Story: Jim at Bat

from Jim the Boy
by Tony Earley

1 A summer pasture at twilight:

2 The boy cannot hit the baseball to his satisfaction. Though he makes contact almost every time he swings the bat, he does not strike the mighty blow he sees in his mind. The ball does not leap scalded into the sky, but hops into the tall grass as if startled by a noise; it buzzes mildly, a dying beetle tied to a piece of thread, and rolls to a disappointing stop.

3 Uncle Zeno pitches. He tracks the ball into the grass every time the boy hits it, and retrieves it without complaint from each new hiding place. He blames himself for the boy’s lack of success. The bat is simply too heavy. He knew this for fact when he bought it; he had not wanted to buy a new bat every time the boy grew an inch. He silently chides himself for being cheap.

4 Uncle Coran and Uncle Al man the field at improbably optimistic distances behind their brother. Their faces are indistinct in the coming darkness, their forms identical except that Uncle Coran wears a baseball glove on his left hand, while Uncle Al, who is left-handed, wears one on the right. They shout encouragement each time the boy swings the bat. They pound their fists into their gloves, though only for their nephew’s benefit; their bodies no longer believe the ball will ever make it out to their place in the field. They do not creep closer because it would make the boy feel bad.

5 All three of the uncles wear the small, pocketless, old-fashioned baseball gloves they have had since they were boys. Uncle Al’s mitt was made for a right-handed fielder, but he has worn it on the wrong hand for so long that he no longer notices that it doesn’t fit. Each uncle would still gladly play a game of baseball, should anyone ask, although no one has asked for years. They keep their tiny, relic gloves properly oiled, however, as if such invitations were not only commonplace, but imminent.

6 The boy studies Uncle Zeno until Uncle Zeno’s face seems to light up from the inside, weakly, like a moon seen through clouds. It changes into a hundred unfamiliar faces, twists into a hundred strange smiles, until the boy blinks hard and wills his eyes to see only what is there.

7 “Okay, Doc,” Uncle Zeno says. “Keep your eye on the ball. Here it comes.”

8 The baseball in Uncle Zeno’s hand is almost invisible, a piece of smoke, a shadow. The woods on the far side of the pasture are already dark as sleep; the river twists through them by memory. Uncle Zeno tosses the ball gently toward the boy, who does not see it until its arc carries it above the black line of trees, where it hangs for a moment like an eclipse in the faintly glowing sky. The boy is arm-weary; he swings as hard as he is able. The bat and ball collide weakly. The ball drops to the ground at the boy’s feet. It lies there stunned, quivering, containing flight beneath its smooth skin. The boy switches the bat into his left hand, picks up the ball with his right, and throws it back to Uncle Zeno.

9 “I hit it just about every time,” the boy says.

10 “Batter, batter, batter, batter,” Uncle Al chirps in the field.

11 “Say, whatta-say, whatta-say, whatta-say,” chants Uncle Coran in the ancient singsong of ballplayers. The uncles are singing to the boy. He has never heard anything so beautiful. He does not want it to stop.

12 “Okay, Doc,” says Uncle Zeno. “One more. Now watch.”

Questions:
1.
Use "Jim at Bat" to answer questions 1-6.

One of baseball’s long-established traditions is best exemplified in the description of —

2.
Use "Jim at Bat" to answer questions 1-6.

Which line provides the best evidence that Jim has high expectations for himself?

3.
Use "Jim at Bat" to answer questions 1-6.

From paragraph 5, the reader can infer that the three uncles —

4.
Use "Jim at Bat" to answer questions 1-6.

Read the following from paragraph 8.
Why does the author use personification in this quotation?

5.
Use "Jim at Bat" to answer questions 1-6.

Which sentence provides the strongest evidence that Jim appreciates what his uncles are doing for him?

6.
Use "Jim at Bat" to answer questions 1-6.

Which words best help the reader understand the meaning of the word indistinct in paragraph 4?