No Arm in Left Field (Matt Christopher Sports Classics)

When his family moves to Forest Lake, Terry Delaney hopes to be able to play baseball, his favorite sport. He approaches life in Forest Lake with a bit of trepidation, as he will be one of the few black children in the city. Fortunately, he meets and becomes immediate friends with Mick and Mick encourages Terry to try out for little league baseball. Tony is another boy on the team who takes an immediate dislike to Terry because he is black. Play starts and while Terry has many skills on the diamond, he has two weaknesses. He can cover enormous ground in left with his feet but has a very weak throwing arm. Terry is also a sucker for a high and outside fastball, he can clobber what he can reach but he can't reach those pitches. When those weaknesses appear in games, his teammate Tony makes fun of Terry, which creates dissension and unhappiness. The other relatives of the boys meet and there is a thaw there, but Tony finds it difficult to give up his prejudice. The coach talks to Terry and has him move closer to the plate. This, in combination with greater discipline at the plate, helps Terry to improve his hitting. The other players realize that Terry has a weak arm, so they compensate by moving closer to him when receiving a throw. A big game arrives and Tony decides that he wants to win more than he wants to dislike so Terry and Tony reach an understanding and when they win the game, they take the first steps toward friendship. One could almost date this book by the way in which race and sports are handled. It is clear that professional sports have been integrated for some time and the animosity Tony shows to Terry was born from a situation with Tony's father where he feels that a black was promoted ahead of him. After some time to get to know and understand each other, the racial animosity evaporates and everyone pulls together. It is a simple story with a basic and topical, at least for the seventies, moral.

The book I read was NO ARM IN LEFT FIELD. It was a book about a kid who could not throw. One of his friends dad tought him how to throw better. (...) I hope I havn't giving out to much information about the book. I think you should read it because i really liked it and if you like sports books you would like it too.

I read these books when I was in fifth and sixth grade. They are all kind of formulaic and predictable to anyone 13 years of age and older but they are great for younger children. I recommend these books for child that you want to start reading more. They are easy reads and teach great lessons like team work, accepting differences in people and sportsmanship. They can really boost a child's confidence.

This book really showed the predijice that could happen to anyone. Terry was a black kid who was being excluded from his baseball team and peers. One friend Mick showed understanding and excepted him for who he was. In the end everyone came around but it took awhile. This was one of my favorite books and I hope you read it as well. So when your at the library pick this up.