Play Ball: Sports Titles for Teens

Baseball

Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seventh grader Matt Pin is a child of war. Airlifted out of Vietnam by American soldiers and adopted by a loving American family, he carries within him inescapable visions of chaos: “the smell and the smoke and the sound of someone crying,” his mother’s “thin, shrill staccato” voice when she urged him away from her to safety “through sounds of whirring helicopters and open prayers,” and his 3 yr. old brother’s burned, dismembered body. At the center of these visions is a dark secret, one Matt keeps tightly wound up inside. Luckily, he has baseball, a talent for the piano, and a new, supportive family to see him through. This is an exceptionally beautiful novel that captures the physical and emotional wreckage left in the wake of the Vietnam War.

 

 

Carlson, Ron. The Speed Of Light. 2003. (YA Fiction Carls.R)

Larry spends the summer before junior high school with his best friends, Witt and Rafferty, playing different forms of baseball and discovering the secrets of the universe.

 

 

Chabon, Michael. Summerland. 2002. (YA Science Fiction Chabo.M  & YA CD Fiction Chabo.M)

Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.

 

 

Cochrane, Mick. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies. 2009. (YA Fiction Cochr.M)

Molly's ability to throw a knuckleball earns her a spot on the baseball team, the "boy's" baseball team. Molly knows a thing or two about baseball thanks to many years of baseball practice with her recently deceased father, and she begins to redefine her relationships with her family and friends over the course of the baseball season.

 

 

Fehler, Gene. Beanball. 2008. (YA Fiction Fehle.G)

Relates, from diverse points of view, events surrounding the critical injury of popular and talented high school athlete, Luke "Wizard" Wallace, when he is hit in the face by a fastball.

 

 

Gratz, Alan. Samurai Shortstop. 2006. (YA Fiction Gratz.A & YA CD Fiction Gratz.A)

While obtaining a Western education at a prestigious Japanese boarding school in 1890, 16-year-old Toyo also receives traditional samurai training which has profound effects on both his baseball game and his relationship with his father.

 

 

Jenkins, A.M.. Out Of Order. 2003. (YA Fiction Jenki.A)

Sophomore Colt Trammel loves baseball and his girlfriend Grace, but he hates the rest of high school and maintains a tough facade to hide his feelings of inferiority.

 

 

Johnson, Scott. Safe At Second. 1999. (YA Fiction Johns.S)

Paulie Lockwood's best friend Todd Bannister is destined for the major leagues until a line drive to the head causes him to lose an eye and they both must find a new future for themselves.

 

 

King, Stephen. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. 1999. (YA Fiction King.S & Fiction King.S)

While hiking the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha tires of the constant bickering between her mother and brother and decides to wander off. Lost in the forest, she draws comfort from tuning her radio to Boston Red Sox broadcasts and following her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. When the reception fades, she imagines Tom is with her. He is her key to surviving the unseen enemy.

 

 

Koertge, Ron. Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. 2003. (YA Fiction Koert.R)

When a 14-year-old baseball player catches mononucleosis, he discovers that keeping a journal and experimenting with poetry not only helps fill the time, it also helps him deal with life, love, and loss.

 

 

Kogler, Jennifer. Ruby Tuesday. 2005. (YA Fiction Kogle.J)

Ruby Tuesday Sweet keeps a battered Webster's by her side -- but when her dad tunes in to eight baseball games at a time on his wall of TVs, his talk of parlays and chalks and spreads keeps Ruby mystified. Then the Dodgers win the World Series, Ruby Tuesday's dad wins a bet, and his bookie is murdered. Ruby finds herself on the run to Las Vegas with her long-lost rock-n-roll mom in a race against the thugs who want Mr. Sweet's winning ticket.

 

 

 

Leitch, Will. Catch : A Novel. 2005. (YA Fiction Leitc.W)

Teenager Tim Temples must decide if he wants to leave his comfortable life in a small town and go to college.

 

 

Lupica, Mike. The Batboy. 2010. (YA Fiction Lupic.M)

Even though his mother feels baseball ruined her marriage to his father, she allows fourteen-year-old Brian to become a bat boy for the Detroit Tigers, who have just drafted his favorite player back onto the team, leading to an uncommon friendship. Lupica's most powerful work to date.

