World Series

Written in 1941, much of the context of this book will be incomprehensible to the modern teenager. And yet, the basic story is timeless. Baseball is baseball, whether it was played fifty years ago or last summer. The Brooklyn Dodgers managed by Dave Leonard and starring Roy Tucker, "The Kid From Tompkinsville" are in the World Series, having won the pennant on the last day of the season. They are a battered team, their first string catcher split a thumb and cannot play. The Brooklyn pitchers are worn out from the long season and everyone else is hurting. In his first at bat of the series, Roy Tucker is hit in the head by a fast ball and is suffering from dizzy spells. This is a story about the drive to succeed and the desire to win. It is also about teamwork, all members working together to achieve a common goal. Manager Dave Leonard takes over the catching duties and by sheer will power, forces his forty-year old body to perform like it is once again twenty-something. He is leveled at the plate and holds onto the ball to save a run and get the vital out. I first read this story when I was in middle school, loved it then and enjoyed it just as much when I read it this time. It takes you back to an age when people played the game hard, for only a few thousand dollars a year and where winning was the only thing. This is a sequel to "The Kid From Tompkinsville" and Tunis is once again at the top of his writing game. It is a classic sports story that can still excite and inspire the modern child.

I first read this book as an eleven year old and it made a strong impression on my young mind. Now, as a 44 year old, I thought I would reread this book to take a stroll down memory lane. I wasn't disappointed. This story of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the late 1930's is the sequel to The Kid from Tomkinsvile. The "Kid" chonicles the season that leads up to the World Series and this book disects the seven game classic against the Indians. At eleven, I cheered and cried for the heroes in the story; and at 44 I did the same. This is a wonderful book, and a great look back into time, for any young boy or girl.

In some ways, this is an even better read than "The Kid From Tomkinsville" because Tunis keeps the story within the framework of a series as opposed to two seasons in "The Kid." In "World Series" you get to see how a battered and bruised Roy Tucker handles his first postseason, although the novel also puts a lot of time in on Brooklyn manager Dave Leonard (who shows himself to be a lot more complex than in the first book). Tunis is very good at getting the feel of what baseball was like in the 1940's, and "World Series" contains perhaps his best game-situation writing of all the novels. And the banquet scene is priceless. Very much a companion piece to "The Kid," and it's well worth buying them both and reading them one after the other.