DIVRookie pitcher Roy Tucker is full of hope for his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers—and hope might be what the team needs most/divDIV /divDIVRoy Tucker—a small-town kid from Tomkinsville, Connecticut—has quit his job at the drugstore and packed up for Dodgers training camp in Clearwater, Florida, hoping to make the team as a rookie pitcher. He expects the field to be competitive and realizes he might not pass muster, but after just one practice, he discovers just how difficult a goal he has set./divDIV /divDIVBut the Dodgers are an aging team, and owner Jack MacManus is getting tired of the smart remarks from sports reporters and the manager of the rival Giants, Bill Murphy. With a little coaching and encouragement from Dave Leonard, the oldest catcher in the big leagues, this kid from Tomkinsville might be just what the team needs./div

DIVRoy Tucker left the Dodgers to become a war hero—and now he’s fighting to get back onto the baseball diamond/divDIV /divDIVRoy Tucker was one of the best prospects the Dodgers had—first as a pitcher, then as an outfielder when he injured the elbow of his throwing arm. Then he went off to serve in World War II, where a plane crash over France left him with pain in his hips and back./divDIV /divDIVThe war is nearly over, and players are starting to return from the front to play ball again. If the Dodgers aim to have any chance at the pennant, the kid from Tomkinsville will have to fight his way back into the game once more./div

A classic quartet of baseball stories, repackaged for a new generation.

DIVTwo brothers called up from the minor leagues try to turn around the Brooklyn Dodgers’ dismal prospects/divDIV /divDIVIt’s late in the season, and the Brooklyn Dodgers have been flagging, dropping through the ranks as the Pittsburgh Pirates take the league. When a scout brings Spike and Bob Russell up from the minor leagues, the “Keystone Kids” quickly prove their worth./divDIV /divDIVWith Spike at shortstop and Bob at second base, the future starts to look a little brighter—but Spike sees the slumping team begin to fall apart again the following year, as even his own brother picks on Klein, the new Jewish catcher. Exasperated and tired of being in last place, owner Jack MacManus unexpectedly promotes Spike to manager, hoping to shake his team of its losing habit./div

As the newest addition to the Brooklyn Dodgers, young Roy Tucker's pitching helps pull the team out of a slump; but, when a freak accident ends his career as a pitcher, he must try to find another place for himself on the team. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.