Gil Thorp by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill for April 22, 2017

So Van Auken’s from Central City but Gil had never seen him play?I wonder if Hobson is Mimi’s “choice” for starting pitcher.

In all reality , P 3 columns of ants advancing from all directions and call out PLAY BALL !

In P1, we have two girls talking about Book ‘em Cano and then in P2, a third chimes into the conversation like she’d been there all along. She must have been holding the camera.

I played either baseball or softball for nearly 40 years and caught off and on for 20 of those and I never saw anyone walk up to the plate holding a bat like the girl in P3. Now I saw more than a few walk away like that, but this girl looks like she already struck out.

Oh, and why are the catcher and umpire lined up behind the batters box instead of home plate? I’m not sure why you’d call a pitchout on the first batter of the game.

P3- The umpire, excitement of an early season game, has a case of EES, looks at the batter and remarks, “Ar(u)gonia hit or what?”

Argonia: a small town in Kansas. I hope they’re star player isn’t named Dorothy.

P-1: It turns out Van Auken used to play lead guitar for the Mystic something or other.

P-2: The entire female Senior class is planning to flash Mr. Van Auken and I don’t mean a dance mob.

P-3: but the coach said I need to really choke up on the bat

Why does that gal in P2 have a thumbtack in her left cheek?

All I could think of when I read panel three was to paraphrase an old saying: “Do de name Ruby Argonia ring a bell?”

P2- Notice the left cheek. The young lady must be interning at The Travelers. After all, It’s better under the umbrella.

Central City…….how we hate them!