It was a hot late summer afternoon when BB found his way into the park as he watched the children playing on the swings and slides. It had been a long walk from the woods and he was ready for some fun and company. Just then he heard the crack of a bat and the cheering of a crowd.
He headed in the direction of the action and saw many people standing on a large flat field with lines drawn down the sides and a mound in the middle. A man stood on the mound and was tossing a ball at a young boy in a uniform wearing a helmet. BB stopped and watched the ball fly up and then down. When the ball was about to land, the boy swung at it with something that looked like the sticks that he played with in the woods.
The ball went flying out into the field and there was a mad dash by all of the people scattered around trying to catch it. The crowd in the stands were yelling for the batter to run, run, run. The runner had a grown-up guiding him all the way around the field, touching the white bags and ending up back where he started. As the crowd roared louder, BB knew that what had happened was a great thing and he wanted to join in.
BB jumped up and down and waved his arms until a coach came over.
“Hey little fella, someday you’ll be more than big enough to play ball but right now you’re just too small.”
BB looked back with disappointment on his face and began to whimper. The coach then said,
“You’re too small to play but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a helper. We find something for everyone to do in the Challenger League.”
The coach picked BB up and walked to where a little girl sat by herself in a wheelchair. Sitting him down in her lap, the coach said,
“BB, this is Tori and I’m sure she would love for you to be her helper.”
BB smiled and reached out to shake hands but the little girl just sat and stared. She would make sounds but not words. Fearing he had scared her, BB looked at the coach with a puzzled expression.
“Don’t be afraid little guy. You see, everyone that plays on the Challenger Field is special just like Tori. She can’t talk and she can’t walk or run, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to play ball. All she needs is you.”
BB stood as tall as he could as if proclaiming to the crowd,
“I will help Tori! I will be her legs! I will be her voice! I will swing for her and run for her! She is my special friend!!”
The coach pushed the wheelchair with BB and Tori to home plate. At first, the officials were just going to toss a ball and then let BB ride around the bases on Tori’s lap. BB would have none of that. He jumped down and grabbed a bat. He dragged it to the plate in front of Tori.
He was Sasquatch and he used all of his strength and then some to hoist the bat to his shoulder. He looked back and Tori smiled as if to say, “Swing away.” The coaches didn’t want anyone to get hurt, so the pitcher was just going to drop the ball in front of BB. But suddenly a chant started in the outfield and then spread to the infield and then spread to the bleachers and beyond.
“Let Him Swing, Let Him Swing, LET HIM SWING!!!”
And so the pitcher took the mound and threw the ball. BB groaned and spun around in a circle before hitting the ground. The crowd went silent. BB jumped up and took his stance and again failed to make contact. Even though nobody strikes out on this field, BB was not going to stand for strike 3.
He heard a coach yelling to choke up and was making a gesture to hold the bat in a different place. BB turned and looked at Tori and she made a sound that was gibberish to anyone else but BB knew exactly what she said. “WE can do this.”
BB swung at the next pitch with the strength of a full-grown 8-foot tall Bigfoot. CRACK! The ball went flying over every player’s head and into center field. The crowd went wild and instead of riding the wheelchair with Tori, BB ran for her—first, second, third, and HOME!
Team Tori would score 5 more runs and be front and center for the MVP photo which included all the special players and friends.
Before Tori had to go home, BB looked into her eyes. No words were spoken between the two but the conversation would last a lifetime.
“Tori, you are my special friend forever. If you ever need me, just take your bat and hit a big tree as hard as you can. I will hear it and come running” — which of course would show up on Hunting Bigfoot, Bigfoot Hunters, The Bigfoot Files, and Yes Sir That’s My Yeti for years to come!