Before the first pitch could be thrown, people were hurling food and shoes and batteries in Thal’s direction. Before a single player could run the base line, fans were pouring onto the field in a crashing, screaming wave headed straight for Thal.
For a moment, he stood there and watched the approaching surge, wondering if he might be better off letting them tear him to pieces. It was something he had considered often in the weeks leading up to the game, for he had known how the fans would react and had thought it might not be a bad thing to let them put an end to him.
But the closer they got, the less he wanted to die. He was miserable, and he had no reason to think his life would get better, but he feared death...at least the ugly kind of death that was bearing down on him.
Plus whi
