# Lefty Crosby — Short Fiction character guide

> Lefty Crosby in Short Fiction by Ring Lardner.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lefty Parks, Lefty, Crosby

**First appearance:** 0010-horseshoes

## Snapshot

A left-handed pitcher so terrified of women that a single smile from the hotel telegraph operator could wreck his arm for a week.

## Who they are

Crosby is the ball club's best pitcher and its strangest man — he bolts through the hotel lobby to avoid Mary Lloyd, the pretty telegraph operator every other player flirts with, and the veterans warn her to keep her smile to herself. His flaw is a paralyzing shyness around women that the team treats as a practical hazard: a cross-eyed look from a girl takes him a week to shake off. Mary's curiosity about the handsome "woman hater" sets up the story's central collision between his fear and her persistence.

## In the story

### [Harmony](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/harmony)

Member of the quartet; gave up a girl due to Art's pressure.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/i)

A promising young left-handed pitcher who cannot read and is extremely shy around women. He is the target of Harry Childs's practical jokes.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/ii)

Pitches well for five innings but loses control after Childs tells him a girl is watching; he is pulled from the game.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/iii)

Shows extreme fear of guns, leading to his absence from the series.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/iv)

Reveals his bashfulness around women and his fear of guns, stemming from a traumatic event.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/v)

Extremely shy around women, avoids Mary Lloyd, and flees when introduced to her.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/vi)

Worried about being drafted into the army, repeatedly teased by Harry Childs.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/vii)

Expresses a desire to get married, seeks Joe's advice, and agrees to send a telegram to Mary Lloyd.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/viii)

Scared of meeting Mary, but is helped by the narrator, Gil, and Martin. The taxi ride with Mary goes well.

### [Women](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/women)

A player on the bench who engages in banter with Healy and Young Jake, often providing sarcastic commentary.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/lefty_crosby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters