The Pitcher

The Pitcher is a heartwarming baseball novel about a young Mexican-American boy's dream of becoming a pitcher, a mother's unrelenting love and support, and a broken former major league pitcher who can't get past the death of his wife.Author William Hazelgrove weaves a touching tale set in Jacksonville, Florida, and written in the first person narrative that follows the journey of fourteen year old Ricky Hernandez as he overcomes obstacles to chase his dream of becoming a pitcher on his high school baseball team. Ricky has a great arm but doesn't have focus or control over his pitches. Ricky's mother Maria is his biggest supporter and she wants him to achieve his dream, but she knows that he needs a pitching coach. Maria asks their reclusive neighbor, Jack Langford, a former MLB pitcher whose team won the 1978 World Series, to coach her son in preparation for the high school baseball team tryouts.This is an emotional and inspirational story about growing up, chasing dreams, overcoming obstacles, letting go of the past, healing and moving forward in life. This captivating tale will tug at the heartstrings as the reader follows the intertwining story of a young boy who overcomes discrimination and lack of self-confidence to chase his dream; a single mother's love for her son and her unrelenting support to help him achieve his dream while battling health and financial issues; and a reclusive former major league pitcher who learns to let go of the past, regain some joy and move forward in his life by sharing the mutual love of baseball with the young boy and his mother.Baseball fans of all ages will love reading The Pitcher. Author William Hazelgrove weaves an enjoyable story about following dreams that brings to mind the classic jingle ... "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet."

I'm picky about what I read, particularly when it comes to YA fiction and books about sports, as both are difficult nuts to crack for any author. I've read TOBACCO STICKS and ROCKET MAN, two of Hazelgrove's previous book, and while I enjoyed both, I was skeptical about his ability to create a narrative that melded these two new categories together into a story that would draw me in.So when THE PITCHER was recommended to me by a friend who knows that SHOELESS JOE, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE and WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS are three of my favorite books, and FIELD OF DREAMS and BULL DURHAM are two of my all-time favorite movies, at first I ignored him. Then a second friend chimed in, unsolicited, with the same recommendation, so I gave it a chance.I'm glad I did.Hazelgrove has pulled off something not many authors can do -- he has created is a story that manages to be a breezy read, while also being sweet, powerful and heart-felt. There are a thousand tales of kids reaching for their dreams, encouraged by a special "Obi-Wan"-esque mentor, but despite that THE PITCHER manages to come off as fresh and even original in its point-of-view of this tale as old as time.As I said before, I've read other books by the author. As much as I liked them, though, I have to say that THE PITCHER feels the most authentic. Hazelgrove has found his voice in this book, through these characters and with a story that feels personal and real. A good writer, like a good actor, can make almost any material work (though it will likely still come across as wooden), but no matter how good an author may be, he or she can't force their writing to live and breathe...that comes only from a well-grounded connection to the material. That's what Hazelgrove has accomplished here.Want to feel good? Read THE PITCHER.

Our young hero Ricky Hernandez struggles with poverty, bullying and an abusive, largely absentee father. He is blessed, however, with a mother lovingly dedicated to helping him in all ways possible. And he needs help: The tryouts for the freshman baseball team are fast approaching. Ricky has a good arm and solid but quite erratic fastball. Rita reads books and seeks advice online, but it isn’t enough to help Ricky find the strike zone. As it happens, the hermitic grouch across the street is reputed to be a former MLB pitcher. Jack Langford is content to sit in his darkened garage, drinking beer and watching baseball. He decidedly does NOT want to help Ricky. Rita’s dogged persistence overcomes is his similarly dogged reluctance, from which follows a series of sports (and life) lessons.I was predisposed to like this novel in which a major character is loosely based on the baseball career of beloved great Detroit Tiger, Mickey Lolich. (And just the career. Happily, Mr. Lolich didn’t end up a broken drunk living in his garage.) I’m not usually taken by ‘young adult’ literature, and would be a poor judge as to its likely appeal to young readers. This baseball fanatic enjoyed it a great deal. Many young people do not have the same challenges as those faced by young Ricky. Most kids will find themselves challenged in other ways. The Pitcher provides timeless lessons in discipline, determination, love and chasing dreams that should appeal to young and old, sportsaholic and sportsphobe alike.

Feelgood book

Brilliant. Beautifully-drawn characters. Sentiment without melodrama. And you don't have to like baseball to enjoy 'The Pitcher'.