Customer Reviews

Return of the Home Run Kid (Matt Christopher Sports Classics)

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Last season, Sylvester Codmyre III hit home runs every time but once, when he was up. But in his second season, again he started out slumping. Then he started hitting them back into home runs and he started being good at defense again. It is a good book because it's the second version but Sylvester has a different helper.

Sylvester Coddmyer III was a pretty nice kid who grew up in a nice family. He was an only child at the age of 12. In the past year Sylvester had an almost perfect homerun season, he had Mr. baruth's coaching tips to help him get through. The next year came along and there was no Mr. Barthum to help him out. He started out as a bench warmer, if he ever got to play it would just be for an inning or so. One day on the way home from practice a man named Cheeko said do you want me to help you out a little. Sylvester said sure, they practiced about 4 times aweek and befor you know it Sylvester is back hitting homeruns. Inside Sylvester really wondered who this Cheeko guy was anyway.

Sylvester was a kid that the last year only hit homers but these year he was playing badly. His coach Mr.Baruth asked him to be a bench warmer for the Redbirds team. Sylvester, in his way home, knew a misterious man called Cheeko who helped him to play better this season. Sylvester now is playing hot.

Sylvester Coddmyer III (Syl) is coming off a phenomenal season where he was hitting home runs all the time. However, this season he is suffering a crisis of confidence and is warming the bench. Last season a mysterious friend named Mr. Baruth had appeared and tutored him, giving him the confidence to succeed. Suddenly, another mysterious friend called Cheeko appears and by applying his pointers, Syl is able to regain his all-star form. Unfortunately, Cheeko is a bit of a dirty player and Syl's relationship with some of his friends begins to suffer. However, at the end, Syl understands that confidence comes from within and that playing fair is the best way to approach the game of baseball.
While the overall message of the book is a good one, the approach is of questionable value. Mr. Baruth is the ghost of Babe Ruth, the greatest hitter in the history of baseball and Cheeko is the ghost of Eddie Cicotte one of the ringleaders of the group known as the "Black Sox." "Black Sox" refers to the Chicago White Sox team of 1919 where some of the players deliberately tried to lose the World Series in order to enrich a group of gamblers. The occult aspects are further enhanced by the actions of Syl's friend Snooky and his regular references to astrology. Baseball is such a dynamic and exciting game that references to the occult detract from what should be the main theme, keeping your confidence level high, which is the most critical point needed for success.