The World Series Curse Read online

  Kate pointed to Fenway’s left field wall. “I think I just got my costume idea for our Halloween party!” she said.

  Mike and Kate were going to have a big Halloween party that weekend, after the World Series was over. They had invited all their friends from school, but they were still trying to decide on their costumes.

  Mike stared at the huge green wall. “You’re going as a wall?” he asked. “Is that because you’re board?”

  “No! I can go as the Green Monster!” Kate said. “I can use cardboard to make a big green wall that I can wear over my shoulders. I’ll paint the scoreboard on it and everything. And then dye my hair green and paint my face green so I look scary, like a monster!”

  Mike nodded. “That’s a great idea,” he said. His shoulders slumped. He rolled the baseball he always had slowly from one hand to the other. “Now I just have to think of a costume.”

  “Well, maybe since you’re rooting for Chicago to win the World Series, we can think of something from Wrigley Field for you,” Kate said. “Like the ivy!”

  Mike and Kate had visited so many baseball parks that they didn’t have favorite baseball teams. But for the World Series, they each decided to root for one team. Kate wanted Big D and the Red Sox to win. Mike wanted Louie and the Chicago Cubs to win.

  Mike thought about it. “Hmmm…I don’t think I want to go as ivy, but maybe we can think of something else from Wrigley Field.”

  After the Red Sox and the Cubs finished batting practice, Mrs. Hopkins went to the pressroom to work. The stands were now packed. Out in the bleacher seats behind center field, a chant started. Soon it spread. Mike and Kate jumped up to join. They yelled and clapped in time to the chant. “LEEEET’S go, RED Sox!” Clap-clap. Clap-clap-clap! “LEEEET’S go, RED Sox!” Clap-clap. Clap-clap-clap!

  A few of the Chicago Cubs fans shouted “Let’s go, Cubs!” as loudly as they could, but it was no match for the home fans.

  A short time later, Fenway Park’s speakers crackled to life. “Welcome to Boston for the WOOOOOOORLD SERIES!” the announcer boomed over the speakers. “Now it’s time to plaaaaa­aaaaa­aay ball!”

  Mike, Kate, and the rest of the fans stood up and cheered as the Red Sox took the field.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally at a World Series game!” Kate yelled to Mike.

  Mike smiled and pumped his fist. “I know!” he said. “This is great!”

  But it didn’t take long for the Chicago Cubs to quiet the Boston fans when they got up to bat. The first two Cubs players hit singles with no outs. Fenway Park fell silent as Loopy Lenfield, the Boston pitcher, faced the next Cubs batter.

  His first two pitches were balls. But the Cubs batter swung at Loopy’s third pitch. The ball sailed high into the outfield. Fans held their breath, and the runners on first and second waited.

  But the crowd erupted into cheers as the fly ball dropped into Big D’s glove. It was an out!

  Luckily for Boston, Loopy quickly got the next two batters out. The top of the inning ended without the Cubs scoring. The bottom of the inning also went fast. Boston put one runner on base, but the next three batters got out to end the inning.

  The fans cheered as the Boston players ran out onto the field again. They wanted Boston to win!

  “I’m thirsty,” Mike said as he stood up. “Let’s go find a PowerPunch.”

  Kate followed him up the aisle and into the big hallway at the top of the row. Before they could buy the PowerPunch, Kate spotted something. She tugged on Mike’s sleeve and pointed down the hall.

  “There’s Ms. Sanders and the goat!” Kate said. “Let’s go get our picture taken.”

  Kate ran off down the hall. Mike followed her to a booth with Ms. Sanders and her goat. Behind them was a banner that read: Reverse the Billy Goat Curse! A group of Chicago Cubs fans were lined up waiting to get their pictures taken with the goat. One of them was trying on a T-shirt and hat.

  When Mike and Kate finally made it to the front of the line, Ms. Sanders gave them a big smile and a high five. “Thank you for catching Billy,” she said. “This one’s on me. Just stand over there next to him.”

  Ms. Sanders positioned Mike on one side of Billy and Kate on the other. While she set up the camera, Mike leaned over in front of the goat.

  “Hey, Billy,” he said. “How’d you like a bite of this baseball?”

  Mike held his baseball out. But Billy turned his head to the side. Mike moved the ball closer, but the goat turned his head some more.

  “What’s the matter? Don’t you like baseball?” Mike asked.

  Kate shook her head. “I think he likes baseball, just not baseballs,” she said.

  Mike tried one last time. He waggled the ball in front of Billy’s nose. “Is that true?” he asked. “You don’t like baseballs?”

  Just as Mike was about to give up, Billy lowered his head, leaned forward, and shot his nose up.

  WHACK!

  Billy’s snout hit Mike’s baseball from underneath. The ball flew out of Mike’s hands and up into the air!

  “Ha! That’s what you get!” Kate laughed.

  Mike’s ball dropped into a plastic bin of Ms. Sanders’s stuff. Mike ran after the ball. Ms. Sanders went over to check on the goat. Mike dug through the bin looking for his ball. After a minute, he ran back and stood with Kate.

  Ms. Sanders snapped one picture after another of Mike, Kate, and Billy. When she was done, she gave them a business card. “You can download your pictures here,” she said. “I’ve set it up so they’ll be free. Thanks again for catching Billy.”

  Mike and Kate bought PowerPunches on the way back to their seats. As they sipped their drinks, a big cheer rose from the field. Kate ran over to a doorway to see what was happening.

  “It’s the third inning and Big D’s up!” she said. “It’s still 0–0.”

  Mike looked over his shoulder at Ms. Sanders. They were far enough away so she couldn’t hear them talk. He waved Kate back. “Come here,” he said.

  “But Big D’s up!” Kate said. She looked at the field and then headed back to Mike.

  Mike raised his eyebrows and stared at Kate. “This is even bigger!” he said. “You’ll never believe what I found out!”

  “What?” Kate asked.

  “I can prove that Ms. Sanders doesn’t want the Cubs to win like she says she does! She actually wants them to lose!” Mike said. “She’s tricking everyone and causing all the trouble for Louie and the Cubs!”

  Kate grabbed Mike’s arm. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Ms. Sanders is a Cubs fan! Why would she want the Cubs to lose the World Series? Doesn’t she want to break the Billy Goat Curse?”

  Mike threw the baseball from one hand into the other. It made a smacking sound.

  “Maybe not,” he said. “If the Billy Goat Curse is broken, she won’t be able to make all this money selling billy goat T-shirts and hats! Plus, maybe she’s still mad at the Cubs for kicking her grandfather out of the game.”

  Kate looked back at Ms. Sanders and Billy. She was doing a lot of business.

  “But that’s just a guess,” she said. “You don’t have any proof it’s her.”

  Mike smiled. “But I do have proof that she’s planning on the Cubs losing! If you ask me, that’s pretty strange for such a big Cubs fan.”

  He pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times to show Kate some pictures. “I took this when I was looking for my ball in Ms. Sanders’s stuff.”

  Kate’s jaw dropped. Mike’s picture showed a Billy Goat Curse T-shirt. But instead of reading, “The Cubs—World Series Winners,” it said, “The Cubs—Better Luck Next Year!” On it was a picture of Billy wearing four bright red socks on his feet and a Red Sox hat on his head!

  “Think about it. Ms. Sanders has been around Fenway the whole time,” Mike said. “She could have messed with the Cubs’ baseballs. And she could have easily untied Billy today when no one was looking. And no one would suspect her since she says she wants the Cubs to win!�
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  “No one but you, Mike,” Kate said. She tapped her foot. “It doesn’t seem like she’d do it, but I guess she could have.”

  “We have to stop her before she does something else to the Cubs,” Mike said.

  Just then, a big roar went up from the crowd. Kate and Mike ran to the railing overlooking the field. The Red Sox had scored a run! There were runners on second and third, and the Red Sox were ahead 1–0 in the bottom of the third inning.

  “Come on,” Kate said. “Let’s get back to the game. If the Red Sox end up winning tonight, they’ll play again in Chicago. Then we can tell Louie and Red about the T-shirt we found in Ms. Sanders’s bin. If she’s messing up the Cubs, they’ll be able to stop her.”

  Mike nodded. He and Kate raced back to their seats. By the time they got there, the Cubs were at bat again.

