Heart of a Champion

Though it is a struggle, Seth works diligently to become a team player. The JV team wins games and Seth acknowledges he is part of their resurgence. When the JV season ends, Seth focuses on the varsity team. Jimmy and Todd are receiving lots of media attention and have received the nickname “the Bruise Brothers” because of their batting prowess. In the last game, they are to face St. Francis to see which team will advance to the state tournament. Seth arrives two hours early to speak to Jimmy. The Woodside team is late taking to the field and Jimmy and Todd are missing. Seth has a good idea about what might have happened.

Seth watches the championship game. The kids in the stands around him are talking about the missing ballplayers. Eventually the truth comes out: Jimmy and Todd were caught drinking and Sharront suspended them. Seth leaves the grandstand where kids are debating what happened and walks down the outfield line to watch the game. In the last inning, St. Francis leads. Woodside gets a runner to second base, but the St. Francis coach calls in Steve Cannon, who strikes out the last two Woodside batters.

The night after the championship game, Jimmy shows up at Seth’s house and asks him to go for a walk. They sit beneath a gnarled tree in the park. Jimmy wants to know if Seth saw any scouts at the game. Seth wants to know what happened.

Sharront caught Jimmy and Todd drinking beer at the Woodside baseball field. Jimmy is afraid he will not be on the All-League team. When Seth confronts the stupidity of Jimmy’s actions, Jimmy reminds Seth that, if invited, Seth would have been right alongside the two of them drinking.

Jimmy and Todd make the All-League team. Jimmy is excited, thinking scouts will be at the games. Seth earns high honors for his grades. While this is a great accomplishment, he is disappointed that he did not make the All-League team.

Seth gets a job caddying at a golf course and signs up for a keyboard class and driver-ed. Jimmy comes by occasionally, lifting Seth’s spirits when he is there but leaving him depressed afterward. Late in the summer, Seth goes back to the Tom Wells batting cage. The owner remembers him and is glad he has returned, saying, “There is no prettier sound in the world than a bat hitting a ball” (126). Though Seth does well on pitches up to 78 mph, he cannot hit a 79-mph pitch. His mother offers that that might be his “limit” (127). 

Jimmy’s father is getting remarried and asks Seth to go with him to the ceremony. Seth’s mother is worried about Jimmy driving to the ceremony in the mountains. Jimmy reveals that his father has given him his red Camaro. At the wedding, Seth meets Elizabeth Strong, Mr. Winter’s new wife, who is solemn and mature, quite different from the other women Mr. Winter dated. After the ceremony, Jimmy sneaks two bottles of champagne that he and Seth drink before they drive back to Redwood City. Jimmy announces while drunk that he was the best shortstop in the All-League series and will become a major league player. He owes it to his father, even though the man is a jerk.

Seth arrives home drunk and fails miserably when he tries to act sober. The following day, his mother tells him he cannot get his driver’s license for six months and he can never ride with Jimmy again. That evening his mother floats the idea of bringing in a Big Brother mentor as a father figure. Seth absolutely refuses.

The first semester of Seth’s junior year, there is little interaction between him and Jimmy, who, along with Todd, is treated like a rock star by fellow students. Articles about their baseball prowess continue to appear in the news.

Seth gets his driver’s license, giving his word to his mother that he will never drink and drive. He practices his fielding relentlessly. When he still cannot hit an 80-mph fastball, Seth comes to terms with the reality that he does not have the talent to make the big leagues. He decides to follow his dad’s example: “I was determined to be the best lousy baseball player I could possibly be” (137).

Seth throws himself into spring baseball tryouts, giving it his absolute best. When he makes varsity and gets a hug from Jimmy, who calls him “teammate” (137), Seth is euphoric.