The catchers mask, p.3
The Catcher's Mask,
p.3
“I wouldn’t have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes,” he said. “A triple play! Not bad, fellas, not bad at all.”
“And we have Rudy to thank for it,” Nicky pointed out. “He was on that bunt like he knew it was coming!”
“I did!” Rudy crowed. He picked up his catcher’s mask and pointed to the initials. “When you play with a piece of equipment that once belonged to a Hall-of-Famer, there’s not much you can’t do!”
Coach Parker’s eyes widened. “Let me see that, Rudy,” he said.
Suddenly Rudy’s good mood left him. Reluctantly he handed the mask to the coach.
Me and my big mouth, he thought. Coach Parker will take Yogi’s mask from me and give it back to Mr. Turnball for sure! There goes my game again.
Coach Parker examined the mask for a moment, then, with a funny look on his face, asked Rudy where he got it. Rudy told him.
The coach grinned. “You think this is Yogi Berra’s mask, don’t you, Rudy? And you think that’s why you’ve been playing better, right?”
Rudy nodded.
“Well, I hate to disappoint you, son. But I know this mask. It belonged to a high-school teammate of mine. His name was Roger Bilkins. But we called him ‘You Bet’ Bilkins, because whenever we asked him if he was going to catch a good game, he answered, ‘You bet!’ He was always losing things — that’s why he put his initials on everything he owned.” Coach Parker laughed. “I guess he lost this mask, anyway. Wonder how it ended up in Mr. Turnball’s garage sale. Guess that’ll always be a mystery!”
He handed the mask back to Rudy.
“So it’s not a Hall-of-Famer’s mask?” Rudy asked, disappointed.
Coach Parker’s eyes twinkled. “Well, now, I guess we can’t say for sure. I mean, it isn’t one now, but who knows? You might want to sign it yourself. Maybe someday in the future, this mask will have belonged to a Hall-of-Famer — you!”
Rudy turned the mask around in his hands. He could see the perfect spot for his signature. He looked up at the coach.
“You really think I could make it to the Hall of Fame someday?”
The coach grinned and ruffled Rudy’s hair. “After the game you played today? You bet!”
The Peach Street Mudders return in another action-packed adventure!
Catcher Rudy Calhoun hasn’t been playing well lately. He blames his troubles on the lousy catcher’s mask he has to wear. Then he finds an old-fashioned mask at a yard sale. It fits him perfectly, but there’s something else about it that intrigues him. Someone has marked his initials on the mask: Y.B. When Rudy comes across an old photograph of famous catcher Yogi Berra, he becomes convinced that the mask once belonged to him. Could that be why Rudy’s playing has suddenly improved so dramatically?
Matt Christopher, the bestselling author of more than fifty sports novels for young readers, has written eight other books in the Peach Street Mudders series. For a complete list of these titles and information on joining the Matt Christopher Fan Club, please turn to the inside back cover of this book.
Matt Christopher, The Catcher's Mask
