Baseball Fiction

Owen Thatcher has been ghosted by his ex, leaving him to pick up the pieces of their family in the midst of being traded to a new team. After striking out with nanny after nanny, he's desperate to create a stable life for his two kids. Sophie Callahan comes from an affluent family but this free spirit is nothing like the stereotypical trust fund baby. While she waits on the perfect job to open up, she's making it work as a substitute teacher. But a ruggedly handsome baseball player makes her an offer she can't refuse.

Patrick “Patch” Donnelly has what it takes to be the best goalie in the NHL... if only he could learn to control his temper. When Coach orders him to get his head in the game with private yoga classes, Patch isn’t having it. There’s no way this tough Boston guy would be caught dead downward dogging his way to inner peace. But if he refuses, he risks his starting position and the dream he sacrificed everything for, including joining the priesthood.

In these 11 stories, Gary Soto scores again. With a sensitivity and humor born from his own experiences while growing up in California's Central Valley, the author brings to the surface issues such as success and failure, honesty and deceit, love and friendship.

It was my home run ball that shattered her face. Right along with her modeling career. Now it's my mission to help her rebuild her life. And get her to love the game that she hates. The game that dictates my life both on and off the field. But when the lines of our friendship become blurred, I worry she'll just be another casualty of my three-strikes rule. The rule I have to protect my money, my future, my heart. No girl has ever broken it. I've never wanted one to. Until now.

Has anyone ever told you that baseball is more than a game, that it's really a metaphor for life? Have you ever wondered what they meant? This story imagines the answer. A single mother moves to Kansas City with her young daughter and notices that everyone she meets - her new colleagues, neighbors, even the mailman - can't stop talking about baseball. "It's more than just a game," they tell the mother. "It's so much more. What you need is to come to a game and experience it."

Tucker Cassidy is going through a slump - but not on the field. It's his dating life that's suffering... until a gorgeous doctor comes to the rescue at his most embarrassing moment. As the daughter of the owner of the St. Louis Rivers, Dr. Aubry Ross has been around jocks all her life. She knows the ins and outs of all their games, and she isn't interested in playing. When Tucker repeatedly lands in the hospital where she's working, Aubry starts to think he's getting injured just to see her.

Ross Davies, ace pitcher for the New Orleans Revelers, needs help putting his life back in order before he throws away everything he's worked so hard for. Casey Carradine has a knack for managing people's lives. When she agrees to step up to the plate and help Ross dig his way out of the debris of his failed marriage, it shouldn't be a hard task. After all, she's run her rockstar sister's life for years. But things get heated and lines get crossed. And neither of them expect the curveball that's thrown their way.

Low broke Cage’s heart by getting with Marcus in Because of Low. Cage went into a tailspin that ended in a DUI. In order to salvage his baseball scholarship - the one thing he truly valued besides Low - Cage must take a summer job. At a farm. Away from Sea Breeze. With lots of cows, but no hot girls. Maybe that’s what Cage needs to get back on track. But wait - there’s that hostile daughter of the farm boss. She’s pretty and occasionally sweet, and there seems to be a lot of sadness and mystery behind her anger.

Single mom Palmer Clark will not be sidelined by the new man in town. Sure, the honey-tongued baseball legend is gorgeous, loves puppies, and has charmed his way into the community’s heart, but Palmer craves stability. Nothing about Cole says forever. So why is he so hard to resist?

Mac has one more year of baseball eligibility left. One more year to show the major league scouts that he’s worth it. That he’s good enough to play professional baseball for them. He’s not sure that he is. So far, not a single scout has approached him. There are no agents banging down his door, hoping to represent him; no emails, no phone calls, no messages through Coach Jackson. No, nothing.

After an unexpected twist of fate, All-Star catcher Easton Wylder is left questioning the loyalty of everyone around him. Even the woman who shares his bed, Scout Dalton. But if Easton thought being uprooted to the last place he expected was the only challenge life had to throw at him, he was dead wrong. With an ailing shoulder and his career in limbo, his decision to make an unexpected change leads him to question everything—Scout’s love, family loyalties, and whether he can conquer the one obstacle he’s never been able to overcome. The secret he’s never shared with anyone.

Gretchen Harper has always been practical. Dependable, solid, predictable. She's never taken risks, and she's especially never bought coffee for gorgeous professional athletes in airports. That is, until she meets her favorite baseball player on the worst day of his career. Being sent to the minor league is just the first of Joshua Malvern's many worries—he's got an injury that won't heal and his entire career and future are on the line. When a beautiful woman offers him coffee, that simple kindness is exactly what he needs to lift him out of his funk.

When Sylvester Coddmyer III meets a mysterious character named George Baruth, he goes from being a terrible hitter to the boy who only hits homers! But how will he answer some of the difficult questions that people start asking about his amazing new talent?

Hi! My name is Lucas Anderson, and moving to Pinewood was a big change for me—not the good kind either. Everything seemed to be going wrong…until I discovered baseball. The game brought new challenges, but I wasn’t alone. Dad, a former Navy SEAL, taught me to be brave and keep trying no matter what. And Mom (a genius) was always there, teaching me tricks to level up.

Twelve-year-old star Little League pitcher Nick Garcia has a dream. Several in fact. He dreams he'll win this season's MVP and the chance to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. He dreams he'll meet his hero, Yankees' pitcher Michael Arroyo. He dreams they'll find a cure for Lupus so he sister won't have to suffer. But mostly, he dreams one day his family can stop living in fear of the government. For one kid, it's almost too much to bear.

My name is Lux Weston, and I’m a matter of national security... apparently. All I did was meet a beautiful girl in a bookstore and then rescue her. Once… twice… and maybe a third time—from a creeper. The problem? The creeper turned out to be Secret Service, and the girl… well, she’s Radley Andrews—the President’s only daughter. It has disaster written all over it. I should stay away. She’s a student, I’m a Major League Baseball player. She’s trying to hide from the spotlight, I’m standing underneath it. Not to mention I’ve never had a relationship, and Radley has her own demons to battle.

Troy Soos' sparkling Mickey Rawlings Baseball mysteries pack early 1900's baseball lore and colorful period details into baffling whodunits. Hunting a Detroit Tiger vividly brings to life the turbulent post-World War I days when the nation partied with bootleg liquor and labor unrest swept the nation with violence.

Cooperstown! Josh is thrilled when all his hard training pays off in a big way and his team, the Titans, makes it to a national tournament in Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. More is on the line for Josh than just a trophy. Winning would mean everything to his dad, now Josh's coach. Winning could mean a major endorsement deal for the Titans and the attention of big league scouts!

When Bo Bennett, rookie third baseman for the New Orleans Revelers, walks into a charity event, all he wants to do is escape. He's not interested in showboating, rubbing elbows with the elite, or anything else that doesn't pertain to baseball. With Spring Training coming to an end soon, the last thing he wants is a distraction. But then he sees her.

Teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are covering baseball's World Series, and during the course of an interview with a new hot pitcher, they discover more than a few contradictions in his life story. What's he hiding? An embarrassing secret? A possible crime? Let the investigation begin!