OCR Text |
Show Car Baseball Butch and Fenn Stories 39 triple and a lost cup; and the rare over-the-house slam was a homer. One by one the tumblers had lodged in the rain gutter, forcing us into other pursuits. Butch showed us how to play Bottlecap Baseball in which the players are pop bottlecaps smashed flat so that a bobby pin - the ballcould be slid underneath. The diamond was scribed onto the cement floor with a piece of chalk--and it was exciting as Butch swung his arm out etching the homerun fence and writing outside the centerfield portion: "410 FEET." We invented Sockball to fit my yard which was a neat square with the garage in right-center. We'd talk Fenn out of one of his socks and stuff it hard with grass clippings. The object was to stroke the sock into the outfield without hitting it over the fence which was out, and then run to the one base, a sprinkler, and back without getting crossed out. Cross-outs was a good rule with three players. However, Sockball met its demise early in June when Butch caught a slider on the handle and pulled a linedrive straight through the one garage window, the ball breaking both little panes like a beanbag. My father came out, exasperated at the window, but more because he couldn't figure out why - with Sorenson Park right across the street with its full size little league diamond - why we never played any ball there. It was useless, obviously, to try to explain. |