MY SEASON ON THE BRINK: A Father's Seven Weeks as a Little League Manager

by Paul B. Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1992

A pleasant account of a summer spent coaching six-to-eight-year-olds on a Holmdel, New Jersey, Little League team. Believing that ""Little League is...a time when kids learn a bit about the fundamentals of baseball and have some fun,"" Brown, a senior writer for Inc. magazine, offered to help with the team on which his son, Peter, played. This ""daddy track"" soon found Brown acting as head coach, devoting 15 hours a week of ""quality time."" The rules took some getting used to: Coaches pitched to their own players and served as umpires; base-stealing was forbidden; and balls and strikes would not be called. Most difficult for the players and coaches was the nine-batter rule: No more than nine hitters could appear in an inning, with the scoring ending only when a fielder--with the ball--touched home plate. Brown lost his first exhibition game, 37-29, when his left fielder wrestled for the ball with the center fielder while four runs scored. Things would improve, however, as Peter fielded well and hit a consistent .800; Michael Goodman stopped flinching at every pitch; and the team's star, Again Chakavarty, who had played a little shortstop back in India, led the way with both glove and bat. With the regular season underway, Brown's team jumped to a 3-0-1 start--the tie coming with a controversial game that was called because of darkness. Game Six was highlighted by an unassisted triple play by Peter, and Game Seven ended in a tie when both coaches became confused as to the real score. Without getting too cute (as Bill Geist does in Little League Confidential, reviewed below), Brown brings gentle humor and perceptive irony to some familiar ground.

Pub Date: May 15, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992

Categories: NONFICTION