"I would like to have a bat,
please!" said Jeremy to his father.
Jeremy's father had just asked Jeremy what he would like
for his seventh birthday and, more than anything in the world, Jeremy wanted
to have his own bat. Jeremy was absolutely bonkers about baseball and could
not wait to grow up and hit home runs for his favourite team, the Blue
Jays.
Jeremy's father smiled and nodded. He was feeding the
birds in his aviary while four chickadees and two finches were sitting
on top of his head. The budgies, finches, and chickadees were flying happily
and singing very loudly. Jeremy's father thought that a bat would make
a perfect present for his son.
"We'll see what we can do," he said mysteriously,
as he poured fresh water in the birdbath for the finches.
Jeremy smiled and went into the kitchen to get a biscuit for
his dog, Henry. "I might get my very own baseball bat, Henry,"
said Jeremy. Henry's tail went thump, thump, thump on the kitchen floor.
He didn't understand about baseball, but he was very excited about eating
a biscuit.
A baseball bat! That was Jeremy's greatest wish!
A baseball bat which Jeremy could take to the baseball diamond
in the park at the end of the street. He wanted his own baseball bat so
that he could hit Cynthia Culpepper's brand new baseball over the fence
for a home run.
"If I have my own brand new baseball bat," thought
Jeremy, "Cynthia will never be able to strike me out ever again. Not
with her fast ball. Not with her curve ball. Not with her flutterball that
wobbles up and down and is impossible to hit."
Later that night, when Jeremy climbed into his big, soft bed,
he dreamed about owning his new baseball bat. He dreamed about being in
the dugout with the Blue Jays, waiting for his turn to hit. He dreamed
about the roar of the crowd, the smell of popcorn and hot dogs, and the
thrill when he heard his name called over the loudspeaker.
"Now batting, number 12! Jeremy
Eden!"
Jeremy climbed out of the dugout carrying his brand new baseball
bat and walked toward home plate.
The umpire said, "That's a wonderful bat, Jeremy!".
The catcher for the Tigers said, "I wish I had a bat like
yours, Jeremy!"
Jeremy smiled and took several practice swings before he stepped
up to the plate. The Blue Jays fans were cheering loudly and shouting for
Jeremy to hit a home run. The Tiger pitcher looked at Jeremy's bat and
decided to throw his fastball. And that's what he did!
Crack!
Jeremy swung his brand new baseball bat and hit the ball straight
up into the air. It was lucky that the roof on the Skydome was open because
the ball went so high that the outfielders for the Tigers threw their gloves
on the ground in disgust because they couldn't see it. Jeremy ran around
the bases and he was already standing on top of home plate when the ball
finally reappeared. It fell straight down and landed in the pitcher's glove!
"Wow!" said the umpire. "I've seen people hit
home runs over the fence before, but I've never seen anything like this!"
"What an incredible bat you've got, Jeremy!" said
the Tiger's catcher. "I don't suppose that you would let me borrow
it?"
Jeremy smiled. "Sorry," he said, "my bat only
likes to be swung by me." Then he went back into the Blue Jays' dugout
where his teammates slapped him on the back and congratulated him on his
200th home run that season.
The crowd was chanting Jeremy's name.
"Jer-em-y! Jer-em-y! Jer-em-y!"
Jeremy and his baseball bat were famous!
The next morning, when Jeremy awoke, he didn't remember his
dream but he did remember that it was his seventh birthday. He ran downstairs
in his pajamas and looked at the kitchen table where his mother had his
breakfast ready.
"Happy seventh birthday, Jeremy," said his mother,
and she put two eggs on his plate cooked just the way he liked them.
"Thank you," replied Jeremy, who was wondering where
his present might be. He decided to eat his eggs first because his father
and mother had probably planned a surprise.
"When you are finished, Jeremy," said his mother
with a smile, "there is something special for you in the aviary."
Jeremy grinned. He had a wonderful feeling that it was his
brand new baseball bat! He finished his eggs in one big swallow and then
ran out of the kitchen. He went straight to the aviary where the birds
were singing joyfully, as if they too knew that it was his birthday.
