Pitcher to center field,

By Eve Bunting

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0516076256
• ISBN13: 9780516076256
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Childrens Press
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Many lessons are found in this short book about juvenile sports

There are many lessons in this short book about little league baseball. Steve Hayes is a good player who pitches and plays center field. His father is an aggressive parent who yells a lot from the stands and twirls a noisemaker. Lee Jackson is another good player who just moved to town and is Steve's rival for the best player in the league. Lee's father does not attend the games and Steve and Lee are on different teams. Lee is someone who has to win all the time, even if it requires a bit of cheating, whereas Steve will be truthful. When Steve catches what would have been the final out but drops the ball when he collides with the fence, Lee is credited with driving in the run that wins the game. Steve, in his honesty, was first given credit for the catch but it was taken away when he informed the umpire that he had dropped the ball. However, when Lee fails to touch first he denies it on an appeal play, so he is given credit for the hit. When Lee fails algebra and is not allowed to play, Steve volunteers to help him because Steve does not want to win the championship due to Lee not being able to play. Lee eventually passes and there is a playoff game. It is also a time of revelation as Steve is finally able to tell his father that he doesn't like his yelling from the stands. This only takes place after Steve learns that his father was a very good player in high school but was forced to quit so that he could work. In a climactic moment, Lee traps a ball and is first given credit for the catch. However, after first making the claim of a catch, he admits that he trapped the ball and Steve's team wins. This is a nice book about sportsmanship, unusual friendship and the problems of aggressive parents as fans. Even though it was written over thirty years ago, these messages are still valid and will always remain so.