THE LEFT HANDER

Late along in this injury-centered baseball novel, Bart Mackey, the 18 year old side-kick of the here asks, ""I suppose major league pitching is pretty tough, isn't it, Paul?"" That's a pretty stupid question for the son of a baseball manager to ask, especially when he's supposed to be such a great catcher that he gets a crack at the big leagues straight out of highschool. A better question is why in tarnation hero Paul Reagan had to take his injured pitching arm away from the big league specialists all the way down to the semi-pro leagues for a home remedy from the father of his doltish friend. Once cured, and on the rise with the farm team that leads back to the big time, Paul is the gentlest of mentors to Bart Mackey, who goes with him. It seems that Bart can't bring himself to believe in himself. Paul persuades him to, but cynical veterans of the little League won't.