"Hi budgies! Hi finches! Hi chickadees!" called Jeremy
as he did every morning. Then he saw his father beside the door to the
aviary.
"Happy seventh birthday, Jeremy!" said his father.
"Come and see what we have for you. It's a very special birthday present!"
Jeremy's father opened the door to the aviary and Jeremy followed
him inside. Jeremy saw a large cardboard box on the table in the corner.
He could see that a small hole had been cut in one side.
"What a strange place to put my baseball bat," thought
Jeremy.
"Be very, very quiet," whispered Jeremy's father.
He was smiling and didn't notice that three budgies, two finches, and a
chickadee were sitting on top of his head. "Look inside the hole,
Jeremy, and see what you can see."
And that's what Jeremy did. He looked through the hole, but
all he saw was darkness.
Then he saw something moving.
Then he heard something chittering.
Then he saw something hanging upside-down.
Then he knew what it was.
It was a bat.
Not a baseball bat.
Not his brand new baseball bat. _ It was a bat all right.
A real bat.
A live bat.
A bat hanging upside-down in a cardboard box. Jeremy's father
smiled and the birds on his head chirped in delight. "Your very own
bat, Jeremy. Just like you wanted. You'll have to give him a name and then
I will teach you how to take care of him."
"Thank you," said Jeremy, but he didn't feel like
smiling. He felt disappointed.
"How can I play baseball with a real live bat?" he
thought to himself. "How can I hit Cynthia's fast ball? Or her curve
ball? Or her flutterball that wobbles up and down and is impossible to
hit?"
"Let's see what he looks like," said Jeremy's father,
and he opened the top of the box and reached inside. He pulled out his
hand and Jeremy saw a small, furry bat hanging upside-down on one of his
father's long fingers. It was very small with little wings and it was making
mewing sounds like a kitten.
But Jeremy was still thinking about a brand new baseball bat
and he didn't think that he liked what his father had given him for his
birthday. "What can do I with a bat when it looks like this?"
thought Jeremy. "I can't hit a baseball with this." But Jeremy
knew that it was not polite for him to say so. He would have to make the
best of it.
"Give him a gentle tickle with your finger," said
Jeremy's father. "Bats are very nice animals and not at all like they
make them look in scary movies. Having a bat around the house is a very
nice thing indeed."
Jeremy tickled the bat with his little finger and then, with
his father's help, took him gently in his hands. Jeremy's new bat made
little squeaking sounds and Jeremy began to forget about his brand new
baseball bat for a little while.
"He likes you, Jeremy," said his father. "What
will you call him?"
Jeremy smiled a little smile. He was thinking that it might be very nice
to have his own pet bat after all. "I think that I will call him Bartholomew,"
said Jeremy. "From now on, he will be Bartholomew Bat."
"Excellent!" said Jeremy's father. "Excellent
indeed!"
Then Jeremy's mother appeared and invited Jeremy and his father
to come inside and have a piece of birthday cake. "Gosh," said
Jeremy's father, "I wish I had had a bat when I was a little boy.
Instead I had a tadpole named Tilly and a singing cricket named Christopher."
He helped Jeremy place Bartholomew back inside his cardboard
box. "When Bartholomew is used to the aviary," said Jeremy's
father, "he will fly and fly and fly until he is tired. And then he
will hang about. Every bat I ever met always liked to hang about."
"But what will he eat?" asked Jeremy.
"Insects," replied his father. "Lots and lots
of insects. With Bartholomew Bat here, that's the last of our mosquitoes."
And he put his arm around Jeremy's shoulder and they went inside
to have birthday cake.
Later that day, Jeremy's friends came to his house to ask if
he would come and play baseball with them in the park. Cynthia Culpepper
had her brand new baseball and she was tossing it up and down, catching
it in her glove. Cynthia played for the Little League Tigers while Jeremy
played for the Blue Jays.
"Where's your brand new bat, Jeremy?" Cynthia asked.
"I have been waiting to pitch my fastball to you. And my curve. And
my flutterball which wobbles up and down and is impossible to hit."
Jeremy tried not to show his disappointment. "I do have a brand new
bat," he said. "Would you like to come and see it?" And
he took his friends into the aviary.
