Fastball? Ginny didn't think she could get it by Corey Seager, the Dodgers shortstop, so she shook Mike off. The catcher was insistent and signaled for the heater again. She knew better than to shake him off a second time, after all he was the veteran and she was the rookie. She wound up and pitched, her last pitch of the day.
Seager sent a line drive screaming right back at her. She tried to get her glove up, but couldn't do it fast enough. The ball hit her in the head with a loud "bonk" sound that would have been funny if it hadn't been accompanied by the sight of Ginny Baker collapsing in an unconscious heap.
...
Ginny had heard the phrase "out of body experience", but she had never taken it seriously until now. She was standing in a hospital room, in uniform, looking at her body lying in bed. There were tubes and wires attached to the body and most of the top of her head was covered in bandages. Machines registered her vital functions. She didn't know what all the readings meant, but she felt like her condition was stable. Her biggest concern was whether they'd had to shave her head. She couldn't tell under the bandages. Ginny wasn't vain, but she knew she had good hair and didn't want to lose it.
"They didn't shave it." Ginny was surprised by the voice. She had not noticed the man in the room. He was white, about 6' tall, and wearing an old school baseball uniform. "You were worried about your hair. It's all still there."
"Who are you?" Ginny had never seen this man before.
"The ghost of baseball past"; he said, then chuckled. "Actually, my name is Walter Pipp. My teammates called me Wally."
"Wally Pipp. The guys were just talking about you. When Livan came up to the majors they said Mike might be Wally Pipped. I had to look it up to see what they meant."
"That's why I'm here. You say you love baseball, but you don't know baseball. You talk about Jackie Mitchell and Toni Stone, but only as abstractions. Baseball is a living, breathing entity and you're a part of it. It's time you learned to appreciate it."
"Is this really the right time for a lecture? I could be dying."
"Lecture? No, there's a better way for you to learn." The room faded as Ginny and Wally were transported to another time and place.