The Care Bears All-Star Baseball Classic
Disclaimer: For the record, I do not own the Care Bears. Nelvana does. This is meant to be entertaining. Also, this is my first fic on the bears, so be nice.
On a bright summer day in Care A Lot, the care bears were practicing for a baseball game. But it wasn't any baseball game. It was the inaugural baseball classic between the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins and everyone was excited.
"Okay team, time for batting practice. Let's go." said Champ Bear, the manager for the Care Bear team. "If we want to beat the Cousins, we have to work hard. So that means we have to give it one hundred percent. Is that clear?"
"Yes, coach." said Tender Heart.
"Good. Okay, pick up the bats and we'll get started." said Champ Bear. Meanwhile, at the other end of the stadium where the bears were practicing, the Care Bear Cousins were practicing just as hard.
"Come on! You call that hustle?" yelled the manager for the Cousins team, Brave Heart Lion. They were running sprints. "Let's see some real running out there!"
"Aye-aye, coach!" yelled Lotsa Heart Elephant. He wasn't exactly the fastest runner on the team, but he was still a half decent player. Both teams worked hard with the drills and an hour later, the teams decided to call it quits for the day.
"Okay, guys. Good job. Hit the showers." said Champ. At the other end………………………….
"Great work, everybody. Let's hit the showers." said Brave Heart. He was very confident in his team. In the showers after practice……………………….
"Oh, why do I always get the small bar of soap?" moaned Grumpy. He was always complaining about everything. "Well, at least I did a good job out there. I can't wait for the game tomorrow."
"Neither can I." said Cheer Bear. "If this goes well, it could very well become an annual event."
"Speaking of going well, sports fans, I want everybody going to bed early tonight. You'll need a lot of sleep for the game tomorrow." said Champ.
"I want you guys going to bed early too." Brave Heart said to his team.
"By the way, Champ, when is the game tomorrow?" asked Bedtime Bear.
"It's at one o'clock. I want everybody at the stadium by noon so we can have time to practice." said Champ. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, coach." said Grumpy.
"Good. Okay, team. Let's hit the Hall of Hearts for dinner." said Champ. At dinner, all anyone could talk about was the game. They were all excited. When bedtime came around, all they could think about was the game. The next day, the game started on time. All of Care A Lot was there to see the bears and cousins in action. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse were there too, so that they could introduce the game. True Heart tapped the microphone to make sure it worked.
"Good afternoon, Care Bears, Care Bear Cousins, friends, and welcome to the first ever baseball classic between the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins." said True Heart. "Baseball is America's greatest sport. Lots of people sit around their TV sets when they have a chance to catch a game. Baseball is a fun game to play, and if you like baseball, you'll love what we have in store for you today. So, without further ado, let's play ball!" And everyone cheered. True Heart and Noble Heart took their positions at the broadcast booth, as the game would be broadcast on TV all over Care A Lot. In the booth, True Heart spoke again.
"Well, folks, we hope you enjoy this game. Here are the lineup cards for the teams, as set by the managers last night. First, the starting lineup for the Care Bear team. Leading off at shortstop for the Care Bears is Grumpy Bear. Batting second and playing right field will be Tender Heart. Batting third at first base will be Good Luck Bear. Batting fourth and playing second will be Bedtime Bear. Batting fifth will be Wish Bear. He will play center field. Batting sixth and playing left field is Share Bear. Batting seventh and playing third base will be Cheer Bear. Batting eighth and doing the catching will be Birthday Bear. And batting ninth and doing the pitching for the Care Bears will be Friend Bear. And now the starting nine for the Care Bear Cousins. Leading off and playing left field for the cousins will be Swift Heart Rabbit. Batting second and catching for the cousins will be Treat Heart Pig. Batting third and playing third base will Bright Heart Raccoon. Batting fourth and playing second will be Lotsa Heart Elephant. Batting fifth and playing center field will be Playful Heart Monkey. Batting sixth and playing shortstop will be Cozy Heart Penguin. Batting seventh and playing first base will be Proud Heart Cat. Batting eighth and playing right field will be Gentle Heart Lamb. And finally, batting ninth and pitching for the cousins will be Loyal Heart Dog. The manager for the Care Bear team is Champ Bear and the manager for the Care Bear Cousin team is Brave Heart Lion. And now for today's umpiring crew. Calling the balls and strikes behind the plate will be Funshine Bear. Umpiring at first will be Baby Hugs. Baby Tugs will umpire second base." At that moment, True Heart received a sheet of paper. "And," she continued. "Umpiring at third base today will be………………………………….Mr. Beastly?" At that moment, Beastly entered the stadium, only to be booed loudly upon entering.
"Thank you. Thank you. You're too kind." said Beastly. The crowd continued to boo Beastly, much to his delight.
"Oh boy." said Brave Heart. He and champ headed to home plate to decide which of their teams would bat first. Funshine held out a coin.
"Both of you call it in the air." said Funshine.
"Heads." said Brave Heart.
"Tails." said Champ.
"The calls have been made." said Funshine. He tossed the coin into the air and came down showing tails. "It's Tails. Champ, you win the toss and you win the option of batting first or second."
"I think I'll go second." said Champ.
"Very well." said Funshine. "Brave Heart, your team will bat first." Brave Heart headed back to his team's dugout.
