The Kid Who Only Hit Homers

The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
by Matt Christopher

Norwood House Press, 1972







Genre:  Sport stories, Fiction

Honors:  None known

Review:  Sylvester Coddmeyer III absolutely loves baseball, practically living and breathing the sport. Although he also loves to play baseball as well, he isn't very good at it. This all changes when he meets a stranger who offers to give him some tips. Mr. George Baruth helps Sylvester become such a good player that his coach puts him in the coveted fourth spot at bat, the cleanup spot. However, Sylvester wonders how long his luck in playing baseball will last.

Opinion:  I found that this book was a little sophisticated in it's 'baseball-speak', which would appeal to those who love the sport, but it was a little over the top for me. In regards to the plot, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise, and enjoyed the idea that the one and only George Herman "Babe" Ruth aka Mr. George Baruth was a large part of the success of the main character.

Ideas:  This is a perfect book for boy tweens who love sports, so I think it would work well on a book list of sport related fiction. Another idea might be to put this book on a display of baseball related items during opening week of the new baseball season.