Text Leveling System

The Spy on Third Base

RDQ:	1051	Max Word/Sent	29	Total Words	1407		Diff Words	481
Lex	750	Ave Word/.Sent	4	Hi Freq occurs	768	54.6%	Hi freq	165	34.3%
AR	3.7	Long Sentences	0.9	Low Freq occurs	92	6.5%	Low freq	63	13.1%

He's going to bunt.
T.V. Adams the Peach Street Mudders' third 
baseman studied the Green Dragons' batter 
Dirk Farman. Dirk was holding his bat a little 
lower than usual and he was leaning forward. 
T.V. was sure he was going to bunt.
It was the bottom of the first inning. Dale 
Emerson the leadoff man was on second base 
after he had hit a double off Zero Ford.
Bunting wouldn't be the greatest idea right]]
now T.V. thought. Not with a man on second 
base and no outs. But the decision was up to 
the coach. And apparently the Green Dragons' 
coach had given the batter the bunt sign. 
It was meant to surprise the Mudders' infield 
and it might have if T.V. hadn't figured out 
the batter's move.
T.V. considered yelling over to first baseman 
Turtleneck Jones to watch for a bunt. 
But that would only warn the Dragons' coach 
and he might change his sign. T.V. decided 
to keep silent.
T.V. stepped up to the baseline. He was 
short and stocky but fast. He ran in a few 
more steps as Zero steamed in the pitch. T.V.'s 
heart leaped as he saw Dirk lower his bat and 
lay a perfect bunt down the third-base line!
T.V. was on it like a dog on a bone. He 
scooped it up saw Dale break for third base 
then head back for second. But Dale was too 
late. T.V. snapped the ball to second baseman]] 
Chuck Philips and Chuck tagged him out.
"Nice going T.V.!" a fan shouted from the 
bleachers near him.
"Thanks" T.V. murmured more to himself 
than out loud.
Greg Barnes the Dragons' center fielder 
was up next. T.V. watched him carefully. 
The Dragons wore light-green white-trimmed 
uniforms and Greg's was clean as a whistle.
After Zero blazed in two inside knee-high 
pitches T.V. had him pegged. "Keep them up 
around his chin Zero" he said softly.
Zero winked at him letting T.V. know that 
he had gotten the message then threw three 
straight pitches up close to Greg's chin. The 
last pitch would have been a ball but Greg 
swung at all three and struck out.
"That-a-way-to-go Zee!" T.V. cried 
smacking his bare fist into the pocket of his 
glove.
Cleanup hitter Eddie Kolski was up next.]]
Eddie was a right-handed batter and right-
handed batters usually pull the ball to left 
field. But T.V. remembered that Eddie hit the 
ball to right field most of the time during 
batting practice.
"Alfie!" he yelled to Alfie Maples the 
Mudders' right fielder. "Play closer to the foul 
line!"
Alfie took two steps toward the right-field 
foul line.
"More!" T.V. yelled.
Alfie didn't move.
Eddie connected with the next pitch and 
drove it within ten feet of the right-field foul 
line for a triple scoring Dirk.
"I told you!" T.V. shouted disgusted.
Alfie didn't respond as if he hadn't heard 
him. But T.V. was sure that he had. Alfie had 
snatched up a blade of grass and was 
chewing it.
Then Andy Jackson came to bat and]]
slammed a grass-cutting grounder halfway 
between T.V. and the bag. T.V. dived for it 
gloved it then whipped it to first.
Too high! The ball sailed over Turtleneck's 
head. Eddie scored. Andy went to second base 
and T.V. was chalked up with an error.
Peach Street Mudders 0 Green Dragons 2.
He was sick.]]
"Guess you didn't predict that bad throw 
did you T.V.?" a voice said as T.V. headed 
back to his position.
T.V. glanced toward the bleachers and saw 
that the speaker was the same fan who had 
yelled to him earlier. He was tall and husky 
and wore a red sweatshirt. A short kid with 
thick glasses was sitting next to him.
T.V. didn't answer him. He couldn't take 
the time to talk to a fan right now no matter 
whose side he was on.]]
Cush Boochie popped a fly to Bus Mercer 
