Rivals: A Baseball Great Novel

Green, Tim

4.34

1,989 ratings by Goodreads

9780061626937: Rivals: A Baseball Great Novel

ISBN 10: 0061626937 ISBN 13: 9780061626937

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2010

Cooperstown! Josh is thrilled when all his hard training pays off in a big way and his team, the Titans, makes it to a national tournament in Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. More is on the line for Josh than just a trophy. Winning would mean everything to his dad—now Josh's coach. Winning could mean a major endorsement deal for the Titans and the attention of big league scouts!

After a dirty play and a brutal injury threaten to sideline Josh, he spies suspicious activity at the tournament. He tries to tell his good friend Jaden about what he's seen, but she's too busy spending time with the L.A. Comets' star player, Mickey Mullen Jr., to want to get involved. Jaden says she's doing research for the newspaper . . . but is she? Now Josh has a rival—both on the field and off—as he swings for the fences in a game that quickly becomes more dangerous.

New York Times bestselling author Tim Green delivers a hard-hitting look at what some teams will do to win in this gripping companion to Baseball Great.

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About the Author:

Tim Green, for many years a star defensive end with the Atlanta Falcons, is a man of many talents. He's the author of such gripping books for adults as the New York Times bestselling The Dark Side of the Game and American Outrage. Tim graduated covaledictorian from Syracuse University and was a first-round draft pick. He later earned his law degree with honors, and he has also worked as an NFL commentator for FOX Sports and NPR.

His first book for young readers, Football Genius, inspired in part by his players and his own kids, became a New York Times bestseller and was followed by Football Hero, Football Champ, The Big Time, and Deep Zone. He drew on his experiences playing and coaching Little League for Rivals and Pinch Hit and two more New York Times bestsellers: Baseball Great and Best of the Best.

Bestselling author Jon Scieszka called Tim Green's Unstoppable, a book about a boy's struggle with cancer that debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, "Absolutely heroic. And something every guy should read."

Tim Green lives with his wife, Illyssa, and their five children in upstate New York.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5–8—In this sequel to the author's popular Baseball Great (HarperCollins, 2009), 12-year-old Josh LeBlanc has his hands full as he tries to lead his team to victory in the Hall of Fame National Championship Tournament. As a consequence of being purposely beaned in an early-round game, he has to have eye surgery; he is briefly detained after sneaking into the Hall of Fame with his buddy Benji; he thinks he's losing his sort-of girlfriend to the handsome son of a former major league star; and he is interviewed on national TV by legendary announcer Bob Costas. He uncovers a plot on the part of the former major leaguer to fix the games in the tournament and makes an escape by motorboat from a crooked, shotgun-wielding umpire, all the while performing on the field at a nearly superhuman level. There is certainly a lot going on, not all of it entirely plausible, but everything is handled with a light, deft touch. A highlight of the book is the banter between Josh and Benji, much of which is genuinely hilarious. Real baseball aficionados will appreciate the treatment of some of the more subtle nuances of the game. Enjoyable, unpretentious escapism for youngsters, especially reluctant readers.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT
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