cover image Baseball Crazy: Ten Short Stories that Cover All the Bases

Baseball Crazy: Ten Short Stories that Cover All the Bases

, . . Dial, $16.99 (191pp) ISBN 978-0-8037-3162-2

There's no shortage of great writing in this collection of 10 stories. Baseball unifies the entries, but there the similarities end. From Jerry Spinelli's offbeat story about a “wiseacre wet-the-bed stinky-footed ” orphan experiencing his first-ever major league game to Frank Portman's amusing two-and-a-half second journey inside the mind of ill-fated fielder Mark Pang, these entries present an impressive array of voices and styles, not to mention memorable young characters. John H. Ritter introduces Frankie Alvarez, a larger-than-life pitcher who saves his team's championship victory, a sharp contrast to Paul Acampora's Jeffrey, who earns his mother's disgust when he fails to strike out a crucial batter; meanwhile, Sue Corbett's Kirby, neither the worst nor the best, learns from the only girl on the team: “Don't think. Just react.” Whether “baseball born and baseball raised” or tepid fans of America's pastime, readers will be drawn in by the masterful storytelling. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)