... Jason becomes convinced that a knowledgeable school custodian, Mack Henry, is really a former star pitcher of the old Negro leagues. The revelation of Mr. Henry's secret and Jason's efforts to recruit him as his new team's coach ...--Horn Book
Paul Mather's a pitcher -- a really good one. His off speed pitch is enough to bowl a kid backward, and his fast ball is pure smoke. There isn't anything he can't throw, from sliders, change-ups, and sinkers to a mean curve ball that breaks at just the right moment. He's pitched no-hitters and perfect games. To Paul, pitching is what you live for and why you live. Lately, though, Paul hasn't been allowed to do much of anything, much less play ball. He's got leukemia, and it's put him into the hospital several times already. His parents are so worried, they've forbidden him to play the game he loves so much. They're afraid that if Paul strains himself his illness may come back a final time...and maybe even take his life. But Paul is a winner. His team needs him, and he won't give up without a fight. Paul Mather is determined to pitch every inning...to keep playing baseball, and to keep hanging tough, no matter what the odds.
"Jake is back! The tough, independent, eleven year old ball player, the leader of the Print-Alls-- a team that will be broken up unless they find a coach. Jake, an orphan, lives with his Uncle Lenny, an ex-athlete and now a musician. Lenny plays his music at night while Jake is supposedly sleeping. Jake is having trouble getting to school in the morning while Lenny is sleeping. As a family unit, they're in trouble; as a team the Print-Alls are in trouble"--Page 4 of cover.
"Daydreamer Jason, 11, has just been [dropped] from his Little League team. Seeking solace at the baseball-card shop, he makes a startling hypothesis: 'Buck McHenry,' star pitcher [of the Negro Leagues], could be school custodian Mack Henry. Mr. Henry's identity, in doubt through much of the book, provides a mystery, a bittersweet revelation, and a satisfyingly dramatic denouement. The characterizations are pungent, the action (on and off the diamond) involving. A solid, rewarding story." —K. Finalist, 1992 Edgar Allan Poe Award, Juvenile Category (Mystery Writers of America) Children's Choices for 1992 (IRA/CBC)