"Okay, the Care Bears won the coin flip and have elected to bat last, which means Swift Heart will lead off the game against the Care Bears pitcher, Friend Bear." said True Heart. "This should be an exciting game, folks. So here we go. Swift Heart leans in against Friend Bear. Of course, Swift Heart is the fastest person on any of the teams, so it makes sense for her to lead off. Here's the pitch from Friend Bear. And it's a strike to begin this game. I have a feeling this will be very exciting." And True Heart was right. As the game wore on, the game got more exciting. Eventually, the game arrived at the point where the Care Bears were down to their final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 3-2.
"This is it. The bottom of the ninth. Both pitchers have played the entire game thus far. We will see how this game ends." said True Heart. "Leading off the bottom of the ninth for the Care Bears is Birthday Bear. He's 0 for 3 in the game today. The pitch from Loyal Heart is………………a strike, 0 and 1. Loyal Heart has pitched a good game to this point. The next pitch…………………….outside, 1 and 1. If Birthday Bear is going to get a hit, now's the perfect time to get it. The 1-1 pitch. Swing and a drive to right field. This will fall for a base hit. The ball's rolling to the wall. Birthday Bear is rounding first and heading for second. The throw-in from Gentle Heart is………………………..not in time and Birthday Bear is at second with a lead off double in the bottom of the ninth." said True Heart excitedly.
"Great work, Birthday Bear." said Champ. "Okay, Friend Bear, you're up." Friend Bear took a bat and headed for the plate.
"And now here's the pitcher, Friend Bear. She's pitched a good game too." said True Heart. "The pitch from Loyal Heart is……………………..low, 1-0. Friend Bear represents the winning run right now for the Care Bears. Friend Bear is sticking the bat out for a bunt. Here's the pitch. And it's a perfect bunt down the third base line. Bright Heart scoops it up and throws to first in time for the out. Up to third goes Birthday Bear and the tying run is now ninety feet away from scoring. Here's Grumpy with one out and a runner at third. Grumpy may complain about everything, but his 2 for 3 performance today is nothing to complain about. Here's the pitch. Right down the middle for strike one."
"I hope I don't blow it." said Grumpy.
"The 0-1 pitch. Hit sharply into left for a hit. Birthday Bear scores and the game is tied. An RBI single for Grumpy and it could not have come at a better time. The score is now tied at 3-3. Grumpy at first, and coming up to the plate is Tender Heart. He looks like a real winner." said True Heart. "Here's the pitch to Tender Heart. It's low for ball one. If Tender Heart can pull through here, I'm sure the team will buy him plenty of milkshakes. The 1-0 pitch. And it's a wild pitch! Grumpy moves to second, and the winning run is now in scoring position." said an excited True Heart. Eventually, Tender Heart settled for a walk.
"Good Luck Bear is due up next, but Care Bears manager Champ has elected to send Secret Bear in to pinch hit. We'll see if this move works out." said True Heart. Unfortunately, Secret Bear struck out for the second out. It was all up to Bedtime to win it in regulation.
"And here comes Bedtime Bear. Let's see what he can do." said True Heart. "There are runners at first and second, with two outs." Loyal Heart leaned in before throwing the pitch. "Here's the pitch. Ground ball to second base. Lotsa Heart picks it up and throws to third for some reason. He's trying to get Grumpy and he does for the third out." But True Heart was in for a surprise, as Beastly held both his arms open wide and called Grumpy safe. "Wait a minute. Beastly is calling Grumpy safe at third. Lotsa Heart isn't very happy about this, and neither is Brave Heart. He is furious with this call, and he's coming out to argue this one."
"And rightly so." said Noble Heart. "This is a horrible call."
"Beastly, what was that about?" yelled Brave Heart angrily. "My runner was clearly out. Are you blind or something?"
"Hey, I call them like I see them." said Beastly as calmly as possibly.
"Well maybe you can get one right for once." said Brave Heart. And he stepped on Beastly's foot to show the displeasure of the call.
"Ouch. That hurts!" said Beastly angrily.
"I didn't mean to." said Brave Heart.
"That does it! No more nice Beastly! You're out of here!" yelled Beastly angrily. Brave Heart just stood there in shock, but he didn't protest, and left the field dejectedly.
"Well this is certainly a strange turn of events." said True Heart. "A tie game, bases load in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, and now Brave Heart has been tossed from this game. He could have argued all night, but it's a huge break for the Care Bears and Wish Bear is coming to bat." Wish Bear was very patient at the plate and worked a full count.
"Full count here to Wish Bear. The pitch. Little roller up along third. And it's behind the bag. It gets through Bright Heart! Here comes Grumpy to score and the Care Bears win! The Care Bears win!" said True Heart excitedly. "Final score: Care Bears 4, Care Bear Cousins 3. Thanks for joining us for this game, and we hope to see you again next year."
"Great game, everyone." said Champ Bear. "We're all going out for ice cream sundaes."
"But what about Brave Heart?" asked Grumpy.
"One, he's not on our team, and two, I think he learned an important lesson arguing that call with Beastly late in the game." said Champ. "You can't necessarily have your way all the time."
"That's an important lesson." said Tender Heart. "Perhaps he'll remember that for next year." Everyone just laughed at Tender Heart's statement.
The End
A/N-Reviews would be nice. Also, Shrieky and No Heart do not appear in this story. Funny how things work sometimes.