The All-Star Joker Page 4

  SUDZI’S SUPER FOAM

  “This guy’s the joker!” Mike cried. “Not Josh. He brought a whole bagful of practical jokes. We hid the bag under there.” Mike scooted under the table. He grabbed the bag and plopped it down in front of Sparky.

  “That’s not my bag,” the agent said. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  “Oh really?” asked Kate. “Have you seen this before?” She held up a half-full bag that read PETE’S PICANTE GUM—HOT TIMES FOR YOUR MOUTH! “Or this?” she said, pulling out a small bottle with ITCHING POWDER printed on the front.

  Andy reached into the bag and found a tube of clear grease and a small saw. “He used this grease on my dad’s glove!” Andy exclaimed. “And this saw on the chair at the home run derby!”

  The agent sniffed. His steely black eyes looked down at Andy. “Maybe you should ask your father about those,” he said. “Because that bag’s not mine.”

  Andy looked up at Sparky. “We saw him bring the bag in,” he said. “He took something out of it and put it in my dad’s locker!”

  Sparky stared at the bottle of Sudzi’s Super Foam in his hand. Then he looked at the agent. On the floor, Kate kept digging through the bag.

  “Well, it seems like we need to find out who really owns this,” Sparky said. He nudged the plastic bag with his shoe. “That would tell us a lot.”

  Andy’s face dropped. “How are we going to do that?” he asked. “It’s impossible!”

  Kate stood up. She was holding the bag. “No, it’s not,” she said. “Look at what I found at the bottom of the bag.” She pulled out a stack of papers. She handed them to Sparky. “It looks like Mr. Clark printed out his emails.”

  Sparky held the top email at arm’s length and read: “From: Tom Clark. To: Director, Sports TV Channel Five. I’m ace catcher Rocket Richards’s manager. I have inside information that the Rocket, and not Josh Robinson, will be starting in the all-star game this week. Make sure to keep your cameras on the Rocket during the game!”

  The agent slumped against the wall.

  Kate pointed to the date on the email. “This was sent almost a week ago!” she said. “Mr. Clark has been planning this all along!”

  Sparky handed the papers back to Kate. “Looks like we’ve just caught ourselves an all-star joker,” he said. “Why don’t you take a seat over there while I call my bull pen? I have a few people who might want to talk to you, Mr. Clark!”

  The agent shuffled over to the table. Sparky turned to Andy, Kate, and Mike.

  “You kids can hang out in the dugout while we get this sorted. We’ve got a few hours before game time,” Sparky said.

  Mike, Kate, and Andy headed for the door. They were just about to climb the stairs when Sparky stopped them.

  “Andy!” he called.

  Andy turned around. “Yes?”

  “Uh, one more thing,” Sparky said. “Can you tell your dad that I have something to say to him?”

  A Friendly Shake

  Sparky reached into the bucket of gum on the dugout steps. He pulled out a piece wrapped in bright red paper.

  “Rocket! Here’s another for you!” Sparky called. “I think you should eat every one we find!” He tossed the piece of Pete’s Picante Gum at the Rocket.

  The Rocket sat on the bench next to Josh. He caught the gum. “Come on, Coach,” he said. “I had no idea that my agent was playing all those practical jokes! I thought it was Josh!”

  “Thanks, buddy,” Josh said. “I’ll remember that next time you need something.”

  “Sorry, Josh,” the Rocket said. “I should have believed you. People said my agent was ruthless, but I never thought he’d do something to hurt other players. I guess he figured if you were benched, I’d get more playing time. Then I’d get a better contract.”

  The Rocket tried to offer the gum to Josh, but Josh held up his hands and backed away. The Rocket slipped it into his pocket instead.

  “Well, why’d you give a piece to Mike, then?” Andy asked the Rocket.

  “Someone had just tricked me by giving me one,” the Rocket said. “But I warned him. I told him he’d have a hot time!”

  Sparky reached into the bucket again. This time he came up with a square piece of bubble gum. He ripped the white paper off and popped it into his mouth. “That’s better,” he said, blowing a small pink bubble. “I want my boys to be hot on the field, not hot in the dugout!”

  Kate, Mike, and Andy were sitting at the far end of the bench. Just then, Kate’s cell phone rang. She pulled the phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID.

