Only die-hard Green fans will slog their way through this installment. The characters' repetitive squabbling is tiresome, there's precious little baseball writing, and Green's attempts at humor revolve around overeating and immoderate braggadocio. Unresolved plot points, such as the mysterious military history of the protagonist's new coach, serve mostly as indications that Green isn't finished writing this series.

The fourth episode in Green's Baseball Great series continues to throw tough challenges at young Josh, both on and off the playing field. Here the 13-year-old superstar really rides the emotional roller coaster as he continues to love his divorced, bitterly incompatible parents and also falls into a batting slump exacerbated by the demands of a harsh, possibly unscrupulous new coach. The baseball action is exciting, if not so intense as the domestic Sturm und Drang, and is capped by a rigged home-run contest that leads to a surprise happy ending. Sports play a strong enough role to put this solidly in that genre, but the domestic issues broaden its potential audience.