FIVE
SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURIThe pitcher pointed at the black runner standing on second base. “Don’t you try and steal third on me now, boy, or I’ll fix you good.”
“We’ll see,” rookie shortstop Jackie Robinson hissed under his breath. Opposing white pitchers who called him boy didn’t scare him. They were the enemy. So piss on them. Robinson glared at the tall, boney white pitcher with the Southern accent, then took three long pigeon-toed steps off second base and looked around. He had just finished stealing second on a close play and had received the green light from the bench to steal third. He liked stealing third. Closer to the catcher, it was tougher, more of a challenge than second.
Robinson dared a few more steps off the bag, taking everything in. The pitcher kept looking back. In a