Jeremy reached inside the cardboard box and then carefully
pulled out his hand. Bartholomew was hanging upside-down from Jeremy's
finger. "This is Bartholomew," said Jeremy. "He's my brand
new bat."
"Wow!" said Tim, who had never seen a bat before.
"Incredible!" said Lisa, who had read a book about
bats at school.
"Excellent!" said Ahmed, who was a little nervous.
He thought that bats liked to bite children on the neck.
"Phooey!" said Cynthia. "You can't hit my fastball
with that. Or my curve. Or my flutterball which wobbles up and down and
is impossible to hit!"
"Maybe not," said Jeremy quietly, "but I love
Bartholomew all the same." Then he carefully put Bartholomew back
inside his cardboard box.
"Let's play baseball in the park," suggested Ahmed.
"You can use my baseball bat, Jeremy." And they all agreed.
"Maybe today, on your seventh birthday, you'll be able
to hit Cynthia's flutterball which wobbles up and down and is impossible
to hit," said Lisa with a big smile.
"Not a chance!" said Cynthia as she tossed her brand
new baseball in the air and caught it in her glove. "Not in a million,
zillion years!"
Poor Jeremy. One week later he was
still practising and practising his batting swing with Ahmed's bat in his
back yard every day for an hour, but he still couldn't hit Cynthia's brand
new baseball. In yesterday's baseball game, everyone had managed to hit
Cynthia's fast ball at least once, except Jeremy. Lisa and Ahmed had even
hit Cynthia's curve. But nobody had been able to hit Cynthia's flutterball
which wobbled up and down and was, truly, impossible to hit.
"Darn it, Bartholomew," said Jeremy. "The championship
game between the Tigers and the Blue Jays is next week and I just have
to get a hit. Just a little hit would do. Even if I could never hit a home
run, I would like to have a little hit."
Bartholomew fluttered over Jeremy's head and landed on his
shoulder. It was a little trick which Jeremy had taught him how to do.
In fact, Bartholomew had learned how to do a number of interesting things.
Bartholomew could fly so quickly that he was faster than the
finches.
He was faster than the budgies.
He was even faster than the chickadees.
Bartholomew was so fast that Jeremy had a hard time keeping
his eye on him. Just when Jeremy thought he saw him, Bartholomew was somewhere
else. Just when Jeremy thought he could reach out and touch him, Bartholomew
fluttered away with ease.
"My bat Bartholomew is faster than anything I've ever
seen," Jeremy told his father.
"Wonderful!" said Jeremy's father. "Bats love to fly and
it is very good exercise for them."
"It's very good exercise for my eyes just trying to keep
track of him!" laughed Jeremy. "He's almost impossible to spot
when he flutters up and down!" And then Jeremy gave his father a hug.
"I love Bartholomew more than any baseball bat!"
he said.
And he really meant it.
At the championship game,all of the parents were sitting in
the stands at the baseball diamond in the park. Jeremy's mother was waving
a little flag that had "Go Jeremy!" printed on it. She waved
and waved and waved. And then she had a rest and waved again.
Jeremy's father was sitting beside her with Bartholomew perched
on his shoulder. He also had two finches and two chickadees sitting on
his head.
The score was 3-2 and Jeremy's team, the Blue Jays, were losing
to Cynthia's team, the Tigers.
"It's the last inning," said Mr. Chang, the coach
of the Blue Jays. "Lisa hits first, then Ahmed, then Jeremy. It's
now or never if we want to win the championship."
Jeremy watched as Ahmed swung at Cynthia's fast ball and missed
three times. He felt sorry for Ahmed because he had tried very hard.
Jeremy watched as Lisa swung at Cynthia's curve ball and missed
twice. Then he jumped for joy when Lisa hit the curve ball and scampered
down to first base with a single.
"You're up, Jeremy!" called Mr. Chang. "Whatever
you do, watch out for Cynthia's flutterball!"
Jeremy borrowed Ahmed's bat and walked to the plate. It wasn't
the bat that Jeremy wanted to use. He would have liked to use his own brand
new baseball bat. But he didn't have one.
