Highpockets

This is a story of a selfish man altered by his love for an injured boy. Cecil (Highpockets) McCade is a rookie outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers whose primary thoughts are his batting average and other on-field accomplishments. He is not a bad person, he is a farm boy from North Carolina who wants to pay off the mortgage and help his younger siblings get an education. However, his constant thoughts only of himself turn off his teammates, coaches, fans and the sports writers. However, while he is in a frustrated, self-absorbed mood, a boy runs into the side of his car. The boy is severely injured and although Highpockets was not responsible, he befriends the boy and helps him with his stamp collection. They become friends and this changes Highpockets into a team player. At the end, there is the predictable big game for the pennant where Highpockets makes the play that wins the game. This book also features most of the same people that appear in the other Tunis books involving his mythical Brooklyn Dodgers. Spike and Bob Russell, Chiselbeak the clubhouse man, Roy Tucker, Razzle Nugent and Fat Stuff Foster are some of the characters that appear. Like the other Tunis books, this is a sports story filled with a deep lesson for life. No man is an island and the accolades of your teammates should matter more than personal achievement. I enjoyed it immensely.

Cecil "Highpockets" McDade is a rookie center fielder from North Carolina who, though talented, has an inflated opinion of himself and is disliked by his Dodger teammates. An auto accident midway through the season changes everything, although not right away. Of the latter four Tunis book in the Brooklyn series, this one is perhaps the best. The opening description of Braves Field in Boston is exceptional, right down to the smoke rising above the Charles River beyond the outfield fence. The reader gets to watch Highpockets grow up chapter by chapter, although he has a tougher time of it than Roy Tucker did in the first two books in the series. A good story, and a good read. Tunis mainstains an amazing consistency throughout his Dodgers series, from the clack-clack-clackety-clack of the players' spikes to the dialogue between the players. Expect nothing less here.