Lynch, Chris. Gold Dust. 2000. (YA Fiction Lynch.C)

Nonfiction

 

Dickson, Paul. The Hidden Language Of Baseball : How Signs And Sign-stealing Have Influenced The Course Of Our National Pastime. 2003. (796.35709 Dicks.P)

During a nine-inning game, more than 1,000 silent instructions are given-from catcher to pitcher, coach to batter, fielder to fielder, umpire to umpire-and without this speechless communication the game would simply not be the same. Baseball historian Paul Dickson examines for the first time the rich legacy of baseball's hidden language, offering fans everywhere a smorgasbord of history and anecdote. Whether detailing the origins of the hit-and-run, the true story behind the home run that gave "Home Run" Baker his nickname, Bob Feller's sign-stealing telescope, Casey Stengel's improbable method of signaling his bullpen, the impact of sign stealing on the Giants' miraculous comeback in 1951, or the pitches Andy Pettitte tipped off that altered the momentum of the 2001 World Series, Dickson's research is as thorough as his stories are entertaining.

 

 

Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Wait Till Next Year : A Memoir. 1997. (B Goodw.D Goodw.D)

Set in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, Wait Till Next Year is Doris Kearns Goodwin's touching memoir of growing up in love with her family and baseball. She re-creates the postwar era, when the corner store was a place to share stories and neighborhoods were equally divided between Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans. We meet the people who most influenced Goodwin's early life: her mother, who taught her the joy of books but whose debilitating illness left her housebound: and her father, who taught her the joy of baseball and to root for the Dodgers of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, and Gil Hodges. Most important, Goodwin describes with eloquence how the Dodgers' leaving Brooklyn in 1957, and the death of her mother soon after, marked both the end of an era and, for her, the end of childhood.

 

 

Hample, Zack. Watching Baseball Smarter : A Professional Fan's Guide For Beginners, Semi-experts, And Deeply Serious Geeks. 2007. (YA 796.357 Hampl.Z)

"Professional fan" Hample, who falls squarely in the "deeply serious geek" category, has put together an invaluable resource for armchair fans. A former college shortstop, four-time attendee of Bucky Dent's Baseball School and an obsessive baseball collector, Hample covers basics like what to watch for in pitchers, catchers, hitters, fielders and base runners; he also provides answers to such nagging questions as why spectators stretch in the seventh inning and why most ballplayers grab their crotches. He explains the difference between a change-up and a split-finger fastball, breaks down a box score and offers an extensive glossary of baseball slang that defines both a "courtesy trot" and a "dying quail." Hample hits the equivalent of a reference-book homerun with this witty, loose and readable book that doesn't hide his enormous depth of knowledge. Highly recommended for baseball watchers.

 

 

Macy, Sue. A Whole New Ball Game : The Story Of The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. 1993. (x796.357 Macy.S)

Describes the activities of the members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the women's professional baseball league that existed between 1943 and 1954.

 

 

Robinson, Sharon. Promises To Keep : How Jackie Robinson Changed America. 2004. (xBiog Robin.J Robin.S)

A biography of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the major leagues, as told by his daughter.

 

 

Weber, Bruce. As They See 'em : A Fan's Travels In The Land Of Umpires. 2009. (796.3573 Weber.B)

In "As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels In The Land Of Umpires," journalist Bruce Weber ventured into the little-known world of foul balls and face masks. Over the course of three years, Weber trained to be a baseball umpire, learning the finer points of calling a game and conducting over 200 interviews with other umpires along the way. Weber gives readers an insider's perspective on the dedicated men (and women) who choose to face angry fans, disgruntled coaches and poor pay in service to the game they love.

 

 

Whiting, Robert. The Meaning Of Ichiro : The New Wave From Japan And The Transformation Of Our National Pastime. 2004. (796.35709 Suzuk.I Whiti.R)

Ichiro...Nomo...Sasaki...Hasegawa...Hideki Matsui...one by one they have come to America and made their mark - not as novelty items but as incredibly gifted ballplayers whose skills and styles have defied critics and earned the admiration of millions of fans. Led by the charismatic, whippet-like right fielder for the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro Suzuki, whom many refer to as baseball's best all-around player, this new wave of athlete is the tip of a fascinating iceberg: a deep and very different tradition of baseball the Japanese way. From the cultural concept of wa ("group harmony") to the training regimens practiced by the Japanese players, Robert Whiting shows why more and more players from Japan will be coming to America - and how they are changing the way our game is played.

 

 

Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa. 1990. (796.3570952 Whiti.R)

An important element in Japanese baseball is "wa" - group harmony - embodied in the proverb, "The nail that sticks up shall be hammered down." But what if the nail is a visiting American player? Here's a look at Japanese baseball, through the eyes of a baffled American baseball player. This gripping read is alternately fascinating and hilarious, a book that captures the stark differences between the Japanese and American approaches to a classic, beloved game.

 

Short Stories

 

Mercado, Nancy, (ed.). Baseball Crazy : Ten Short Stories That Cover All The Bases. 2008. (YA Fiction Stories Merca.N)

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