Horn Book

Little Leaguer and baseball-card collector Jason becomes convinced that a knowledgeable school custodian, Mack Henry, is really a former star pitcher of the old Negro leagues. The revelation of Mr. Henry's 'secret' and Jason's efforts to recruit him as his new team's coach result in a fast-paced story of friendship and responsibility - with information about the Negro leagues a bit obviously worked in.

Kirkus Reviews

Contriving, remarkably, to fashion a second thoughtful yet entertaining sports story around baseball cards (cf. The Trading Game, 1990), a practiced author counters the obscurity to which the Negro leagues' greats have been consigned in sports history. Daydreamer Jason, 11, has just been picked as the one to drop from his Little League team, the ostensible reason that a new expansion'' team is being formed, to include TV sports luminary Chuck Axelrod's daughter, Kim: the two have just moved to town; Chuck is the league's new director. Seeking solace at the baseball card shop, Jason makes a startling hypothesis:Buck McHenry,'' black star pitcher on a new card series the proprietor shows him, could be school custodian Mack Henry, who has just given him valuable pointers on his game. Tracking Mr. Henry down, Jason does find a champion-class pitcher for the new team in the form of Henry's grandson, newly arrived after his family's tragic death; Henry's identity, in doubt through much of the book, provides a mystery, a bittersweet revelation, and a satisfyingly dramatic denouement. Meanwhile the new team, after a nicely unpredictable series of vicissitudes, gets off to a good start with Henry as coach. Plot and theme are not so tightly meshed here as in The Trading Game, and the baseball history is pushed a little hard; still, the characterizations are pungent, the action (on and off the diamond) involving. A solid, accessible, rewarding story. (Fiction. 8-12)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Could Mr. Henry, the custodian at Jason's school, possibly have some connection with former baseball great Buck McHenry? PW commented, ``Slote skillfully blends comedy, suspense and baseball in a highly entertaining tale.'' Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-- Jason Ross, a mediocre Little League catcher but avid baseball card collector, is convinced that a local school janitor named Mack Henry is actually a famous pitcher from the Negro Leagues. Jason pressures Mr. Henry into admitting that he is indeed Buck McHenry and talks him into coaching a newly formed team. Things start to unravel, however, when a television sportscaster gets wind of the story, and Jason learns that Mr. Henry has been lying. The novel suffers from some slowness of plot and drawn-out scenes. (It takes approximately 200 pages to describe about 10 hours of action.) And Mr. Henry's false admission to being Buck McHenry is never satisfactorily explained. However, Jason's discovery of the Negro Leagues may lead readers to learn more about the shameful long-term segregation of baseball. This element gives the book a thoughtful perspective that many sports books never achieve--or even attempt, for that matter. So, despite a loosely constructed, improbable plot, this novel does have some likable characters, a bit of a mystery, and an element of seriousness. These features combine to make the book a welcome addition to sports fiction collections. --Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL