Chapter 16

Late the next afternoon, after a day of shopping and sightseeing, the foursome were back at the hotel, getting ready for the baseball game. Penny and Rheza were in the living room waiting for Lee and Amanda.

"Darling, I wanted to let you know I'm having a great time this week. It's so nice to be able to relax a little and have some fun for a change. I'm glad we could mix enjoyment in with just a bit of sovereign business. Lee and Amanda are great. I can see a very long friendship starting," Rheza explained.

"Oh, Rheza, what great news. I knew you would enjoy yourself if I could just get you away from things for a while. It's wonderful to see how you and Lee are hitting it off. Almost as good as Amanda and I did."

"Lee's great. We think a lot alike, and enjoy some of the same things as well. Thank you for insisting we do this."

"You're welcome. How are you feeling about the game tonight?" Penny asked.

"I'm very excited to see America's favorite pastime, as Lee calls it. I hope I can follow along with the rules."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Plus, Lee will explain anything you don't understand. I can't wait."

Lee and Amanda walked into the room dressed for the game. They were both in blue jeans and sneakers. Amanda was wearing an I Love NY t-shirt she purchased earlier today, while Lee was wearing a plain navy blue t-shirt.

Amanda pursed her lips together and nodded her head in approval at Rheza's outfit. He, too, was in blue jeans but wore a blue polo. "You look good, Rheza. Ready for your first baseball game?" Amanda questioned.

"Thank you. I'm very excited. Should we head down to the car? Lee mentioned there's a lot to look at around the ballpark, and maybe we can buy some souvenirs."

A little while later, their limo arrived at One East 161st Street, Yankees Stadium. The driver opened the door as the foursome piled out. Rheza stood tall and stretched his head back as far as he could. "Wow! They play baseball here?"

Lee just grinned at his comment. "They sure do. Let's go see the inside." Lee handed their tickets to the attendant as they approached the entrance, made their way through the gate, and scanned the area. "We've got a little over an hour before the game starts. What do you say, we check out the team store first, then we can walk around for a while?"

Lee reached for Amanda's hand as they took off side by side. Rheza watched as the two strolled together in perfect harmony, smiled at Penny, and held out his hand for her to take. Penny happily accepted as they quickly fell into stride behind Lee and Amanda.

About forty-five minutes later, they found their seats. All four were adorned with new Don Mattingly jerseys and Yankee hats. Amanda placed the bags with their souvenirs and original shirts under her seat and exclaimed, "Wow, sweetheart, these are great seats! You must have cashed in a huge favor."

"It was actually two, but it was completely worth it. You look incredibly cute in your hat." Lee's dimples showed while he tapped her nose with his finger. Amanda just grinned back.

For the next few hours, the couples cheered, yelled, and booed while Lee explained certain situations along the way to Rheza. The game was now going into the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees behind one to two.

Boston pitcher, Bob Ojeda, was facing the top of the line-up. Willie Randolph was up first. "Come on, Willie," Rheza yelled.

"You're really getting into this. You remembered his name," Lee stated.

"Well, I can't take all of the credit. The program we bought is helping me keep track of the players." Crack! Rheza and Lee quickly turned to the sound of the wooden bat striking the ball. They stood and cheered as Randolph reached the base safely with a single to right field.

"Next up is Ken Griffey," Amanda announced.

"Rheza, I wouldn't be surprised if they called a sacrifice bunt in this situation," Lee guessed.

"What's that?"

"It's when they tap the ball with a soft hit to try to advance the runner to second base."

"But if they do that, won't he be thrown out at first?"

"That's why they call it a sacrifice bunt. If Randolph gets to second, it will be easier for him to score on a base hit and tie the game," Lee advised. "They sacrifice the out to get the runner in scoring position."

"Ah, I understand." Ojeda threw his pitch as Griffey squared around and laid a bunt down the third baseline. Griffey was thrown out at first as Randolph made it safely to second, just as Lee had described.

