the ball and doing defensive drills. I walked down to the field level, then into the dugout and up into the clubhouse area. Coach Schultz was sitting behind his desk examining two very wrinkled pieces of paper.
“There you are. Sit down and close the door.”
I did as I was told. “What’s up, Coach?”
He rested his hands on his belly. “I didn’t believe what you said about playing ball yourself, so I looked you up. Gotta admit I’m impressed. High school ball is tough for anyone to play in, let alone a girl.”
“Thanks.”
“But that don’t mean you’re an expert. And it don’t mean you know more than me.”
“I know, coach. I’m sorry if I came on strong yesterday.” I pulled out the printed photos of Rafael’s outing yesterday. “I spent all night going over the game film, and I found evidence to back up my claims…”
He grabbed the two wrinkled pieces of paper that were already on his desk and held them up. “I’ve already seen ‘em! Apparently you’re showing these all over town!”
I gave a start. The photos in his hand had my handwriting on them. “How did you get those?”
Coach Schultz tossed them to the side and jabbed an angry finger in my direction. “You see somethin’, you come to me first. You don’t go talkin’ to my pitchers behind my back.”
It dawned on me: Rafael must have tattled on me about the pitch tipping. That’s what was happening here. My immediate reaction was frustration, both at Coach Schultz and at Rafael.
“I did come to you first,” I said patiently. “I told you during the game yesterday. You wouldn’t listen.”
“That’s ‘cause you just blurted it out, like some know-it-all.” His face was red with anger. “You didn’t have photos and evidence and whatnot.”
I took a deep breath. “I collected that evidence last night. I was going to show you today. See? I brought copies for you.”
“But you didn’t do that. You went and told Rafa all about it. You know how tough it is to pitch at the major league level? I don’t need you putting thoughts in my ace pitcher’s head.”
“I’m just trying to do my job,” I said. “To show that I’m valuable to the team.”
“You’re valuable doing what I tell you to do,” he shot back. “But it’s clear you’re lousy at that. Get out of my office. You’re fired.”
The words hit me like a shockwave. “I’m… I’m fired?”
“Go on,” he spat. “Get out.”
I was too stunned to move. I just sat there, unable to make my body respond.
A knock came at the door, and then it opened. I expected to see two security guards who would escort me from the stadium, but instead it was the smiling face of Theo Parker, the General Manager of the Texas Rangers.
“Hey, Bobby, I—” He blinked when he saw me. “Natalie! It’s great to see you. Sorry for not coming by to welcome you to the team yesterday. We were busy finalizing the trade with the Cubs.”
I shook his hand numbly.
“How’s she doing?” Theo asked.
Coach Schultz clenched his jaw. “She’s fine. We were just discussing her workload.”
“He fired me,” I said when I finally found my tongue.
To my surprise, Theo just chuckled. “Bobby tries to fire everyone who works for him. Don’t take it personally.”
He didn’t try to fire me, I wanted to say. He did fire me. He said the words and told me to leave.
Theo gave Coach Schultz a patient look. “Bobby. We brought Natalie on to be an asset to the team. If she sees things, you should listen to her. We’re all here for the same reason: to win the World Series. We’re on the same team. Don’t forget that.” He nodded at me. “Keep doing what you’re doing, Natalie. We’ll catch up later.”
After he left, Coach Schultz and I stared at each other in a standoff. Finally he glanced at the photos I had placed on the desk.
“What kind of shitty printer did these come from?”
“The printer in the hotel business office.”
“Next time use the printer in the clubhouse,” he grumbled. “It’s got a setting just for photos.”
“Okay.”
He nodded. “Go on, then. Find Rafa and work on fixing this tipping issue.” When I didn’t move immediately, he added, “What? You got somethin’ else to say?”
“No sir, Coach. Thanks.”
I fled from the office before he could try to fire me again.
More players had arrived at the stadium while I was in Coach Schultz’s office. I spotted a cluster of pitchers over against the right-field wall