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Hitting Glory

BookBrowser Review: 
Hitting Glory 
by Robert Skead 

Cross Training Publishing, January 2001, 120 pp. 
ISBN: 1929478305 
Genre: Inspirational Fiction 
Subgenre(s): Childrens/Sports
Time Period: Near Future
Reviewer: Mary V Welk 
Reviewed: 12/18/2001

A case of classroom giggles results in a school service project for eleven-year-old Lou Gibson, a sixth grader at New York City's Public School #132. Meant as a punishment for disrupting the class, the project turns into an adventure when Lou finds an old baseball bat hidden behind some shelves in the school's basement. Mr. Broom, the janitor, has no use for the bat and tells Lou that he may keep it. When Lou discovers the initials LG carved on the bottom of the bat, his imagination runs wild with the possibility that the old Spalding might have belonged to Lou Gehrig. Gehrig, known as the Pride of the Yankees during his playing days, had attended Public School #132 and was by far the school's most famous graduate. 

At home, Lou does an internet search on Spalding baseball bats. He learns that the Spalding logo imprinted on his bat points to its being manufactured between 1900 and 1915. The next day he enlists the help of the school's librarian in a search for information on Gehrig's days at PS #132. When he learns that Gehrig graduated in 1917, he becomes convinced that the bat belonged to the Yankee slugger. 

A so-so ballplayer himself, Lou turns into a batting hero when he trades his aluminum bat for the wooden Spalding. His team seems destined for the playoffs with Lou punching out triples and homeruns. But then his best buddy, Daniel, tells the team that Lou's bat may have belonged to Gehrig. When he hears the story, the principal demands that the bat be returned to PS #132. Lou's mom then forbids him to use the bat, fearful that it might be damaged in play and its value diminished. Tragedy strikes when Lou disobeys and takes the bat to one last game. Daniel grabs the Spalding, and with one swing of the bat, manages to crack it. Not only is the bat damaged, but so is the friendship between Lou and Daniel. 

Robert Skead is the author of two other young adult novels and numerous short stories for children. In his latest offering, Skead weaves his plot around two distinct themes. First, he shows readers the changes that occur in people when they become more interested in the value of objects than in the value of relationships. His second theme deals with self-confidence and the role of mind-over-matter when it comes to achieving a goal. Because he lets the story speak for itself and doesn't directly preach to his audience, Skead does a decent job of conveying both themes. This book would probably appeal to boys in the 10 to 12-year-old range.

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