Baseball Fiction

In this first book in the semi-autobiographical middle grade series from MLB pitcher Marcus Stroman, a young baseball player learns that perfect games only come with a lot of practice—and some strikeouts. Young Marcus Stroman is determined to make it to the highest playing level he can, despite every coach telling him he’s not tall enough to become a “real” pitcher. He’ll show them…with some struggling and a whole lot of learning.

Jalen DeLuca loves baseball. He's playing for his summer travel team and trying to win a regular spot in the rotation. But Jalen's got more than talent on the field. He's a baseball genius who can analyze and predict almost exactly what any pitcher is going to do with his next pitch. He can't quite explain how he knows, he just does. His unique ability helped him to save the career of New York Yankee star baseman, James "JY" Yager, and now Jalen figures he'll be almost part of the team. Or will he?

Jalen DeLuca's unique ability to predict pitches helped him save the career of Yankees star Second Baseman James “JY” Yager, but with JY sidelined with an injury, Jalen’s focusing on his own on-field efforts. However, the media is still interested in the “Calamari Kid”, and Jalen begins to get a little full of himself. Now, Daniel and Cat are starting to feel left out and kind of angry. Maybe all this baseball genius stuff isn’t as great as it’s cracked up to be.

Jess Singer, pitching prodigy and son of the infamous Jewish Joe Singer—who starred on the mound for the same MLB team twenty-five years earlier—is blessed with a plus-plus curveball, possesses immense athletic abilities, and is on the fast-track to stardom. But he's harboring perhaps the most potent secret a professional athlete can possess: his sexual preference.

Growing up the youngest of seven children in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente had a talent for baseball. His incredible skill soon got him drafted into the big leagues, where he spent 18 seasons playing right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Who Was Roberto Clemente? tells the story of this remarkable athlete: A 12-time All-Star, a World Series MVP, and the first Latin American inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

When local baseball player Junior Jones receives death threats over the color of his skin, the team's wealthy owner hires Sam Rockwell to solve the case and stop a murder before it happens. Sam goes undercover as a minor league pitcher to strike out the culprit. Follow the clues along with Sam's curmudgeonly ghost of a father Frank Rockwell, and Sam's wife Amelia, who holds a secret that will forever change the lives of the entire Rockwell family. It's another laugh-filled, madcap mystery in the warm, witty 1950's Hollywood-style of author Jason Anspach.

The first time I met Benson LaCroix, he sat in a bar wearing “cocky player” like a cheap cologne. The second time, he stood in a locker room in nothing but a jockstrap and a scowl. Apparently, the Miami Storm’s star pitcher isn’t too thrilled his new boss is the woman who turned him down.

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.

Fighting against our relationship turns into keeping it a secret… most importantly from her father. At first, it's fun sneaking around, but then it feels like every time we're close to coming clean, something happens to stop us. Then, life takes another detour as the reminder that life is short plows into me. It's moments like these that make me think long and hard about the future. For the first time, the twelve years between us start to have some meaning as I wonder whether I'm robbing her of the future she deserves.

Ten-year-old Katy Gordon loves baseball, and she's good at it, too. She tries out for the 1958 Little League season in the disguise of a boy, and she gets in easily. But when the coach finds out she's a girl, he forbids her from playing. "Since the beginning of baseball as an organized sport, it has always been the sole province of male athletes, and will remain so", says the Little League director. It's not fair, and Katy, who's also learning about the Civil Rights Movement in school, recognizes this as another societal injustice.

Connor Sullivan is an All-Star third baseman on his Babe Ruth League team, the Orioles. He can hit and field with the best of them, but he's got one big problem: his temper. When he strikes out or makes an error, he's a walking Mt. Vesuvius, slamming batting helmets and throwing gloves. His teammates are starting to avoid him, even his best friend Jason. His coach is ready to kick him off the team. To make matters worse, things aren't much better at home. His dad is having trouble finding a new job after being laid off. Money is tight.

