Hitting in the Clutch

Brad Bauer
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 0595395090
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (12/06)

I laughed my way through “Hitting in the Clutch.” This is a story about baseball player Jack “Clutch” Thompson. He loves the game, playing pranks and monkeys (women). Jack is writing his own story as this story progresses. He hopes to publish an autobiography about his experiences in the game. Jack is most successful at playing ball when he is in clutch or pinch hit situations. However, he is always successful at playing pranks on people, especially the other players. I don’t know if real baseball players are anything like Jack, but I suspect they are. That is a scary thought!

The author Brad Bauer does an excellent job of bringing this story to life. I could easily visualize everything that was happening. He easily conveys the emotions of the other characters, especially in regards to how they relate to Jack. He makes Jack a likeable person, someone that you would definitely want to be loyal to, because God help you if you aren’t! I really enjoyed the other characters as they are played in this story. Some of the other interesting characters include: other players on the team, a team wife, a team whore and Jack's family. Bauer also fills everything in around the story. He does not waste any space on the pages. There is always something happening. You can really tell that he loves the game.

This is a great book for baseball fans. They will really enjoy the story. This is definitely a great gift idea. I think that the next time I go to a baseball game I will look at things a little differently. In addition to the game, I will also be paying attention to what is happening around the dugout. Reading “Hitting in the Clutch” has me convinced that there has to be more going on than crotch scratching, tobacco spitting behavior. I hope so anyway!

Make comment on weblog