Once Upon a Fastball by Bob Mitchell

In the novel, Once Upon a Fastball by Bob Mitchell, baseball fanatic Seth Stein uses clues left for him by his grandfather, Papa Sol, to travel back in time and understand why Papa Sol mysteriously disappeared on the night of October 19, 2004.

Seth Stein is an Associate Professor of History at Harvard University that just turned thirty-three years old on October 19, 2006, the same day his grandfather disappeared, just two years prior. Seth lost both his parents in an airplane crash when he was a child. He is divorced from his former wife Julie, with whom he had a son, named Sammy. Seth enjoys joint custody of twelve-year-old Sammy, and he now has a new girlfriend, Kate. The stresses and losses that Seth had endured in his life were one of the contributing factors to contracting heart disease. As a result, he required quadruple bypass heart surgery. Seth was an extremely busy individual; he visited his widowed grandma Elsie, devoted time to Kate and Sammy, and taught numerous history classes at Harvard. He was also a self-professed baseball fanatic. He knows about many of the most historic moments in baseball, including Babe Ruth’s three home runs in game four of the 1926 World Series, Luis Gonzalez’s game-winning hit off Yankees’ pitcher Mariano Rivera in the 2001 World Series, and David Ortiz’s game-winning two-run homer to keep the Red Sox alive in the 2004 American League Championship Series. Seth has jet-black hair, a pointy nose, and an average male build.

Throughout the novel, Seth finds clues that lead him to solve the mystery of his grandfather’s disappearance. The first clue given to Seth was an old, faded, discoloured baseball which was given to him on his birthday by his grandmother Elsie. This old baseball was accompanied by a very cryptic poem. When Seth further examined the ball and the poem, he was utterly puzzled. When Seth touched the ball, he was transported back to 1951 Brooklyn. In the past, he got to learn more about Papa Sol, as he watched historical events that had already taken place, but could not interact with the people of that time. It turned out that the ball given to Seth was the ball hit by Bobby Thompson, which was known as the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” winning the pivotal game for Papa Sol’s beloved New York Giants. When Seth returned to 2006, he found a ticket stub from the 1951 playoff game in his pocket, removing any sense of disbelief that his trip was only a dream. After a few more rubs of the baseball, Seth was taken back to 1962 San Francisco, where he witnessed the Giants lose to the Yankees in the World Series. Then he was whisked away to Queens, New York, in 1986 for the World Series championship between the New York Mets and Papa Sol’s cherished Boston Red Sox. There he saw Boston’s Bill Buckner make a crucial error that cost the beloved Red Sox the World Series. Finally, Seth realized that all the historic games he had been to had involved Papa Sol’s favourite teams. After that trip, he finally comprehended that to find out how Papa Sol disappeared, he had to revisit the historic game that took place on the night of his grandfather’s disappearance, the 2004 American League Championship Series. Seth traveled back in time for one final game. At this game, Boston was on the verge of finally winning a championship against the dreaded New York Yankees. It was at Yankee Stadium that he saw Papa Sol slip and hit his head on a concrete step at the end of the game, after fainting due to the magnitude of Boston’s heroic victory. It turned out that Papa Sol suffered severe amnesia after the fall, and was taken into the care of ballpark janitor Walter Retlaw. After learning of this development, Seth managed to call Walter Retlaw and asked if Papa Sol was still living with him. Walter said that Papa Sol was still alive, and before long, Seth’s beloved grandfather was reunited with his family.

One example of effective writing in this novel is found on page 172, where Mitchell writes: “Papa Sol’s eyes reveling in the fact that his Red Sox have just defeated the Yankees, beaten them in grand style, and now they’ll be going off to the World Series for the first time in eighteen years, since the Billy B. Affair, and maybe now they’ll win their first World Championship since 1918 and these eyes that have seen so much disappointment have now seen much of that disappointment melt away.” This quote describes Papa Sol’s reaction and emotional gratitude that his team has finally won the Championship Series, erasing all the disappointment and misery of previous years. This passage appeals to me because I have been playing baseball for ten years, and I have not won a championship. I have lost many heartbreaking games, and have been the captain of many teams. Like Papa Sol, being able to see a victory in the most important game of the playoffs would erase all the bad memories, and give me a sense of accomplishment and a feeling I would cherish forever.

Another important piece of writing is on pages 118-119, where Seth tells Kate: “Remember the playoff game between the Giants and Dodgers in ’51? On the first pitch, Bobby Thompson isn’t committed, because of the fear he has standing there at the plate. He’s as nervous as a kitten and just isn’t ready to be in the batter’s box at that moment and to commit to his pitch, with all that pressure and all those things flying around in his brain. So he stands there, like a statue, and watches a strike blow right by him. And so, my sweetheart, it isn’t until the second pitch that he becomes more relaxed, and by then the time is right, and he’s prepared to swing and commit totally to it, and the rest is history.” This passage appeals to me because it is applicable to many things in life, not just baseball. In the novel, Kate pressures Seth about getting married, but with all the pressures Seth is facing, like solving the disappearance of Papa Sol, staying healthy and maintaining contact with his son, he is worried and cannot commit to it until the time is right. This method of decision-making applies to all aspects of life, including school, friendships and family choices.

The final important piece of writing in the novel is on page 51, where Seth rants against a Dodgers fan’s racist remarks. “‘Dirty nigger!’ is the venom a Dodgers fan spews at the Giants left fielder from a seat somewhere in the next section over… Seth cringes at the epithet. Not at the virulence of the venom itself, but at the fact that in over half a century, America has made progress in this area, but not nearly enough.” This quote is important because it shows how racist America was in the early 1900s, and how the treatment of African Americans did not improve that much since slavery was abolished in 1833. They are an important part of American culture and society, and have made significant contributions to baseball history.

The novel Once Upon a Fastball by Bob Mitchell is truly a special novel that blends together baseball, history and love. I recommend it to all intermediate readers twelve years old and up, who love baseball, or just a really good book. It clearly connects with the reader’s life and soul, and shows the emotional attachment between family and loved ones. I whole-heartedly agree with a perfect five-star rating for this novel!