LITTLE LEAGUE FAMILY

For several chapters, father Pete Hurley's office problems--and Wibberley's tendency to write about even sons Coco and Rory from his point of view--threaten to type this as TV situation comedy; but the reader who sticks around will find that things improve. Pete's a salesman with a go-go boss, and when he lets the Little League Pancake Breakfast (that he was ""railroaded"" into running) interfere just a little with business, he sets in motion a chain of events that ultimately costs him his job. Meanwhile Coco and Rory are having their own problems on the field: Coco's pitching is wild and Rory can't get a chance as a catcher. But all three are good-natured pluggers, and with some expert coaching from older brother Kevin--plus the Krazy Kevin pitch that only Rory can catch--the boys have their day of glory with the White Beach (Calif.) All Stars, while Mr. H. wins a better job with the Hawaiian Orchid Growers Association--who want a man with the heart to interrupt business for a pancake breakfast. A loose, patchy story, but worthwhile for its few strong moments--as when pitcher Coco faces batter Rory with the bases loaded (and has the guts to walk him--and walk a run home--rather than risk a homer: ""I can't throw anything that he can't hit"") or over-forty father Pete chooses recession-time unemployment over a family-disrupting transfer. Wibberley's folks face hard choices head on, whatever the book's other weaknesses.