That day Shaine got stung

Shaine Tackett, 20, left field, and Carlos Perez, 15, center, ran for a low fly ball.

Easy catch, Shaine thought, his glove out low. But then he saw a bug zooming at his eye.

Fwat! The bug hit him. Plop! The ball hit his wrist and fell to the ground. The bug, caught in Shaine's eyelids, stung him mightily: It was a bee. His eye was on fire.

The game was stopped. Everybody gathered around Shaine in the infield.

Mark Thacker, 29, squeezed the stinger out—already Shaine's right eye was swollen shut—while Ricky Perez, 10, ran and got some alcohol.

As the game resumed, Shaine was in terrible pain. He could hardly see. It felt like jabs from a needle.

Soon he couldn't stand it anymore, and he headed for his bike. "I've got to go," he said.

But it was his turn at bat and his teammates protested. "Come on, man," said one, "take one last bat!"

"Don't go!" said another.

Shaine figured he was in no shape to hit a ball, but given that the plate was right there, and it was his turn, he might as well do what he could.

As he waited for the first pitch, it was clear to everybody that he was miserable. Could he even hit the ball?

The pitcher wound up and let fly.

Shaine swung hard.

Though the days grow shorter and colder as each week passes, you can still find a neighborhood pickup game many evenings in the abandoned school field at Martin and Horatio, on Detroit's near west side.

Those who play there are a determined bunch; they keep records, and the more days they can squeeze into the twilight of the season, the more homers they can rack up. Marck Thacker leads with 215; Shaine's tied for fourth with 42.

His 25th came that day a few weeks ago, when, his eye in unbearable pain, his bat connected with a solid and satisfying crack that surprised even him. Out of his good eye, Shaine watched the ball head for the fence. His teammates whooped, hollered and made siren sounds as he ran the bases.

He crossed home plate and kept running—for his bike; then he was gone.

This story originally appeared in The Detroit Free Press and has been published here for portfolio purposes only. The photo is not the original photo.