JAKE, By Alfred SLote
I would be remiss if I didn’t include the fabulous short video from the producers of the 30 for 30 series on ESPN, Jake. Jake, the book for which the video is titled, is the brainchild of author and screen-writing professor Alfred Slote. Slote wrote many children’s books, several pertaining to baseball, and Jake by far is his personal favorite. One can’t help but notice the passion and emotional attachment to his writing when watching the short film. Jake is clearly a beloved member of the Slote family.
The timing of the discovery of this film really solidified the objectives of English 102 pertaining to critical thinking and writing as a lifelong endeavor for me. Slote’s glimpse into a brief moment of his life encapsulated for me much of what writing is, not only from a writing process, but also through his love for words in general. I believe, if given the chance, I could sit at Alfred Slote's side for hours watching him peck away at the keys of his typewriter as the story begins to take shape, letter-by-letter, word-by-word, and sentence-by-sentence. Have a look for yourself.
The timing of the discovery of this film really solidified the objectives of English 102 pertaining to critical thinking and writing as a lifelong endeavor for me. Slote’s glimpse into a brief moment of his life encapsulated for me much of what writing is, not only from a writing process, but also through his love for words in general. I believe, if given the chance, I could sit at Alfred Slote's side for hours watching him peck away at the keys of his typewriter as the story begins to take shape, letter-by-letter, word-by-word, and sentence-by-sentence. Have a look for yourself.
THE MIRACLE OF BASEBALL
This entire story was written by 8 year old, Alexander
I’m going to tell you about a kid who loved baseball. His name was Jeremy Brown. He had brown hair and blue eyes.
One day he was playing baseball with his friends. They were in the 5th inning. The score was 6 to 4, Jeremy’s team was losing. Jeremy’s team was up to bat. There was 1 out. A kid named Tyler Jonson was up.
Jeremy was next. The pitcher threw the ball. It was a strike. The pitcher threw the 2nd ball. Then, BAM! Tyler hit a homerun! The score was now 6 to 5. Jeremy was up. He hit the first ball. He got to 2nd base. The next kid hit the ball and Jeremy scored. The final score was 6 to 6. But Jeremy thought he could do better.
He wished he hit a homerun like Tyler. Tyler was the best kid on his team. Jeremy wanted to be the best. Baseball season was about to start and he wanted to be the best. But he knew Tyler would be on his team.
Baseball season starts on February 10th. It was January 27th. Jeremy knew he had to get better if he wanted to be the best. He didn’t have much time.
The next day he played a game with his friends. In the 4th inning the score was 7 to 5. Jeremy’s team was actually winning. His team was fielding. Jeremy was playing 2nd base. The first hitter struck out. The next hitter got a triple. The next kid got to 2nd witch made the other team score. In the 5th inning Jeremy hit a triple. The final score was 8 to 6.
Jeremy knew he was doing better. At dinner Jeremy thought about baseball. He thought about how if he and his team got good enough he could hit a grand slam.
A couple days later Jeremy went to school and he had a test. He got a B+ on it. When he got home he practiced hitting. He hit one over to the neighbor’s backyard. He went to his neighbors yard. When he got there he realized that he played baseball when he was a kid. His name was Mr. Thomas. Jeremy got the ball, but Mr. Thomas wanted to play a little baseball with him. Then he taught Jeremy that it was easier to catch a pop fly when you use 2 hands.
Baseball tryouts were today. They told the kids to try to hit the ball, run the bases, and other stuff. When Jeremy was up he felt nervous. Then he realized that one of the coaches was Mr. Thomas. That made him feel better and he did pretty good. Tyler and him were on the Tigers.
It was Jeremy’s first game. When he got there he felt excited and nervous at the same time. The 1st inning was scoreless. In the third inning it was 4 to 7. Jeremy’s team was losing. In the bottom of the last inning the score was the same. The bases were loaded and Jeremy’s team was batting. Jeremy was up. The 1st pitch was a strike. The next one was a ball. And then Jeremy hit the next pitch hard. It was a grand slam! The final score was 7 to 8. Jeremy felt good after that. That’s the story about a kid who loved baseball.