Gabrielle Boudreaux, the youngest of the Boudreaux clan, is a single mother of her young son, Sam. Running a bed-and-breakfast at the family plantation house at the edge of the Mississippi River, Gabby loves her inn, her boy, and her family. She meets new people every day and takes pride in the house and land that has been in her family for more than five generations. Blessed beyond measure, she's also lonely, although she would never admit that to anyone, until Rhys O'Shaughnessy walks through her door.

Everyone knows Marcus Stroman as a baseball player. He loves the sport, and yes, he probably has a shot at the pros. But “baseball player” doesn’t totally define him. Why won’t anyone also see him as a basketball player or a musician? While he loves being known for what he does well, he’s struggling because people are trying to limit him to just one thing. Literally how high up a mountain does Marcus need to climb to be completely free of what everyone else sees? How can he protect himself from the online zings, the chatter, and the opinions?

War Fever explores this delirious moment in American history through the stories of three men: Karl Muck, the German conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, accused of being an enemy spy; Charles Whittlesey, a Harvard law graduate who became an unlikely hero in Europe; and the most famous baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth, poised to revolutionize the game he loved. Together, they offer a gripping narrative of America at war and American culture in upheaval.

I'm nobody's baby daddy. I don't care how many stunning women throw themselves at me, looking to turn one hot night into an 18-year paycheck. I've got way too much on the line to throw it away for one night of pleasure. Ball is life, and basketball is my first priority. I've got a championship to win. But when I see that familiar face shaking her pom-poms on the sidelines, I'm transported back to childhood, back to the days before a fiery plane crash ripped us apart, forcing us to grow up overnight.

It all started with an ad . . . "House sitter needed for the summer, room and board provided." Guess I missed the part about the cocky basketball player sleeping down the hall. Finn Richards is hot, cruel, broken beyond repair. Oh, and did I mention hell-bent on making me quit? Whatever. It's not like his charms work on me. I'm immune to his deep hazel eyes, and I'm not even a little bit curious about what happened that night. It's just two months. I can definitely go two months without ripping his head off. Only problem is, I'm not sure the same goes for his clothes.

Griffin: All it takes is four days to change my carefully planned-out life. Four days to fall for Peyton Monroe. Four days to convince her to give me . . . us a chance. Before her, baseball was the center of my world. Being the best. Getting a full-ride scholarship. Getting drafted. Going pro. But from the moment my frisbee lands at her feet on the beach, I can't stop thinking about her. She's beautiful, funny, smart . . . and lives thirteen hours away. Long-distance love is a complication I should avoid, but staying away from Peyton is not an option.

Parker: Of all the hot guys in the club, of course I find myself tangled up with a baseball player. Our chemistry is out of the park, igniting as his athletic body moves next to mine. I know exactly who he is, but the infamous Holden Bailey has no idea who I am, or my connection to the team. I prefer it that way. I give in to one dance with Holden and send him home alone. He can have any woman he wants, but for some reason, he wants me. His pursuit is relentless. He wrote the playbook on being a player, though. Giving in could cost me my heart.

Baseball is my life. Not only am I good at it, but I’m determined not to end up like my father. That’s why I don’t allow myself to get too close to any woman. But that all changes the day I see Brandy Lancaster. I’m drawn to her like a magnet, and there’s no stopping the pull she has over me. One look and I’m already in too deep, but for the first time in forever, I’m not scared of drowning.

Humor is the best part of baseball. To survive a long season, the everyday schedule, and the failure that is inherent in the game people have always needed a good laugh about a ballgame from time to time. The stories in Baseball Humor: A Collection of Stories by Master Storytellers poke good fun at the struggles, ambition, greed, romance, envy, wisdom, and quirks of the players, managers, wives, and fans. Included are “The Pitcher and the Plutocrat” by P G Wodehouse, “Horseshoes” and “Alibi Ike” by Ring Lardner, “The Red-Headed Outfield” and “The Rube” by Zane Gray, and many others.