The Rookie: The Incredible True Story of a Man Who Never Gave Up on His Dream

He Played A Boy's Game. He Lived A Man's Life. As a lonely child, Jim Morris took one thing with him wherever his family moved-his ability to hit and throw a baseball. For Jim, the passion of becoming a major-league ballplayer was his anchor and inspiration...until injuries and life got in the way.

A decade after Jim walked away from the minors and began a life of fatherhood and mortgage payments, he made a promise to the hardscrabble high-school team he coached: If they could win their local championship, he would try out again for the big leagues. They did-and he did. Now, in this wondrous, heart-tugging book, Jim Morris tells the story of his remarkable life and his amazing journey to the Big Show at the age of thirty-five . . . and how he finally fulfilled his childhood dream.

Morris had an astounding fastball and seemed destined to pitch for a major league team, yet his career was doomed from the start. He was drafted by the Brewers, but went from their training camp back to the farm system. He developed injuries that prevented him from pitching and practicing. Morris wouldn't let go of his dream of the major leagues, however. He married, had children, and held odd jobs and continued to work at his pitching while his wife supported him. Morris eventually grew tired of the routine, went to night school and became a high school teacher and later a coach. After his formerly abysmal baseball team won the district championship, his fellow coaches and students urged him to give his dream one last chance. More than a decade after his first tryout, Morris was offered a contract by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This lively autobiography, written with Engel (coauthor of By George, George Foreman's autobiography), will entertain baseball fans and others who yearn to fulfill a childhood ambition. While the writing is polished, Morris's voice remains genuine. He is honest and likable, not least because he recognizes his family's sacrifices for him. While not essential reading for sports fans, this triumphant underdog story is an appealing contrast to those of the players with multimillion-dollar salaries. (Apr. 3) Forecast: With publication around the start of baseball season, an 11-city author tour and radio interviews, this book should get off to a fast start.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This inspiring true story should do well in young adult collections. Morris, a 35-year-old Texas high school physics teacher and baseball coach (whose previous attempts to break into the bigs fell short), was challenged by his students to live up to his dream. Oddly, his pitching arm had only grown stronger with time, and at a new major league tryout his pitches were consistently overpowering. After making the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Morris was featured in Time, People, and Sports Illustrated. His incredible story about second chances will circulate well in most libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.