The Natural Page #4

Olsen's hitting the ball.

I want one of those for myself.

- Hobbs' homer, goes into the 11 th!

Home runs, triples, singles...

Anything he wants to hit, he hits.

I've never seen anything like it.

It's incredible!

Anything he wants to do, he does!

I mean, how can somebody play

that well that came from nowhere?

New York Knights powerhouse hitter,

Roy Hobbs...

...a shining example

to his young fans.

Though embarrassed by praise

and shy of the press...

...Hobbs is always there

for an autograph.

Well, I'm sure gonna try real hard.

What's it take to be a big leaguer?

You need a lot

of little boy in you...

...so you guys

qualify pretty well.

What's your name?

And with a few

words of wisdom that...

...who knows, might alter

the destiny...

...of one of these fine young fans.

Let me tell you something about Pop.

He thinks he's jinxed.

What do you mean?

Last season he had

some financial problems.

He had to sell the Judge

10%% % of his shares.

That makes the Judge the majority

stockholder of the Knights.

But he got one condition

in the contract.

If he can win

the pennant this season...

...he can buy the shares back,

and the Judge is out.

If he loses...

...he's out, and he has to sell.

And winner take all.

"If I Had You. "

"Small Hotel. "

"Dear Old Girl. "

I'd have bet money you

wouldn't know that song!

Pitch it in!

Come on, let me see what you got!

Come on, just one more.

Throw him one.

I wanna knock it into the stands!

Come on, Roy, pitch it in!

- I bet you 10 bucks he can whiff you.

- You already owe me $10.

- Double or nothing then.

- You're on.

Pitch it here!

One more, Roy! Right into the stands!

Barrel one down his main street!

He really burnt that in there.

Come in here a minute.

What's up?

Ask the Judge.

The Judge?

He wants to see you.

I should go with you.

No, I can handle it.

I hope so.

- I'm Roy Hobbs.

- Yes, the Judge is expecting you.

Go right in.

Thank you.

Come in. Come in.

We meet at last.

This is a swell office.

Mere creature comforts.

Could use a little more light, though.

Where you from, Hobbs?

All around, really.

What about you?

Please pardon the absence of light.

You see, as a youngster I was

frightened of the dark...

...and I used to wake up sobbing

in it as if it was water...

...and I was drowning in it.

As you will observe, I have...

...disciplined myself

against that fear...

...that now I much prefer...

...a dark room.

The only thing I know about the dark

is, you can't see in it.

A pure canard.

What's a canard?

A prevarication.

What's that mean?

A lie.

You can see, you know.

Well, not good enough.

You see me, don't you?

Maybe I do, maybe I don't.

I asked you here because I wanted

to pay you my compliments...

...for your performance in the field.

It's been fun.

Oh, you made a great contribution.

Stands have been constantly filled.

Financial fortunes have been

radically reversed since you joined.

I hadn't noticed.

You're not fascinated

by the almighty dollar?

I never gave it much thought.

You're above such

mundane thoughts, huh?

I didn't say that.

No, I'm as interested in a buck

as anybody else.

And I am not one to let

good deeds go unrewarded.

Would a new contract interest you?

For more money.

You wanna pay me more,

that's up to you.

I don't detect any gratitude

on your part, Mr. Hobbs.

I'm under no legal obligation

to pay you one penny more.

Either way, I play to win.

A young man your age

ought to think about your future.

Well, let me put it to you this way:

There's no way I'm gonna let you

steal this club from Pop.

The fact is, Pop is a jinxed man.

All the Roy Hobbses

in the world can't change that.

- Well, it'll be a team effort.

- You're a very impudent man.

The interview is ended.

You come back here and turn off

that infernal light!

He's not as greedy as Bump.

He'll be hard to work with,

but we'll get him.

How'd it go up there, kiddo?

What are you doing here? Stay home

in bed and quit tailing me around.

You really are a riddle.

What are you trying to hide?

- I ain't hiding a thing.

- Well, who says you are?

You know...

...old Sam Simpson died before

he could give me the lowdown on you.

But I want you to look at this.

What you have in your hand is

a great story, but I want it all.

A Max Mercy exclusive.

I don't want the public to get

the wrong idea.

Stories are floating around.

One says you played

for another major league team.

One says you were

an acrobat in the circus.

There's even a crazy story

that said you killed someone.

Let them believe

what they wanna believe.

My paper will guarantee you

5 grand, cash, for your story.

It'll give your fans something

to keep up their goodwill in you.

Once you get to know me better,

you'll like me.

Hi, kid. How are you doing?

Nice to see you.

We're gonna meet a guy

named Gus Sands, all right?

Who's he?

You're kidding.

He's a $10 million-a-year bookie.

- You never heard of him?

- No.

Awfully nice guy. Awfully nice.

They don't have bands like that

in Nebraska, do they?

That's not where I'm from,

but they aren't there either.

Gus?

You know...

Here. You know Roy Hobbs.

Yeah, sure.

I know all about Roy Hobbs.

Everybody here know everybody?

Sit down.

- Have a drink, slugger?

- No, thanks.

Strictly a Wheaties man, right?

Well, the eyes.

- Gotta keep them clear.

- Oh, yes.

How'd it go today?

He did better than we did.

He got 5 out of 5 in the 1 st...

...and 3 for 4 in the 2nd.

What do you know?

That'll cost me a pretty penny.

How's that?

I bet against you today.

Against the Knights?

Just against you, kid.

I didn't know you could bet

against one player.

You can bet against anybody, anything.

Strikes, balls, hits, runs, errors.

Take your pick.

I once bet $100,000

on three pitched balls.

How'd you make out?

Didn't.

But the next week, I ruined the guy

with a different deal.

Sometimes you win,

sometimes you don't.

I lost with you today...

...but some other time,

I'll clean up double.

How you gonna do that?

When you're not batting so good.

How will you know

when that is?

The magic eye. It sees all.

Show him how it works. Go on.

Yeah, sure. Why not?

I'll bet that I can tell,

within a buck either way...

...how much money

you've got in your pocket.

I'll take that chance.

For a thousand dollars?

Better make it a hundred.

You know the Judge.

A hundred it is.

You got 10 bucks.

What is it?

Eight dollars.

You lose.

And the silver?

The silver.

A dollar, what, 37?

Never misses. Right, sugar?

Just a lucky guy, Gus.

That's pretty good. I owe you 100.

Forget it. Forget it.

Someday you'll maybe

do me a favour, eh?

Don't bet on it.

Excuse me.

What?

I think you overlooked these.

We call it even?

Would you like to dance?

What do you know about him?

Not much. Not very much.

But I got a questionnaire out in

a thousand papers all over the west.

Somebody's gotta claim him, right?

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