By Steve Trout
Last week, Billy met Roy, who’s kind of a bully
At dinner that night Billy talked about Roy. His parents suggested that Billy get to know him by talking with him about baseball and what have in common.
“Don’t act like you’re afraid of him,” his mom said.
“What if he gets angry?” asked Billy.
“Just tell him you want to be his friend and you’re a team player. If he gets angry just walk away or distract him. He will respect you that you are standing up for the others on the team,” his dad said.
“I can try, but the real challenge will be finding out why he’s like that.”
At practice, Billy sat next to Roy as they were putting on their spikes. “Hey, Roy, I hope you don’t get upset, but if you want to play with us, you’ll have to make some changes in how you treat us guys.”
“Oh, really? I dunno about all that; I’m just trying to do what is best for me.”
“Yeah, that’s great, but we are a team, and we all have to get along. I have an idea of what might good to do,” said Billy.
“Oh, yeah? What is that?”
“I have this special ball I named Buddy. He has some magical powers. Really, trust me.
“You think I’m a fool?” Roy asked.
“No way. Just play catch with him.”
To Billy’s surprise Roy wasn’t angry, but just the opposite. He didn’t say much, but nodded his head that he’d give it a chance.
When Roy got home, he asked his younger brother Jimmy to play catch with him. Jimmy had stopped playing catch with Roy because Roy would say things that hurt his feelings. But this time he agreed. “Hey, Roy, I have a better ball than this old one. Let me get it.”
“No, I have to use this ball. My teammate gave it to me.”
Just then Jimmy threw the ball over Roy’s head. He expected Roy to say something mean, but he didn’t. He was ready for Roy to burn it back to him, throwing it much harder than he needed to do for a game of catch. But instead, Roy took a deep breath and tossed Buddy slowly and right to Jimmy’s glove.
“Good job. Keep being nice,” Buddy told him.
Jimmy asked: “How are things with the team? Are you making some friends?”
“Jimmy, do you think I’m difficult to be with? Do I act mean sometimes?”
“I’m glad you asked. You’ve never asked before. Yes, Roy, I never want to play catch with you or any game. I love playing Battleships, but the time that you tossed the board on the ground, I gave up wanting to play with you. Whatever we did, you were always mean.”
“Dad told me to try and see that the things I do are not good for me and I need to take time before I say or do things,” Roy said.
Jimmy asked, “Hey, you want to watch a Cubs game?”
“Sure, we haven’t done that in a long time,” said Roy.
The next day Jimmy talked to his dad about how he and Roy had played catch and watched a Cubs game. He told his dad how surprised he was that Roy was nice and how maybe things were changing.
“I’ve noticed a positive change in his attitude,” his dad said. “If he doesn’t change, the team will vote him off, and he really needs to playing ball. He’s really good if he puts the right energy into it.”
Roy took Buddy with him to school and in the back of the bus two boys were yelling at each other. Roy was sitting directly in front of them and was getting angry. Then he heard, “Be cool.”
When Roy turned around, the other boys were scared that Roy was going to be mean to them. But instead, he said, “C’mon guys. Is that really necessary? Let’s try to get along.” They looked at each other in amazement.
“Okay, Roy, if you say so,” one of them said.
Normally, Roy would have yelled at them. He looked at Buddy and thought to himself, “Maybe there is something to this ball.”
Read all of the “Buddy the Baseball” stories and our interview with Steve Trout
