catching. He crouched with his mitt in front of his chin. The pitch was low, but Ellie swung anyway. She missed and the ball zinged into Jake's waiting glove. "Strike one!" Pete announced as Jake tossed the ball to the pitcher. Mr. Linkletter wound up and threw his next pitch. This one was high, but Ellie swung and caught part of the ball. It skipped down the first-base line. Lucky O'Leary fielded the ball in foul territory and whipped it back to Mr. Linkletter. "Strike two!"

丁克耸耸肩。“我不知道，但似乎每个人都很喜欢他。” “他确实很大，”露丝·罗斯说。 “看他比艾莉高多了!”皮特把球扔给了男子投手林克莱特先生。 计分板上写着:男人1分，女人0分。 “打球!”皮特喊道。艾莉走到击球手席前。 当她准备好接受林克莱特的第一次推介时，每个人都欢呼起来。 在艾莉身后，当地消防员杰克正在接球。 他蹲着，把手套放在下巴前。 球投得很低，但艾莉还是挥了一棒。 她没打中，球嗖地一声钻进了杰克的手套里。 “攻击!”当杰克把球扔给投手时，皮特宣布。 林克莱特振作起来，投出了下一球。 这个球很高，但艾莉挥了挥，接住了一部分球。 它跳过了一垒线。 拉基·奥利里(Lucky O’leary)将球挡在界外区，然后将球挥回给林克莱特。 “罢工两个!”