at shortstop ending the bottom of the first 
inning.
"You're up T.V." said Coach Russ Parker 
as he headed for the third-base coaching box. 
"Let's get on."
T.V. got his bat and stepped into the batter's 
box. He wished he could predict what 
right-hander Bucky Neal would pitch to him 
but he couldn't. Not this first time anyway.
"Strike!" the ump boomed as Bucky steamed 
in a knee-high pitch.
Bucky's second pitch was almost in the same 
spot. Crack! T.V. corked it to right center field 
for a double.
He felt better. The hit made up for that 
wild throw.
Chuck Philips flied out to left field. Then 
Alfie sparked up the team by smashing 
a ground-ball single through second base 
scoring T.V. Bus walked. And Rudy Calhoun]]
with three balls and a strike blasted a triple 
to the left field fence.
The fans loved it.
Watching them closely from second base 
T.V. had figured out almost exactly where the 
batters were going to hit the ball. He hadn't 
figured on Bus getting a walk -  that was the 
pitcher's doing not the batter's - but his 
guesses about Chuck's and Alfie's hits were 
right on the button.
Guesses? No. He studied the way they stood 
at the plate and the way they swung at the 
pitches and he knew. He didn't have to guess.
Both Zero and Barry popped out ending 
the half-inning. But the Mudders had chalked 
up three runs to go into the lead 3 to 2.
The Green Dragons picked up a run during 
their turn at bat then held the Mudders scoreless 
in the top of the third.
Eddie Kolski led off in the bottom of the 
third and connected with a triple. It landed]]
in almost exactly the same spot where he had 
hit his first three-bagger. Again Alfie had ignored 
T.V.'s advice to play close to the foul 
line.
What do I have to do to make you believe 
me? T.V. felt like shouting at him.
Andy Jackson drove a sharp liner over 
Chuck's head a hit that T.V. hadn't counted 
on. He predicted Cush Boochie's ground ball 
to short which was an out. But he failed to read 
Beans Malone's buntlike hit toward third 
base correctly. Both were hits he never could 
have predicted even if he'd been able to read 
a crystal ball.
"Closer to second Chuck!" T.V. cried to 
his friend at second base as the Green Dragons' 
first baseman Lefty Cash stepped up to 
the plate. "Stay in center Jose!" he yelled to 
the center fielder, José Mendez.
This time T.V.'s prediction was almost perfect. 
Lefty slammed a pitch directly at José, but slightly over his head. José ran back, reached for the ball, had it for a moment, then dropped it!
"Oh, no!" T.V. moaned.
Bucky Neal doubled, scoring two runs. The inning ended with the Dragons leading, 6 to 3.
"Hey, T.V.," the man in the red sweatshirt said as T.V. headed for the dugout. "You can really read those batters."
The boy with the glasses, who was eating a hotdog now, smiled. "Yeah. What are you, a spy?" he said, then chuckled.
A spy? T.V. wondered what he was talking about.
Then he realized the kid must have meant that T.V. seemed to know a lot about the Green Dragon batters.
He gave the sod a hard kick as he headed for the dugout. Spy! That kid made it sound as though T.V. had done something sneaky.
"What's the matter?" asked Mickey Stanner, the team's scorekeeper, as T.V. sat down beside him.
T.V. wedged his glove between them. "A guy in the stands called me a spy."
Mickey chuckled. "So, what's so bad about that? I wouldn't mind being compared to James Bond."
T.V. had to smile. "Yeah, I guess there are worse things than being a spy."
"Yeah, like having to move," Mickey grumbled.
T.V.'s eyes followed Chuck Philips as he stepped up to the plate. "What did you say, Mickey?"
"Nothing. Just that I'm moving away." Mickey pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. "Oh? Have you told Coach Parker?" "Not yet," Mickey said.
"Better tell him," T.V. suggested. "We can't play ball without a scorekeeper. Especially a good one like you."