  The next inning flew by. Both teams fought hard, but neither scored. Loopy Lenfield pitched really well for Boston. He didn’t let the Cubs get any more hits until Louie got up in the fifth inning and hit a home run!

  Mike popped out of his seat and cheered. “The Cubs have tied the game!” he yelled. “Go, Cubs!”

  The score stayed tied for the next couple of innings. After the seventh-inning stretch, Kate’s mother joined Mike and Kate in their seats.

  As with the Cubs, the Boston bats had grown quiet. But in the bottom of the eighth, the fans cheered when Big D stepped up to the plate. The batter before him had hit a double. If Big D could get a hit, Boston might score!

  Big D walked up to home plate. He spun his foot back and forth in the dirt and took a few practice swings. His arm muscles stood out in the bright lights.

  The Cubs pitcher studied Big D and waited for the right sign from his catcher. He shook off two signs, and then nodded and stood up straight. A second later, the ball snapped out of his hand and flew toward home plate.

  Big D turned on his heel and swung his bat around in the blink of an eye.

  BAM!

  The ball exploded off the bat. It shot straight over the shortstop’s head and dropped between the outfielders. The Boston runner on second ran around third and headed for home! Big D rounded first and headed for second.

  The Cubs left fielder grabbed the ball and hurled it toward the catcher. The Boston runner was almost home. He slid. The ball snapped into the catcher’s glove. He brushed the leather against the arm of the Boston runner.

  The umpire waited for a second as the dust died down. And then he swung his arms out to each side.

  SAFE!

  The Red Sox had scored on Big D’s hit! They were ahead by one run now!

  Unfortunately, the Red Sox couldn’t make their luck go any further. The next Boston batter struck out and ended the inning. At least they were ahead.

  When the Cubs got up in the ninth inning, they didn’t have much luck, either. The first two batters got out. But then Louie walked up to the plate. Mike and the other Cubs fans stood up and yelled as Louie took a few practice swings. A chant started. “Looooou-IE! Looooou-IE! Looooou-IE!”

  Louie dipped his batting helmet. He let the first ball fly by for a strike. But he unwound on the second pitch.

  POW!

  It was a huge fly ball! The ball flew toward the right field wall as the Boston outfielder raced back. He leapt up and stretched into the air. The top of the fielder’s glove captured the ball.

  “It’s an out!” Kate called. She jumped up and down. “The Red Sox won! The Red Sox won!”

  Mike slumped into his seat as the Boston fans celebrated. “Well, I guess at least that means the Cubs will get a chance to win the World Series in Chicago,” he said.

  “Yes, you’re right, Mike,” Mrs. Hopkins said. “But do you two know what else it means?”

  Mike looked at Kate. They both shrugged.

  Mrs. Hopkins smiled. “Well, it means I’ll have to work for the rest of the World Series,” she said. “So how would you like to come with me to Chicago for the last two games? We can get your homework from your teachers and take it with us.”

  Clippity, clippity, clippity, clippity.

  A strange sound echoed down the hallway under Wrigley Field.

  Mike and Kate were crouched behind a big gray laundry cart. Mike peeked over the top of it. “What’s that?” he asked.

  Kate glanced around the side of the cart. The hallway was empty except for a security guard.

  “Shh! Someone’s coming!” she said. “Maybe it’s Ms. Sanders and the goat!”

  It was the afternoon of game six of the World Series. Mike and Kate had arrived early at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs’ ballpark. While Mrs. Hopkins was up in the pressroom, they were hiding in the hallway outside the Cubs’ clubhouse to spy on Ms. Sanders.

  Clippity, clippity, clippity, clippity.

  “It’s her! And the goat!” Mike whispered.

  The sounds drew closer. Mike and Kate could hear voices. A moment later, a group of Chicago Cubs players came into view!

  Mike rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t the goat! It was only the players’ cleats,” he said once they had entered the clubhouse. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”

  Kate nodded. “Let’s stay just a little longer,” she said. “Then we can go visit Louie before the game.”

  They watched the hallway for the next fifteen minutes. A few players came and went, along with some trainers and a woman who looked like a reporter. They were about to give up and head into the clubhouse themselves when they heard another funny sound from the hallway.

