Jinxed!

It's Chad's first spring as batboy, and the Pine City Porcupines need a win—too bad they're up against the league-leading Heron Lake Humdingers. Now Chad's got a whole lineup of problems: his favorite player, shortstop Mike Stammer, thinks he's jinxed; Dylan, the other batboy, doesn't even
like
baseball; and there's a goofy new porcupine mascot on the field. To make matters worse, Chad has to pinch-hit as batboy for the Humdingers. Good thing there's something in the cards—his
baseball
cards, that is—that can help Chad sort it all out.

For Byron, who proves I'm lucky.

Special thanks to Sean, T.J., and
Dylan of the Saint Paul Saints.
—K.S.

To Ethan & Abbie.
—E.W.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cataloging-in-Publication data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-4197-0286-0 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0261-7 (paperback)

Copyright © 2012 The Topps Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Topps and Topps League are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc.

Book design by Chad W. Beckerman

Published in 2012 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Amulet Books and Amulet Paperbacks are registered trademarks of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Amulet Books
are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact
[email protected]
or the address below.

  115 West 18th Street
  New York, NY 10011
  
www.abramsbooks.com

was just a kid, but I already had my dream job. I was the batboy for the Pine City Porcupines. The Pines were the baseball team in my hometown. They played in the Prairie League.

I wrote them a letter in the off-season, asking if I could be a batboy. I told them that I would love to do it, that I knew a lot about baseball, and that I would work really, really hard.

Dad said I should also send them a résumé.

“What's a rez-u-may?” I asked him. That's how he said it: “rez-u-may.”