Mickey grinned. Few guys paid any attention to the scorekeeper. He just did his job
and hardly ever said anything. The coach might have a tough time finding a replacement for him, T.V. thought.
T.V. turned back to the game and saw Alfie strike out. Then Bus walked, and Rudy flied out, ending the top half of the fourth inning.
Neither team got a runner on base again until the last inning when, with two outs, Chuck drew a walk.
"Keep it going!" Coach Parker cried from the third-base coaching box.
T.V. glanced at the scoreboard on top of the fence in left field. It was still Mudders 3, Dragons 6. I wonder what it would have been if I hadn't figured out where the Dragons were going to hit the ball, T.V. thought. Probably Mudders 3, Dragons 12.
But the Mudders had to get hits, too, he told himself. Without hits you don't get runs. He could read those Dragons like a book. They could still be beaten. He was sure of it. It was up to him.
He put on his helmet, picked up his bat, and stepped to the on-deck circle. José was leading off.
"Come on, José!" T.V. called to him. "Belt it!"
José grounded out to short. Then T.V. stepped to the plate.
"Where you going to hit it, T.V.?" the short kid in the bleachers yelled at him. "Over the fence? Ha! Ha!"
Oh, pipe down! T.V. wanted to say to him. He took three balls and a strike, then flied out to center field.
"Tough luck, T.V.!" cried the man in the red sweatshirt as T.V. walked sadly back to the dugout.
Chuck drew another walk, Alfie singled, and the Peach Street Mudders began to roll. The bases were loaded when Zero came to the plate. The lefty already had a single to his credit. T.V. felt sure that Zero had done his share for the day.
He began to reach for his glove when crack! came the solid sound of bat meeting ball, and T.V. saw the white pill soaring to deep right field! His heart soared, too, as the ball sailed over the fence for a home run!
The Mudders fans went crazy. Zero was the last kid on earth anyone would dream would hit a grand slammer!
"Keep it going, Barry!" T.V. shouted, as Barry McGee came to bat.
He didn't. He flied out. Mudders 7, Dragons 6.
The Dragons came to bat for their last chance, and T.V. studied the leadoff batter, Lefty Cash. Lefty had already gotten a single,
and had struck out his second time up. But T.V. didn't think that Lefty was a weak hitter because he batted eighth in the lineup. He could still be dangerous.
"Play deep, you guys!" he yelled to José and Alfie.
José moved back, but Alfie didn't.
He resents my telling him where to play, T.V. thought, a little hurt.
Zero stepped on the mound, got the sign from Rudy, then pitched. Smack! Lefty met the ball head on, driving it to deep right field. It missed being fair by inches!
"Back up, will you, Alfie?" T.V. shouted again.
This time Alfie moved back closer to the fence.
Smack! Another long drive to right field! This one was fair!
Alfie, his back against the fence, jumped and caught it.

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Dialog: Unlabeled Speaker

Vocabulary: Some difficult words

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Inferences: Some implications

Complexity: Several ideas - closely related

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Chapters

Features

Character traits

Simple Plot

Topic

Athletes

Sports

Sportsmanship

Games

Baseball

Balls

*Movement & Sports

Low Frequency Words

advice	apparently	baseline	bunt	bunting
buntlike	chalked	coaching	corked	cush
decision	doubled	emerson	farman	fielder
flied	foul	gloved	grounder	hander
hitter	husky	ignored	infield	inning
kolski	leadoff	lefty	liner	malone's
maples	mendez	mercer	mudders	murmured
neal	pegged	pitcher's	pitches	prediction
respond	russ	scorekeeper	scoreless	scoring
shortstop	smacking	snatched	stanner	stocky
studied	sweatshirt	turtleneck	turtleneck's	uniforms
warn	whipped