Spring Training – 2011

The author of our Ballpark Mysteries books, Mr. Kelly, just sent me some cool pictures from Spring Training. He got to go down to Florida to see a Red Sox game and a Yankees game, and give away free baseballs (he promised to bring me and Kate one, but I haven’t seen  it yet!) to promote Literacy Day.

Special Ballpark Mysteries Spring Training Baseballs
Ballpark Mysteries Author David A. Kelly at a Yankees Spring Training Game
Ballpark Mysteries Author David A. Kelly at Red Sox Spring Training

(He swears the Red Sox MADE  him wear that shirt. But I don’t believe him. I think he likes the Red Sox!) Mr. Kelly also snapped this cool, close-up picture of the Yankees’ Derek Jeter.

Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees

The Ballpark Mysteries Books Arrive!

Looks like Spring Training has started! Kate and I are excited because Random House is now selling the first two books about our adventures at the ballparks–THE BALLPARK MYSTERIES! I think they look great!

The Ballpark Mysteries from Random House

You would never believe how LONG it takes to get a book published. We went to Boston’s Fenway Park ages ago, but it took forever to finish the books. (I know that the author, Mr. Kelly, is a slow writer like me, but I guess super-duper publishers like Random House take their time in the on-deck circle, if you know what I mean. They like things to be perfect. I’d rather just step up to home plate and swing!)

Anyway, the books are finally here. Now I won’t have to do any work when my teacher asks us to write an essay about my “perfect day”–I can just hand her one of the books!

Yankee Stadium Haunted?

A little while after Kate and I went to Boston to see the Red Sox, her mom took us down to New York City to see the Yankees! I thought that Fenway Park was cool. But Yankee Stadium is really neat! It was great to finally see the place where the Yankees play. They’ve won the World Series so many times, I can’t even count them.

We were in New York for a weekend series. The weekend started off with a press conference. We had to go because Kate’s mom needed to be there for her work. It was boring! I like to play and watch baseball. But I don’t like to sit around talking about it! That’s all they were doing. Until someone mentioned the ghost!

That’s right. People said there was a ghost in Yankee Stadium! Kate and I both started paying attention after that. We found out, with some help from her mom, that people had reported hearing a ghost in the stadium before games. They thought it was the ghost of Babe Ruth. He used to play for the Yankees.

Kate and I decided to find out if there really was a ghost. That’s when things started to get really scary. Things moving on their own. Loud noises. It looked like there were ghosts all around us! It ends up turning out okay, but you’ll have to read the book to find out everything that happened.

Green Monster

We were so excited to go to Boston to see the Red Sox! Kate’s mom had to drive out to report on a game for the AmericanSportz website. So she asked us if we wanted to come. Of course, we said yes! We had to leave early from Cooperstown (it’s about six hours away). We stayed in a hotel. But best of all, we saw the Boston Red Sox. We also met Big D, their star hitter. But that comes later in the story.

We went to Fenway Park (that’s where the Boston Red Sox play) early. Kate’s mom went up to the press box. But Kate and I watched batting practice from Fenway’s Green Monster seats. No, there’s no monster. That’s just the name for the giant, green left field wall at Fenway. Anyway, I almost had my head taken off by one home run. It was so cool!

After batting practice we went up to see Kate’s mom in the press box. But that’s when it happened. We saw security people on the field. And a suspicious bat boy. Someone had stolen Big D’s lucky bat!

Without his luck bat, Big D couldn’t hit a thing. We were really bummed out. It looked like Boston was going to lose the game.

So we decided to do some investigating. And we found a way to get out of a sticky situation. (If you read the book, you’ll know what I mean!). Anyway, I can’t tell you exactly what happens, but at the end of our trip, Kate and I get to do something REALLY cool at Fenway.

What Mike’s Eating Today

Just went to Houston, Texas. I saw a Houston Astros game (cool!) and took a tour of Space Center USA. That’s where they do all the mission control work for the the Space Shuttles, the International Space Station and other rockets.

But the best part of the trip was picking up some of these:

Why bother eating a meal when you can have it compressed into a handy, tube-like form that tastes like peanut butter!

Gotta go play…

— Mike

Rangers Ballpark

Hey guys, I’m still in Houston. I just saw a game in the Rangers Ballpark. It was amazing! Right next to the park is an office building. Imagine working there! You could watch a baseball game when ever you wanted by just looking out the window. The park even has Little League field and a lake next to it! And the best part is you can buy a ticket for only six dollars!

Did you know that it’s a rule in Major League Baseball that a player can’t be paid less the 400,000 dollars? That’s more than the president of the United States makes in a whole year! Well I have to go eat lunch. See you later, and keep swinging!