  Clippity-clop, clippity-clop, clippity-clop.

  They crouched behind the cart and tilted their heads to hear better. Ms. Sanders led Billy through the clubhouse door!

  Kate jumped up. “Follow her!” she said.

  Mike and Kate ran over, opened the door, and popped inside.

  The room was humming with activity. Cubs players were getting ready for the game. Louie Lopez stood near his locker on the other side of the room. He was talking to Ms. Sanders. When Louie spotted Mike and Kate, he waved to them.

  The goat bleated and clopped around as Mike and Kate walked over.

  “Hi, Mike and Kate!” Louie called out. “Just who I wanted to see!”

  “What’s up, Louie?” Mike asked.

  Louie was rubbing his hands together. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other and looking around.

  “It’s great to be back in Chicago for these last two games,” he said. “But I’m worried that someone is still trying to make the Cubs lose. We need some good luck in the clubhouse.”

  Kate petted Billy’s head. “So that’s why Billy and Ms. Sanders are here,” she said.

  Louie nodded. “Yup,” he said. “I had Ms. Sanders bring Billy down so all the players can rub his back on their way out to the field for good luck!”

  Mike and Kate smiled and nodded.

  “Sounds like a plan, Louie,” Kate said. “Maybe it will bring the Cubs luck!”

  Mike nudged Kate and looked at Ms. Sanders. “Yeah, bad luck!” he whispered.

  Louie smiled. “How about I show you around?”

  “Sure,” Mike said. But then he noticed a clubhouse attendant sitting in the corner. He had a stack of new baseballs and a white tub filled with brown goop. The attendant opened the first box of balls.

  “Is he using baseball rubbing mud?” Mike asked. “I’ve always wanted to see it.”

  “Yup,” Louie said. “Most people don’t know about baseball mud. It’s called Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud. It comes from a secret place in New Jersey. It makes the balls easier for the pitchers to grip and easier for the batters to see. We have to put it on eighty new baseballs each game!”

  Mike, Kate, and Louie walked over to watch. Ms. Sanders and the goat followed. The clubhouse attendant dipped a few fingers in the tub and covered the new balls with a thin layer of brown mud. He had muddied up about five balls when he stopped and looked at his hands. He raised his eyebrows and lifted his fingers up to his face. Then he
sniffed them.

  “Pew!” he said. “Yuck! Something’s wrong with the rubbing mud!”

  The attendant jumped up and ran to the sink. He rubbed his hands quickly under the water.

  Louie looked closely at the tub of mud. He sniffed it, let out a gasp, and backed away. “Whoa!” he said. “There’s definitely something wrong with that mud!”

  Ms. Sanders walked over and picked up the tub of mud. She looked at the brown goop inside and took a sniff. Her nose wrinkled.

  “That’s not baseball rubbing mud,” Ms. Sanders said. “That’s goat poop!”

  “Goat poop?” Kate asked. “Someone put goat poop in the baseball rubbing mud?”

  Ms. Sanders nodded. “That’s what it smells like,” she said.

  Louie smacked his forehead. “Oh no,” he said. “This is more bad luck for the Cubs. We’re going to lose!”

  Ms. Sanders patted Louie’s back. “Come on, Louie,” she said. “The Cubs still have a chance! My goat and I are here to help!”

  That’s when Mike got mad.

  “No, you’re not!” he said. “I think you’re the one trying to get the Cubs in trouble. You put the goat poop in the rubbing mud! You want the Cubs to lose!”

  Ms. Sanders took a step back. “Are you crazy?” she asked.

  “Where else would the goat poop come from?” Kate asked. “There aren’t a lot of other goats around the stadium.”

  “Someone stole it from me!” Ms. Sanders said. “I didn’t say anything about it before because it was so weird.”

  “Someone stole your goat’s poop?” asked Louie.

  Ms. Sanders nodded. “When I’m at the ballpark with Billy, I always collect his droppings in a can. But when I went to tie Billy up after Kate captured him at Fenway, I noticed the tin was empty. I know it was half full that morning. I just thought maybe someone had emptied it into a garbage by mistake.”