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The Sluggers Club: A Sports Mystery

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Tony and his friends play for the Halbertson's Flowers little league team and they are good. They hit well and play very good defense, so they have won the title for the first half of the season. However, when the favorite bat of superstitious Medgar Washington, their best hitter, is stolen he goes into a terrific slump. The slump spreads suspicion and the slump among the teammates and the suspicion extends to players on the other teams. However, when additional equipment from other teams disappears the plot deepens. The players form the sluggers club in order to investigate the mystery.
Their suspicions fall on Crazy Pete, a homeless and alcoholic Vietnam veteran who lives under the bleachers of the stadium. This is an interesting character to include in a youth sports book, although it is an all too unfortunate reality. When the people on their initial list of suspects all prove to be innocent, their suspicions turn to the Black Scorpions, a gang of older Cambodian youths. Their investigations take them across the river to the poorer side of town where they see firsthand how the poor immigrants live.
Finally, they discover the truth; one of their own players was stealing equipment to outfit a group of young Cambodians so that they could also play baseball. This motivates the sluggers to conduct a used equipment drive and has the added benefit of breaking them out of their slump.
This is a sports mystery well set in the modern world. The teams contain players of many ethnic groups and Emily Kravitz is a good stick at the plate. Including the homeless Vietnam veteran and the poor immigrants who want to become Americans add a realistic aspect that could be true in any small city in America.

"Hey battah battah battah" chanted the infield. This is a Ganda League baseball game and the Halberston's Flowers were down 3-1 and Wash in the batters box. Wash is the best player the Halberston's Flowers had and he was missing his bat, the bat he can only hit with. Then, after two strikes, he swings again, "Steee-rike three! Yerrr out!" Wash stuck out and let his team, the best team in the Granda League, lose their very first game ever. Then B.J., Tony, and Wash made the Sluggers Club. Was it one of Wash's teammates, Emily Kratvitz who took the bat? Or was it Wash's arch rival, Ed Obermeyer that is the star player on the rival team? Can it be Crazy Pete, a homeless guy, or Mr. Farnsworth, the team manager? Worst of all, can it be the the most dangerous gang ever, the Black Scorpions? Can the Sluggers Club ever find out who took Wash's bat before the season is over? Will Wash be too worried about finding his bat that his team would keep losing every single game? If you ever want to find the answers to these questions, you got to read this book. Two more things you should know before reading this book is that 1,when you stop reading, always stop at a chapter. And 2, the best time to read this book is at night.

The Sluggers Club is an okay book, but I think it is pretty boring. It has an exciting beginning and ending though. Most baseball finds would enjoy it.