How I Won My Bat

How I Won My Bat is a short story by R. L. Stine from the Tales To Give You Goosebumps series.

Synopsis

In the story, a young boy named Michael 'Mike' Burns who is useless at baseball is leaving his game with his mom, when they are approached by a man named Mr. Smith who offers to lend Mike a magical bat that will enable him to win a forthcoming game. There is one condition: as soon as the game is finished he can't go home, he must go straight back and return the bat to the sports museum of which Mr. Smith is in charge.

Sure enough, the next day, Mike hits every home run and his team wins the game easily. Mike wants to go home now but remembers he must go to the museum, so his mom drops him off. There, Mike finds many realistic - looking statues posing with sports equipment, and is awed. When Mr. Smith asks him about the bat, Mike becomes desperate, and begs to be allowed to keep it.

Mr. Smith agrees, and asks him to stand in a spot and pose with the bat for awhile. Mike tells him that he really wants to go home and be with his mom. Mr. Smith chuckles and tells him it will only take a few seconds. Mike obliges, and takes a swing with the bat. Immediately, there is a bright flash of light and Mike is frozen to the spot as a life-size model.

He remains in the museum, stuck in mid-swing forever, and it sucks because he realizes that time is passing. People who come to the museum often pass by the exhibit and admire his swing, even his mom came and admired her son's swing, which he's pleased about. The story ends on a somewhat "happy" note as Mikes realizes another benefit to the situation: now, he really will be able to keep the bat forever.

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