Baseball is fun and it takes hard work to be good. A little league composed of children diverse in age, race and gender learn what it takes to be a success on the field. They see how good sportsmanship, teamwork, real competition, and self determination make stronger athletes and a stronger team!

LOOK WHO'S PLAYING FIRST BASE Will Mike stand up to his teammates to defend his friend? When the Checkmates need a new first baseman, Mike Hagin's new friend, Yuri, seems like a logical choice. But when Yuri starts flubbing plays and the team's star player threatens to quit as a result, Mike is not sure Yuri is such a good choice after all-for a teammate or for a friend. It appears as if Mike will have to choose between his friendship with Yuri and his loyalty to the team-or is there another solution?

From age-appropriate drills to motivation strategies, this step-by-step guide to youth baseball offers all the information parents and coaches need to help young players reach their full potential.

After the party, and for the rest of the summer, I couldn’t stop thinking about girls and baseball. I was beginning to think Ralph was right about the connection between the two. Both look pretty simple from the outside: there’s a ball, you hit it, you run; there’s a girl, you like her, you take her out. But in the end, they both end up being way more complicated. Life is changing for Darcy Spillman. Being the quiet, baseball-crazy kid was fine in primary school when you had two best friends to hang with, but the rulebook is different in junior high. Ralph’s defected to the in-crowd. Nerdy Dwight finds a new friend who’s even nerdier. But Danalda Chase, the impossibly pretty, totally cool girl, is suddenly very interested in Darcy, and he’s not sure what to do. He can’t ask his grandpa, who’s been acting very strange lately—and the only thing Darcy knows is baseball. Maybe the rules of the game will work for his social life? In a funny, often poignant and always intelligent story, Matt Beam mines the classic connections between baseball, love and life. With its combination of sensitive hero and baseball lore, Getting to First Base with Danalda Chase will resonate with both boys and girls.

"An official MLB publication"--Page 4 of cover.

Presents information, including biographical profiles and career statistics, about some of the major league baseball's best pitchers.