All he had was a brand new bat named Bartholomew. Jeremy looked into the
stands and saw his mother waving the little flag which read, "Go Jeremy!"
He saw his father sitting with Bartholomew on his shoulder and two finches
and two chickadees sitting on his head. Jeremy smiled and got ready to
face Cynthia.
"I'm going to throw my flutterball," said Cynthia
with a big smile. "I'm going to throw my flutterball three times and
you won't hit it because it wobbles up and down and is impossible to hit!"
Jeremy didn't say anything, but he gripped Ahmed's bat with
all his strength.
"Here comes number one!" said Cynthia, and the flutterball
wobbled up and down on its way to home plate.
Jeremy swung and missed.
"Strike one!" called the umpire.
"Here comes number two!" said Cynthia, and the flutterball
wobbled up and down on its way to home plate.
Jeremy swung and missed.
"Strike two!" called the umpire.
Jeremy stepped out of the batter's box. He was disappointed
and unhappy. "Why didn't I get a real baseball bat instead of a real
bat?" he groaned. "How can I ever hit Cynthia's flutterball now?"
"Time out!" called the umpire. He pointed at something
very small and very fast fluttering across the field. "What's that?"
said the umpire.
Jeremy smiled as Bartholomew flew towards him and landed on
his shoulder.
"It's all right," he said to the umpire. "It's
Bartholomew, my bat."
"He's so fast that I could barely see him," said
the umpire shaking his head in amazement. "But it's time to finish
the game. Batter up!"
And that's when Jeremy realized why Bartholomew had joined
him at the plate.
"Hey!" Jeremy thought to himself, "Bartholomew
flies and flutters just like Cynthia's brand new baseball does!"
And Bartholomew began to squeak as if he was agreeing with
Jeremy.
"If I can see Bartholomew when he flies and flutters,
then I'm sure that I can see Cynthia's flutterball that wobbles up and
down and is impossible to hit!"
"Here comes number three!" said Cynthia, and she
threw her very best flutterball. She threw her flutterball so that it wobbled
up and down like a yo-yo.
But this time, it wasn't impossible to hit!
Crack!
Jeremy swung the bat with all his strength and Cynthia's brand
new baseball sailed high into the air and over the home run fence. The
Blue Jays won the championship!
Jeremy ran around the bases with Bartholomew sitting on his
shoulder and when he reached home plate, his teammates lifted him up high
on their shoulders and cheered.
"Jer-em-y! Jer-em-y! Jer-em-y!"
"Well," said Cynthia, who was still amazed at what
had happened, "if anyone had to hit my flutterball, I'm glad it was
you, Jeremy."
"Thank you," said Jeremy, "but you're still
the best pitcher I've ever seen."
Then the Tigers and the Blue Jays lined up on the field while
the Mayor presented the trophy to the winning team.
"You have a very nice bat, Jeremy," said the Mayor
when she shook his hand. "And it is my pleasure to name you as the
outstanding player in the game." "Thank you," said Jeremy,
who was very surprised.
"And this is for you," said the Mayor, and she handed
Jeremy a brand new baseball bat.
"Wow!" said Jeremy's teammates.
"Excellent!" said Jeremy's father, who was standing
beside the Mayor.
"Oh Jeremy," said his mother. "Now you've got
two bats!"
Jeremy smiled and held up his new baseball bat so that Bartholomew
could perch himself on it.
"Yes," replied Jeremy, "but I know which one
will always be my favourite."
And he reached out with his finger and tickled Bartholomew
Bat.
"Bartholomew is the best bat of all!"
... and he really meant it!
The End
Classroom
Online Activities
1. Learn about bat conservation and use the educators'
activities online at Bat Conservation
International.
2. Read important bat facts and learn amazing
bat trivia by clicking Here.
3. Learn why you should build a bat house and
how to do it by clicking Here.
4. Learn about more than 100 species of bats at
the Birmingham
Zoo Website.
5. Read a review and excerpt from Bats About Baseball by Jean Little and Claire Mackay.
6. Visit the website of Major
League Baseball.
7. Learn about the origin and history of Little League Baseball.
8. Visit the home of the greatest baseball bats
ever made at Louisville
Slugger.
Written by:
David Boyd
