The L. A. Dodger, page 4
Kate gave the backpack a hard tug. Her black notebook fell out. Then her original blue notebook fell out, too. But that wasn’t all. A cascade of notebooks, cell phones, and photographs also dropped to the floor.
Kate dove for her notebooks.
The Dodger swung around to see what happened. By now, other people had gathered around them.
“What have you kids done?” the Dodger screamed when he saw the contents of his backpack dumped on the floor. “Get away from my stuff!”
He reached down to scoop the notebooks, pictures, and cell phones into the backpack, but they slipped through his fingers. His hands were covered with ketchup. He tried to rub them clean on his shirt, but that just made everything worse.
BRRREEEEET! BRRREEEEET!
A shrill police whistle sounded. A security officer stepped into the middle of the crowd. “What’s going on here?”
The Dodger glanced toward the exit and then at the contents of his backpack. He looked at Mike and Kate, and his eyes narrowed.
“Officer, I’m so glad you’re here,” he said loudly. “Those kids just attacked me and tried to steal my backpack. I demand you arrest them immediately!”
Mike’s and Kate’s jaws dropped.
The officer looked at them suspiciously. Suddenly, Kate’s stomach felt sick.
“You three will have to come with me,” the officer snapped. “Someone has some explaining to do.”
The Real Stars
of Los Angeles
“Well, what do we have here?” Mr. Hopkins asked. He frowned at Kate and Mike. They were sitting on a bench outside the chief of security’s office.
“I know you two like to look for trouble, but who’d guess you’d find it at Dodger Stadium! I never imagined you’d be brought in by security,” Mr. Hopkins went on. “Everyone I work with will find out.”
He shook his head. In the background, a telephone rang.
Kate slumped down on the bench. She crossed her arms and pulled her feet back under the bench. Mike shifted uncomfortably.
Kate scuffed her sneaker on the ground. Mr. Hopkins leaned over and lifted the bill of Mike’s baseball cap. Then he patted Kate’s knee.
“Think about it,” he said. “Everyone I work with will find out that you two caught the person who’s been threatening us and stealing from the team! You’ll be heroes!”
“We will?” Kate asked. She sat up straight and glanced at her father. “I thought you were mad. You aren’t?”
“No, of course not,” Mr. Hopkins said. “I just finished talking to the chief of security. He said you outsmarted a real troublemaker!”
Mike jumped up from the bench. “All right! I knew it would work!” he said to Kate. “Put it there!” He gave Kate a high five.
Kate smiled. “It wasn’t what we planned, but it did work out,” she said. “I guess you caught him red-handed, Mike! Get it? With the ketchup!”
Kate’s father groaned. “Oh, that’s bad. But I’m glad you made a big scene so that the security guard came over,” he admitted. “How about putting that salsa de tomate to an even better use? Like on French fries? Mr. Thomas, the chief of security, told me he’d meet us at the Dugout Club when he was done investigating.”
“Oh boy, food!” Mike called out. “Now, that’s a reward!”
Mr. Hopkins led them to the Dugout Club. Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins slid into a booth and watched the rest of the game on the large TVs sprinkled around the indoor restaurant. There was only one inning left. When it was over, the Dodgers had won 4–1.
A black-and-white picture was mounted on the wall of their booth. It showed two old-time Dodgers players fooling around during spring training.
At first Kate didn’t notice anything unusual. But then something jumped out at her. “Mike, look at the baseball hats in that photo,” she said.
Mike examined the hats. They were a dark color and had a large, fancy white B on the front. “That’s the same B that’s on the Boston Red Sox’s hat,” he said. “But their shirts say Dodgers.”
“That’s right, Mike,” Kate’s father said. “Those are the old uniforms. The B on the hat is for Brooklyn, not Boston. The Dodgers changed the hats after they moved to Los Angeles.”
Mr. Thomas, the Dodgers chief of security, sat down across from Mr. Hopkins. He nodded to Mike and Kate.
“Hello again,” Mr. Thomas said. He looked at the table covered with dishes and soda cups. “I’m glad you were able to find something to eat.”
“Yup. The fries were great. Thanks,” Kate said. She pointed to the black-and-white picture on the wall. “We thought the Dodger was wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, but it was a Brooklyn hat!”
“That’s pretty good detective work,” Mr. Thomas said. “Your Dodger’s real name is Zoot Tambor. He is a private detective from Brooklyn. A rich woman hired him to scare the team. She loved the Dodgers when she was little, and she wants them back in Brooklyn. She was hoping after all the problems that they would leave L.A.”
Mr. Hopkins slapped the table. “So that’s why he was trying to get my scouting notebook!” he said. “And why he made those threatening calls. How did he steal the cell phone and the other items from the coaches and managers?”
Mr. Thomas shifted in his seat and straightened his tie. “Well, um, that was a mistake,” he admitted. “He got a job with the cleaning crew and had access to the locker rooms and offices. We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“What’s going to happen to him?” Kate asked.
