A sweeping historical novel set in the 1888 dawn of professional baseball when black players were first banned, umpires were routinely beaten, and when the game shifted from a collegial pastime of gentlemen to a nasty fight by gritty Irish immigrants.
Del Leonard Jones, author of
The Cremation of Sam McGee, is trailblazing a new flavor of historical novel built upon the beloved ballads that have withstood time. The Best work of adult fiction in a long time, Wild West Magazine says: "Fans won't want this fascinating last at-bat to end."
Larry Weisman, USA Today sports writer for 25 years says, "I found myself thinking of E.L.Doctorow's historical novels that blend fictional characters with known persons of the time to create a different reality. This book expands on the legend of the Mighty Casey, the strikeout immortalized in baseball legend, and the interplay of so many involved people -- the umpire, Casey, the groundbreaking journalist Nellie Bly. What brought these folks together in Mudville in 1888 at baseball's dawn? What happened next, and ever after? Del Leonard Jones writes with clarity as he constructs the memorable players in a tale that covers some 70 years. As a longtime sports writer I love to creative journey through the sports/culture portal. Really enjoyed seeing this story unfold.
At The Bat: The Strikeout that Shamed America is filled with rich characters and a unique narrative of folklore. It really is such a gem. I love the fluidity of time in the story. I love how the umpire Walter Brewster is an "on the spectrum" character, lovable and pure, whose moral compass never waivers. he is a true hero. Del strikes a nice balance in tone, with alternating moments of humor and heartbreak. There are so many wonderful layers to this story. It could be read again and again -- each time delivering something new. Bravo! -- T. Greenwood, author of Keeping Lucy.
Outrageously wonderful! In the capable hands of Del Jones, Casey's legendary at-bat might be the longest and most riotous in baseball history, real or imagined. Anyone who has ever recited or listened to Ernest Thayer's 1888 poem will know the outcome. But Mr. Jones tells us what happened before, during and afterward not only to Casey himself but also Nellie Bly, the world-renowned reporter, and two masked men behind the plate, antiheroic umpire Walter Brewster and disguised catcher Grasshopper Nova. They delightfully expand in prose that time-honored verse. Fans won't want this fascinating last at-bat to ever end. Thank the baseball god that there is no clock to confine our National Pastime. Del Jones, the author of The Cremation of Sam McGee, strikes again! -- Gregory Lalire, editor of Wild West Magazine and author of Our Frontier Pastime, 1804-1815.
This is baseball fiction, a baseball novel written for the adult reader 15 and older, that rivals great baseball literature such as "The Celebrant" by Eric Rolfe Greenberg, "The Natural, by Bernard Malamud, "The Great American Novel" by Philip Roth, "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach, "The Universal Baseball Association" by Robert Coover, "Shoeless Joe" and "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy" by W.P. Kinsella, "You Know Me Al" by Ring Lardner, "The Southpaw" by Mark Harris, "The Cactus League" by Emily Nemens and "The Sons of Summer" by Michael Dault.
