A New York Times bestseller From acclaimed author of the Home Team series Mike Lupica comes an inspiring novel about the heart and soul of baseball.On or off the field, Ben and Matt couldnt be more different. Ben Roberson is an all-or-nothing player: hes big, hes bold, and hes brash. Bens swing can hit a ball right out of the parkbut thats if he can get a hit at all. Matt Baker is small, and shy, and his stutter has him avoiding the spotlighteven if hes the best all-rounder on the team. But while Matt knows hes got the chops, a part of him has always envied Big Ben and his attention-grabbing charm. So its a total shock when Ben asks Matt to help him work on his swing. Because Ben cant put the ball into play, and his showboating comes at the expense of the team. And even though Matts trying to help, Ben doesnt seem to take him seriously, especially when it means toning things down. The end of the season is fast approachingis there enough time for Ben to realize bigger isnt always better? For Matt to understand that sometimes, being the bigger person means standing up for yourself? Or will they have to accept defeat?

 

 

This book is aimed at children at US 3rd grade-7th grade.

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 304 pages in this book. This book was published in 2019 by Simon & Schuster .

Mike Lupica is the author of multiple bestselling books for young readers, including the Home Team series, QB 1, Heat, Travel Team, Million-Dollar Throw, and The Underdogs. He has carved out a niche as the sporting world's finest storyteller. Mike lives in Connecticut with his wife and their four children. When not writing novels, he writes for Daily News (New York) and is an award-winning sports commentator. You can visit Mike Lupica at MikeLupicaBooks. com.