Amanda leaned across Lee. "Okay, we've got one out and a runner on second. If we can get a hit out of the infield, Randolph should be able to score and tie the game."

Dave Winfield stepped up to the plate. "Oh, this is the big guy that plays in the outfield. Is that correct?" Rheza confidently asked.

"Oh, I know this one." Penny quickly supplied. "He's playing centerfield."

Lee and Amanda nodded as the first pitch came flying across the plate. Strike, the umpire yelled. Ojeda checked the runner on second and delivered his next pitch. Crack! Everyone leaped out of their seats as they watched the ball go down the first baseline. Randolph rounded third and headed for home as the ball rolled into the right-field corner.

As Randolph crossed home plate, the attention was now on Winfield, who was trying to stretch out his hit. He slid into third base with a game-tying RBI triple.

The foursome yelled, jumped, and high-fived anyone around them they could reach. "So now that we have tied the game, what happens next?" Rheza excitedly wondered.

"If we score one more run, we win. If we don't, we go to extra innings," Lee nonchalantly replied.

"Hey, what are they doing now? Why is the coach coming on to the field?"

"It looks like they are changing pitchers." They watched as the pitcher placed the ball in the manager's hand and left the mound. The manager pointed to the bullpen as the replacement jogged onto the field.

After the new pitcher warmed up and the game was ready to resume, Lee explained, "Okay, so we have a runner on third, one out, Bob Stanley is the new pitcher for the Red Sox, and we have our cleanup batter, Don Baylor, coming up to bat."

"Why do they call him the cleanup batter? I thought you said he was the designated hitter," Rheza challenged.

"He's actually both. He's the designated hitter because he only bats and doesn't play defense. But he's also the cleanup hitter because he is fourth in the lineup. That's usually the spot you want your best hitter."

"So this is a very good situation we are in then, correct?"

"Correct," Lee emphasized.

They all watched as the pitcher started his windup. Ball, the umpire yelled. With the next pitch, the umpire called a strike. The fans booed as the pitch appeared to be a ball as well. Even Baylor had a questioning look in regards to the call.

The pitcher glanced at Winfield on third, then back to Baylor at the plate. He stretched towards home plate delivering the pitch. Crack! Everyone stood as their eyes filled with hope while they watched the ball fly out of the infield as it made its way to the right-field wall. They followed the defender as he climbed the wall and reached for the rocketing ball.

The outfielder came down with an empty glove as the crowd erupted with the game-winning two-run home run. Celebrating in their seats, all four hugged and jumped as they witnessed Baylor touching home plate, then immediately being mobbed by his teammates.

The celebration continued as they made their way through the crowd and down to the limo to take them back to the hotel. After they were safely in the confines of the vehicle, Rheza exhaled, "Wow! That was exhilarating. Thank you for taking us. I will never forget this night."

"You're very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. What about you, Penny? Did you have fun?"

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thank you," Penny responded.

They chatted about the game the entire ride back to the hotel, and as soon as they arrived in their suite, they decided to call it a night and headed towards their bedrooms.

Lee closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. "That was a fun night. I think we should take the boys to a game sometime when the Orioles are playing. Do you think they'd like that?"

Amanda turned to face Lee with a sarcastic look on her face. "No, I don't think they'd like that. I believe they would love it." Amanda started to undress as she continued, "That was very sweet of you to think of the boys, but I'm beat. I'm ready for bed."

Lee watched as Amanda toed out of her shoes, sat on the bed to remove her socks, and quickly raised to remove her jeans. Lee quickly approached her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Do you know how sexy you look right now in just your jersey and hat?"

"Really? Sexy in a jersey and a hat. My hair's all messy, and I'm sweaty. You call this sexy?"

"Mmm-mmm," Lee purred in her ear. "Very sexy. Come to bed, and I'll show you."

Amanda twisted in his strong arms as she began to walk him back towards the bed. "Okay, big fella. Show me." She reached for her hat to throw it in the chair, but Lee stopped her.

"No! Leave the hat on."