  “It’s my mom,” Kate said. She answered the phone and talked to her mother for a minute. Then she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

  “She wanted to know why we weren’t in our seats!” Kate said. “So I told her we found better seats. In the dugout!” Kate high-fived Mike and Andy.

  Sparky saw them high-fiving. “Nice view, huh?” he said, nodding at the field. “You guys can stay here all game, as long as you don’t cause any trouble.”

  “Don’t worry,” Kate said. “I’ll keep an eye on Mike. He’s the one you have to worry about!”

  “I’ll be too busy watching the game to cause trouble tonight,” Mike said. “I knew the all-star game would be great, but I never thought I’d see it from the dugout!”

  “I’m just happy that my dad’s back in the game,” Andy said. “That’s the best part.”

  “Speaking of being in the game …” Sparky studied his clipboard for a moment. He took out a pencil and made some changes. “Now that we know who the real all-star joker is, I’ll be putting Josh in the game first. Rocket, I’ll see when I can work you in.”

  The Rocket smiled. “It’s fine,” he said. “Josh is a great catcher and a good hitter. I’ll be proud to follow him!”

  Josh raised an eyebrow. “Really, you don’t care?” he asked. “What about your contract?”

  “I want to get the best contract I can,” the Rocket said. “But I’m going to find a new agent for that. One who’s not trouble. I’m making a fresh start.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Josh said.

  “So no hard feelings, then?” the Rocket asked Josh.

  Josh shook his head. “No, no hard feelings.”

  “Thanks,” the Rocket said. He held out his hand for Josh to shake. “Put her there.”

  Josh smiled and reached out to grab the Rocket’s hand.

  BUZZZZ!

  Josh yanked his hand away and jumped up off the bench.

  “Hey! What was that?” Josh said, shaking his hand like crazy. “That felt like a swarm of bees!”

  The Rocket opened his fist. Hidden in his palm was a small metallic joy buzzer.

  “Gotcha!” the Rocket said. He winked and handed the buzzer to Josh. “But maybe from now on we should let you be in charge of the practical jokes!”

  Dugout Notes

  Kauffman

  Stadium

  Royals Hall of Fame. The Kansas City Royals have their own hall of fame! It’s inside the stadium, behind the left-field wall. It has lots of great baseball artifacts, photos, and videos. It even has a supergiant baseball that’s split open so you can see what’s inside!

  The Negro Leagues. Kansas City holds an important spot in baseball history. For many years, African Americans were not allowed to play major-league baseball. Instead, they played on teams in the Negro Leagues. One of the biggest, the Negro National League, was founded in Kansas City. The Negro Leagues ended after Jackie Robinson and other African American players started joining major-league teams.

  Buck O’Neil. John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil was an important player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs. The Monarchs were one of the most popular Negro League teams. O’Neil went on to become the first black manager in major-league baseball. He was also a scout for the Kansas City Royals. He loved to watch Royals games so much they gave him a special red seat behind home plate. Many people think he should be in the National Baseball Hall of F
ame.

  Barbecue. Kansas City is known around the world for its barbecue restaurants and food. Kansas City–style barbecue is meat that’s slow-cooked over a smoky wood fire and covered with a thick, sweet sauce.

  Fountains. Kauffman Stadium has the largest fountains and waterfalls in major-league baseball. The waterfalls are turned on during the game. The fountains spring up between innings. They also run before and after the game.

  Scoreboard. The Royals’ stadium has a huge scoreboard in center field. It’s shaped like a home plate with a crown on top. The crown comes from the Royals’ logo.

  Prairie grass. Kansas City was near the starting point of many trails that led settlers to the American West in the 1800s. The settlers had to cross the Great Plains, which are filled with tall stalks of prairie grass. So the Royals planted lots of prairie grass around the outside of the stadium.

  The Outfield Experience. Kauffman Stadium is really special because it has something called the Outfield Experience. It is a large patio behind the outfield filled with fun stuff for kids! There’s a playground with tubes and slides, a baseball-themed merry-go-round, and even a short minigolf course. It also has batting cages for practicing your swing, a base-path run to test your speed, and a pitching mound to clock your throws.