One of the great things about having Mike and Kate go to different ballparks is that they get to meet baseball players, like Big D from the Boston Red Sox. In the Ballpark Mysteries first book, The Fenway Foul-Up, Kate and Mike got to help Big D find his missing bat. So it was really funny for them when Big D sent an email a few weeks after The Fenway Foul-Up ended. Here’s a copy of Big D’s letter to Mike and Kate so you can read it yourselves:
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Dear Mike and Kate,
Hey guys! Thanks again for getting my Green Monster bat back. It sure does mean a lot to me. It’s part of the reason that I can hit so many home runs! It just doesn’t feel right hitting with any other one.
Anyway, remember what I wrote on that bat that I gave you? It said the next home run I hit would be for you two. Well, the very next day, we were playing the Tigers in Detroit, and Dusty Dickinson, their best pitcher was on the mound. It was my first at bat of the day, and guess what happened? I hit a home run on the first pitch! It felt so good and it’s all thanks to you two.
We ended up winning 4-2, and after the game, I went to the dugout to get my stuff. I was the only one in the dugout because when the rest of the players were packing up, I was doing an interview on the field.
When I was done with the interview, I got my helmet, my batting gloves, and my backup bat, but I couldn’t find the Green Monster!
I looked everywhere, and I mean everywhere! I looked under the seats of the dugout, on the field, even in the Tigers’ dugout in case someone on their team had taken it by accident. But I couldn’t find it anywhere!
I ran over to the visitor’s clubhouse to see if the bat boy knew where it was. I was so mad that I had lost it again! It had only been a day since you guys got it back!
The bat boy told me he hadn’t seen it, so I ran into the locker room. It was dark and the light was off so I flipped it on.
As soon as I did, I saw all of my teammates in the center of the room. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I asked them if they had seen my Green Monster bat.
But instead of telling me, they all started laughing!
I asked what was so funny, but this made them laugh even harder.
I turned to Corky Collins and asked him why they were laughing.
Corky looked at me with a wide smile, he said “didn’t you just lose that bat…yesterday?”
This made everybody laugh even harder.
At this point, some of them were laughing so hard tears were running down their faces. Finally, Loopy Lenfield, the Red Sox knuckleball pitcher, came out from behind the rest of the guys. He walked with his hands behind his back, but when he got to me took them out from behind his back and held them out front, and guess what he had?
My bat!
“Here you go Big D, how about you keep a better eye on this from now on,” he said with a smile.
When he said that, even I had to laugh. I guess I learned my lesson–I need to keep better track of my Green Monster bat!
Well, anyway, I hope everything is good with you two and your mom. I really appreciate how you helped my and I hope to see you all soon at a game!
Best,
Big D