It was a sunny spring day, and baseball was in the air. Bobby stood just outside the first-base line and watched Coach Ronnie hit JImmy Fender a ground ball. JImmy misplayed it, and the ball came up and hit him in the stomach. He picked it up clumsily and threw wildly to third, where Dexter leaped for it in vain before running to chase it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh shit, my arm never got loose,\u201d Jimmy complained, stretching his arm out to \u201cwarm it up.\u201d Yes it did, you\u2019re just dogwater, <\/em>Bobby thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coach Ronnie hit Bobby a ground ball next. It was a little to his right, so he went to the ground and smothered it with his body. He then fired a strike to Dexter, right on the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAttaboy!\u201d Ronnie yelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey bud, you gotta field that cleanly,\u201d Jimmy scolded Bobby. \u201cCan\u2019t be doing any of that going down to your knees shit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuh? What do you want me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWatch this.\u201d Ronnie hit Jimmy the next ball, a sharp one-hopper slightly to his left. Instead of moving his feet, Jimmy lazily stuck out his glove and the ball bounced right into it. His throw to third was weak, but Dexter was able to scoop it up on multiple bounces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreat play, Jimmy!\u201d Ronnie praised him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how it\u2019s done, baby!\u201d Jimmy gloated. Spit bubbles flew from his mouth as he got right up in Bobby\u2019s face. His breath smelled like stale Cheetos and entitlement. This was getting very old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fighting Hamsters took a round of batting practice, in which both Bobby and Jimmy deposited a few balls over the fence. After practice, most of the team had gotten changed and cleared out of the locker room, leaving just Jimmy and Bobby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey bro, you ever wrestle?\u201d Jimmy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bobby stared at him blankly. \u201cNah, dude,\u201d he said flatly. He didn\u2019t like where this was going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I was the star of my wrestling team in high school,\u201d Jimmy bragged. \u201cCheck out this move.\u201d He then proceeded to pick Bobby up by the waist and put him over his shoulder. Before Bobby could react, Jimmy slammed him hard on a wooden bench. A sharp pain shot through his back, and he slumped to the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDude, what the fuck?\u201d Bobby\u2019s head was spinning, so he was more confused than angry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust showing you how it\u2019s done, bud. How\u2019d that feel?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot\u2026not too good,\u201d Bobby said, rubbing his back in annoyance. He didn\u2019t know whether it was a good idea to fight back or how it would affect his standing on the team. He also wondered how much the back pain would impact his season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEh, you\u2019ll walk it off. See ya later, freshie.\u201d Jimmy bounced before Bobby could process the situation. Something needs to change, <\/em>Bobby thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a sunny spring day, and baseball was in the air. Bobby stood just outside the first-base line and watched Coach Ronnie hit JImmy Fender a ground ball. JImmy misplayed it, and the ball came up and hit him in the stomach. He picked it up clumsily and threw wildly to third, where Dexter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ootb","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n