Comeback, The (Short Story)

*The Comeback* is a short story by James Van Pelt. It appears in *Analog: Science Fiction and Fact* (2000), *Strangers and Beggars* (2002), and *The Best of James Van Pelt* (2020).

### Epigraph

*"The art of fiction is dead. Reality has strangled invention. Only the utterly impossible, the inexpressibly fantastic, can ever be plausible again."*

Red Smith in the *New York Herald Tribune* commenting on the 1951 Giants snatching the pennant race from the Dodgers after being 13 1/2 games back on August 12.

## Characters

* Blue Blackburn - a pitcher who's never earned a shutout
* Annabelle Martin - from the front office
* Deacon O'Doul - a manager with a keen sense of baseball history
* Eddie "Crouch" Potato - a catcher weighing over two hundred pounds with no fat
* Lemon Smith - shortstop
* Spooky Earl Waters - prognosticator who's been sharing lunch with Annabelle
* Narrator - equipment manager who trades baseball trivia with Spooky

## Summary

Spooky Waters is a prognosticator in a slump. He’s short, young, but clever and funny and has been sharing lunch with Annabelle whenever the team is in town. Blue Blackburn is a pitcher on a hot streak, but he’s never thrown a shutout. Recently, the newspapers ran a picture of him kissing Annabelle. On the strength of Blue’s pitching, the team moves from nine games behind at the beginning of August to half a game behind Chicago at the end of the season. Their last game is against Chicago with the winner going to the playoffs. Blue is set to pitch, and on the bench, just before the game, brags out loud “I finally pegged her." infuriating Spooky.

Through the 6th, Blue pitches a no-hitter. Crouch hits a three-run homer.

In the next inning, Spooky starts seeing glimpses of the future. He sees a long ball to left before it happens, says so to Deacon. The ball is caught and Blue's no-hitter resumes, but he doesn't recognize Spooky. Between the two of them, they keep Chicago scoreless through the end of the eighth. Blue insists he can finish the game. He strikes out the first, walks the second, and hits the third. The next should have been a double play ball by Lemon misplays. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, one out, and Chicago has the winning run at the plate. Spooky insists Deacon keep Blue in. Deacon signals for Blue to catch a line drive high. But the line drive is dead center and strikes Blue in the head. Lemon catches the ball and through to first for the double play. They win. Blue is carried off on a stretcher.

Annabelle pays Blue a visit in the hospital but finds six other women there arguing about who he loves. Spooky gives her a ride home.

## References

Throughout, the narrator references several famous baseball stories:

* Charlie Esper, for whom the term Charlie Horse is supposedly named
* Babe Ruth in '32 calls his homeroom to center
* Dizzy Dean: "There'll never be another one like me"
* The '51 New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers to go the World Series
* Gil McDougald breaks Herb Score's cheekbone with a line drive in '57
* Richie Ashburn of the '57 Phillies hits a fan with a foul ball twice
* Reggie Jackson in '77 hitting four homeruns in four at bats
* Bill Buckner of the '86 Red Sox and the bad hop