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Chapter 8 Part 2
After breakfast, Rake led them to the room where they'd met everyone last night. Coach and Stretch sat waiting by the television-looking thing. Jessie sensed Ryder's disappointment that Mickey Martell wasn't there.
"Ready to hear all about the Over the Line tournament?" Coach asked.
"Yeah," Ryder said. "But why Over the Line? It's just something to play when you don't have enough players for a real baseball game."
"It's the game the founders fell in love with," Stretch said. "Wait until you see the stadium. You'll change your tune."
Ryder looked at Jessie, and they both shrugged. Jessie wouldn't complain. He loved Over the Line. Any time he could play without having to bat against a pitcher was fine in his book.
"Each team fields four players, plus a robot who controls the pitching machine."
"But there are five here, not counting me," Jessie said.
"Mickey gave me my nickname, Coach, for a reason. I'll stay in the dugout to make sure everything runs smooth. In the field, one player guards the first line, one guards the second, and two guard the third. Think of the first as a corner infielder, the second as a middle infielder, and the last two as outfielders. On our team, Stretch is the first fielder, Mickey the second, and Rake the left fielder. You'll play right field, Ryder."
"Outfield, yeah, cool." Ryder almost always played shortstop at home because he was so good. If given a choice, though, he'd choose center field. Whenever they played catch, he loved having Jessie throw him fly balls to chase down.
Coach clicked a button on the TV. "This will show you what the field looks like, and it'll lead us through the rules."
Instead of an image on the screen, a picture jumped out in front like a 3-D projection. The field wasn't a diamond, like he was used to seeing and playing on. It really did look like a fancy Over the Line park, except instead of lines separating the parts of the field, there were walls.
"What's with the walls?" Ryder asked. "I thought this was Over the Line, not Over the Wall."
"A small distinction that helps in game play, as you'll see," Coach said. "Watch the holo and learn."
The pitching machine fired a pitch. The batter knocked a weak grounder to the first fielder, who picked it up with no problem. The image was so life-like that it was like watching an actual game, not a computer simulation.
First field was a small area, probably about the size a third baseman would be expected to patrol. The wall was about the same height as the player. Even though the area was tiny, it would still take an expert fielder to play the position since it was so close to the batter.
"Any time the first fielder catches a ball, either on the ground or on the fly, before it hits or goes over the wall, it's an out. If he drops the ball, or it hits the wall behind him, it's a single, and any runners move up one base."
"Are there actual runners?" Ryder asked.
"Nah, they keep track of those on the scoreboard," Rake said.
"Like ghost runners," Jessie said.
They looked back to the hologram, and this time the little batter struck the ball to the second level. The area started at the top of the first wall. It was the same size from front to back as from side to side, about what a shortstop would cover. The wall in the back looked to be the same height as the first one. The ball flew to the second fielder's right, bounced once off the ground, ricocheted off the wall, and landed in his mitt.
"That's also an out," Coach said.
Ryder frowned. "But it hit the wall. That should be an automatic hit."
Coach waved his hand over the hologram, and it replayed the last scene. "The second level is different from the other two. If the fielder catches the ball after one or two hops, it's an out. For this purpose, the wall counts as the ground. You'll see the best second fielders using the wall to their advantage. Mickey, as you might guess, is one of the best."
"If it bounces three times, it's a single?" Ryder asked. "How far do the runners advance?"
"Only one base, but that leads us to the third tier."
On the hologram, the batter smashed a drive up to the top level. The area didn't look to be quite the size of a major league outfield, but that was okay since there were only two fielders. The wall was the same size as the other two, and there was even a warning track in front, just like on baseball fields back home. The ball landed in front of one of the fielders, who gobbled it up on one hop.
"He caught it in one bounce," Ryder said. "Is that an out?"
Coach shook his head. "To be an out on the third tier, the fielder has to catch the ball before it hits the ground, just like an outfielder on your world. But see the line in the middle?"
He pointed halfway between the second and third tier walls to a thin yellow line. "It's like a first outfield and a second outfield," Jessie said.
"That's more true than you realize." They watched the fielder make the one-hop catch in front of the line. "If the fielder picks the ball up in front of the line, it's a single, and the runners advance one base. If it lands in front of the line, but the fielder picks it up behind, it's a single and the runners advance two bases."
On the next play, the batter smashed a ball deep into the outfield. The ball landed behind the line, and the fielder dove and snagged it before it hit the wall. "If the ball lands behind the line and the fielder grabs it before it hits the wall, it's a double, and the runners advance two bases. They'll never go more than two bases on a double. If the ball hits the wall, it's a triple, and the runners advance three bases."
Ryder raised his hand as if he had a question in school. "What if it lands before the line for a single but rolls all the way to the wall? Is that a triple, or only a single?"
"If it hits the wall, it's a triple. Doesn't matter how it gets there."
They looked back at the hologram. Jessie figured he knew what was coming next, and he wasn't disappointed. The batter smacked the next pitch deep. The fielders drifted back, but ran out of room. "Home run!" Jessie said a little louder than he meant to. When everyone laughed, he felt his face heat up, and he did his best to focus on the hologram and not look up.
"Yes," Coach said, "that one needs no explanation. Also, three strikes make an out, and each side gets three outs per inning. There are some differences you won't be used to. Games last five innings, and instead of four balls drawing a walk, it only takes two. This encourages pitchers to throw strikes."
Jessie gasped. "But I thought they were pitching machines. Don't they always throw strikes?"
"Only the bad ones always throw strikes," Stretch said. "The good ones mix in some wild pitches to keep the batters off balance."
"But what if someone gets hit?"
"It happens," Coach said. "If someone gets hit or walked, it's like a single. If it happens again in the same game, it's a double. A third time, a triple, and any more after that equal a home run. This discourages pitchers from walking batters like Mickey every time he comes up to bat."
"But I don't want to get hit at all," Jessie said. He knew he wouldn't be playing, but tears still rose to his eyes.
"Nothing to worry about," Coach said. "This brings up rules for young players, which is why we want Ryder on the team."
"There are special rules for me?"
"And others like you," Stretch said. "You're not the only youngster in the tournament."
Coach nodded. "When you're batting, the pitcher has to throw a strike. One ball equals a walk. And if the pitcher hits you, it's an automatic home run, and every run counts double. So, theoretically, if you come up with the bases loaded and the pitcher hits you, that's eight runs."
"Cool! A double grand slam! I'd get plunked for that."
Jessie shuddered about how excited Ryder was.
"Now you see why we wanted you on our team. We have no doubt you'll be able to handle the pitching when it has to be a strike. Now let's get you boys into the simulator to see what you can do."
Click here to read Chapter 9 Part 1
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