“We’ve called the police,” Mr. Thomas said. “They’re going to question the woman from Brooklyn, too. Zoot Tambor has already been arrested. The police will decide what to charge him with later. But I can tell you, he won’t be getting close to the L.A. Dodgers anytime soon! Now we can get back to baseball and winning some games.”
Mr. Hopkins snapped his fingers. “That reminds me,” he said. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his notebook. “I’ve got some notes on a few players who would be great for the team. Looks like it’s safe to give them to the manager. I’ll do that on our way out.”
Mr. Thomas stood up. “I’ve got to get back to my office,” he said. “As our thanks for catching the Dodger, we want you to come to tomorrow night’s game as our guest. Make sure to come early, because we have a special job for you.”
“A special job?” Mike asked. “Like helping the batboy?”
“Not exactly, but you will help the team,” Mr. Thomas told them. “We’d like you to go up to the broadcast booth and meet Vern Samson, our announcer. He’s pretty famous around here. And while you’re there, you two can start the game by announcing, ‘It’s time for Dodger baseball!’ over the loudspeakers!”
Mike’s eyes opened wide. “Wow!” he said. “It’s like we’ll be in charge of the baseball game. Maybe we can say it’s free Dodger Dog day or something!”
“Not so fast, Mike,” Mr. Hopkins said. “It’s a pretty big honor just to introduce the game.”
“Okay,” Mike said. “But you can’t blame me for trying.”
Mr. Thomas laughed. “See you tomorrow night,” he said.
“I have one last thing to show you,” Mr. Hopkins said as they left the restaurant. They rode the elevator up to the top level of the stadium. It was twilight, and the moon was just coming out. The stadium was empty except for the cleaning crew picking up the trash from the day’s game. The mountains behind center field were mostly dark, though Mike and Kate could still make out the large THINK BLUE sign on one of the hills. Just over the mountains, the stars were starting to twinkle.
“Isn’t it wonderful up here at night?” Kate’s father said. “It’s so peaceful and quiet, it’s hard to believe you’re in the middle of a big city.”
“It was fun looking for movie stars in Hollywood yesterday. But they’re just movie stars. It’s nice to see the stars up in the sky at night,” Kate said.
“You’re right, Kate,” her father said. “But by capturing the Dodger, I’d have to say that today, you and Mike were the real stars of Los Angeles.”
Dugout Notes
Dodger Stadium
Vern Samson. Vern Samson doesn’t exist. But Vin Scully does. He is the most famous Dodger who wasn’t a baseball player. For over sixty years, Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Dodgers. He started broadcasting Brooklyn Dodger games in 1950. Scully continued for many, many years after the team moved to Los Angeles. He was famous for saying, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!” at the start of each game.
Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson made history as the first African American to play in the major leagues. The Brooklyn Dodgers hired Robinson in 1947. Although Robinson had to endure harsh racial prejudice, he always played with dignity and control. He was the second baseman for the Dodgers for ten years and played in six World Series. He retired before the team moved to California.
Ebbets Field, Brooklyn. Ebbets Field in Brooklyn was the home of the Dodgers from 1913 until 1957. After that, they moved to California. Ebbets Field was small and cramped, which some people felt made the games even more exciting.
Dodger Dogs. Most baseball fans like hot dogs. But Dodger fans love Dodger Dogs. At Dodger Stadium, Dodger Dogs can be cooked two ways, either steamed or grilled. Many people think that to be real Dodger Dogs, the hot dogs need to be grilled. Dodger fans started calling their hot dogs Dodger Dogs around the time the team moved to California.
Dodger Stadium. Dodger Stadium is the largest major-league ballpark. It sits on top of a hill in Elysian Park in central Los Angeles. The Dodgers have played there since 1962, when it opened. From 1958 to 1961 they played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Dodger Stadium is so big that it even has its own zip code!
The San Francisco Giants. The San Francisco Giants is the team that Dodgers fans love to hate. The Giants moved from New York City to California the same year that the Dodgers did. They’ve been fierce rivals ever since.
The Hollywood sign. The Hollywood sign is high up on the side of the hills outside of Los Angeles. Fans can see the sign from the top deck of Dodger Stadium. The large white letters spell out HOLLYWOOD. Each letter is forty-five feet tall. That’s taller than most houses!
Think Blue. The Dodgers have a smaller (but still large) sign on top of a hill just outside of Dodger Stadium. It reads THINK BLUE in large blue letters. Blue is the Dodgers team color.
First high five. Some people believe that two Dodger players gave each other the first high five in 1977. Other people say it was invented by a basketball player in the 1960s. Either way, it’s still one of the best ways to celebrate a sports victory!
Each book in this brand-new mystery series
is set in a different American ballpark.
Fun facts about each ballpark appear at
the end of the book, giving young fans
the sports trivia they crave.
David A. Kelly, The L. A. Dodger
