Stealing Second Base

Written by William Shepard, Published on 12/11/2008, Re-published on 5/5/2010

The Westbrook High School gymnasium was decorated in WHS colors, green and gold. Volunteers spent most of the day hanging decorations and bringing in tables and chairs, while a kitchen crew prepared turkeys that would be served to hundreds of baseball fans at the upcoming dinner presentation.

The rain that started in the late afternoon turned the parking lot into a mud bowl. But that didn’t dampen our spirits – not by a long shot. It was the first time in fifteen years that a Westbrook High School varsity team had won a state championship, a real thrill for one of the smallest schools in the state’s A League. That ranking was a remnant of the days when Westbrook itself had a much larger population. Over the years had come hard times, a factory closing, and families moving away to the further suburbs. But Westbrook High School had held on, with stubborn pride, to its A League ranking, competing against much larger high schools.

Well, come to think of it, what other school in the state had received a personal visit from Derek Jeter, star shortstop of the New York Yankees? As generous with his time as he was gifted in the field, Jeter had hosted a baseball clinic at WHS last spring, as the baseball season began. Before he left, Jeter personally signed and dated a brand new second base bag, which was put in a locked display case to inspire the team.

That spring, the Westbrook Black Sox – out of nowhere – had a winning season. Correct that – they had a spectacular season! They led the A League for the very first time. Coach Morgan claimed it wasn’t any of his doing. The Derek Jeter magic must have rubbed off on the team.

And now, at tonight’s banquet, the high school sports commissioner would visit Westbrook for the first time. Students made jokes about it, “… Bet he needs a map to find us!” There were even rumors that Derek Jeter himself, who we all believed had kept tabs on our baseball team throughout the season, might come.

But all of the excitement would end when Principal Carol Jackson came to me in distress. “Sam,” she said, “there’s been a robbery. I just can’t believe it. The display case! Mary Thornton just told me that our prize base is missing!”

Why she was calling this to my attention, I can’t say. (Maybe it’s because I’m the very smart editor of our school newspaper, the Tribune?) Anyway, I followed where her bony finger was pointing, straight at the display case. The door was closed, and there was empty space where the autographed second base used to be. I felt sick.

“Find out what’s going on, will you? People will be arriving in less than an hour.”

I saw Coach Joe Morgan in his nearby office, his door wide open as usual, students going in and out. I gave him the news, adding that the principal told me to find out what had happened.

“Glad you’re interested in sports, Sam. We could have used some support during our baseball season. The Tribune didn’t pay us much attention. Not that we needed it!”

“Yes, sir.” I could see that he wasn’t going to be of much help. I remembered from Law and Order reruns that people often sounded like wise guys when they were facing an investigation. I’d find out what happened, and that would make a nice addition to my resumé when it came time to apply for admission to college next year. Sam Waters on the case! What would a Law and Order detective want to know? Of course …

“Mr. Morgan, who had access to the display case during the cleanup this afternoon?”

He thought for a minute, “There are just two sets of keys to the display cases. I have one set, and the principal keeps the other set. I gave my keys to Randy Newsom. He had some help cleaning the case this afternoon. Shorty Gilstrap was with him.”

That made sense. Randy Newsom was the baseball team’s all-star captain, and Shorty, appropriately, played shortstop. They were an inseparable combination, on and off the field. I spoke with Randy first.

“Sure, Coach Martin asked me and Shorty to clean the case.”

“And ...”

“We took everything out, the dusted the case. I thought it looked better, but it was just getting dirtier. Plus, Shorty had just come from Art 101, and I was worried that he would get paint on the windows, or on the trophies. … Not that we have many trophies.”

“What happened then?”

“Well, fortunately, Mary Thornton came by, proudly wearing her cheerleading uniform. She sure does look great in that uniform. It fits her perfectly …”

“Randy. Focus! What happened with the display case?”

“Oh, right. Well, Mary knew about cleaning stuff. She even had some Windex. We took everything out of the display case once again, and she sprayed the glass windows. Then she wiped them dry. ‘Put them back where you want them,’ she said. I did, and then she left. I had to run, so I gave the keys to Shorty.”

“When did you notice that the second base was missing, Randy?”

“I didn’t … it’s missing?”

“So you put back everything in its place?”

“Yes. I did. By the way, I was there most of the time. I only went to grab some Cokes. Then I had to go pick up my date for the banquet.”

“Thanks, Randy. That helps a lot.” I sounded more confident than I actually felt. (Well, that’s how they sounded on Law and Order.)

Next on my list of suspects: Shorty Gilstrap.

“What’s up, dude?” he said.

“I hear you were helping Randy clean the display case.”

“For a minute or so. But I couldn’t stay long. I had to help bring in tables.”

“Wait a second. Was the second base there when you left to see Coach Morgan?”

“Absolutely, cross my heart -- and oh, yes, I returned the keys to Coach Morgan.”

Next, I spotted Mary Thornton walking toward her locker, decked out in her cheerleading uniform, her sweater dangling below her waist, looking two sizes too big. “Hi Mary. Got a minute?”

“Sure. What’s going on? Looking for a scoop for the Tribune?”

“Something like that. Randy told me you were a big help in cleaning that display case.”

“Somebody had to. Those two were totally hopeless. It seemed to be getting even dirtier, if you can imagine such a thing. Shorty’s nickname should be Pigpen!”

“So everything was there when you left?”

“I’m quite sure that everything was still there. Later, I did go back and take a second look. One of the trophies was just a bit off center. That annoyed me. I’d been working all day. Even had to take off my sweater, to keep it clean for the banquet. I got some keys from the principal, opened the door, moved the trophy, and then locked the case and returned the keys to her.”

“Thanks, Mary. Now I know what happened to our famous souvenir.”