At the Bat: The Strikeout That Shamed America

By: Del Leonard Jones

Narrated by: Del Leonard Jones

A sweeping historical novel set in the 1888 dawn of professional baseball when Blacks were banned, umpires were routinely beaten, and the game shifted from a collegial pastime of gentlemen to a nasty fight to the death by gritty Irish immigrants. Del Leonard Jones, author of The Cremation of Sam McGee, is trailblazing a new flavor of historical novel built upon the beloved ballads that have withstood time. The best of work of adult baseball fiction since The Natural, Wild West magazine says: “Fans won’t want this fascinating last at-bat ever to end.”

©2020 Del Leonard Jones (P)2020 Del Leonard Jones

Critic reviews

At the Bat: The Strikeout That Shamed America is filled with rich characters and a unique narrative of folklore. It really is such a gem. I love the fluidity of time in the story. I love how the umpire Walter Brewster is an “on the spectrum" character, lovable and pure, whose moral compass never waivers. He is a true hero. Del strikes a nice balance in the tone, with alternating moments of humor and heartbreak. There are so many wonderful layers to this story. It could be read again and again - each time delivering something new. Bravo!! (T. Greenwood, author of Keeping Lucy)

"Outrageously wonderful! In the capable hands of Del Jones, Casey’s legendary at-bat might be the longest and most riotous in baseball history, real or imagined. Anyone who has ever recited or listened to Ernest Thayer’s 1888 poem will know the outcome. But Mr. Jones tells us what happened before, during and afterward not only to Casey himself but also to Nellie Bly, the world-renowned reporter, and two masked men behind the plate, antiheroic umpire Walter Brewster and disguised catcher Grasshopper Nova. They delightfully expand in prose that time-honored verse. Fans won’t want this fascinating last at-bat to ever end. Thank the baseball gods that there is no clock to confine our National Pastime. Del Jones, the author of The Cremation of Sam McGee, strikes again and does not strike out! (Gregory Lalire, editor of Wild West magazine and author of Our Frontier Pastime, 1804-1815)

There by be no joy in Mudville, but you'll smile

I'll open with a disclaimer, this is my father reading his novel. It immediately takes me back to my childhood when he would read to me and I would be completely immersed in the story because of his ability to characterize each persona of the story. I know the poem by heart and was amazed by his ability to take such different perspectives of the same story. I am critical of the great sport myth and it's refreshing to have a sport story that's not just from our hero.

More than baseball, this is about life.

One of the best reads (listens) I’ve enjoyed in a long time. I’m a woman and not a big baseball fan and was delighted that one of the strongest characters in this superbly written, well-narrated book was Nellie Bly, the real-life 19th century New York reporter. She is a remarkable presences in a novel of testosterone. The umpire Walter Brewster (who is clearly on the spectrum) was also terrific as was the mystery catcher. Whoever you imagine Casey to be, he will surprise you. By the time I was finished, every character seemed real and not a part of poetry legend. I found myself immersed. Of course, baseball enthusiasts and lovers of baseball history have reason to love this book, too.

A must listen for TRUE baseball fans!

True baseball fans- this is your fix. Baseball and life are interwoven in this wonderful story. A story for young and old beautiful told in an early twentieth century style. Nostalgia, intrigue, and life with baseball at its epicenter. Do your parents/grandparents a favor and give it to them once you finish it!
Loved it!

Interesting look into the Umpire's world

Remembering Paul Harvey's sign off "Now you know the rest of the story." Umpire and Narrator Paul Brewster provided the reader with an inside look at umpiring during the beginning days of professional baseball. We were able to see what effect Casey's strike out had not only on himself but also on the lives of Paul Brewster, Nellie Bly, The Judge and the Catcher . As he tells the story, we are able to see the tight bond and friendship that develops between his mentor, the Judge, his relationship with Nellie Bly and the Catcher. The abuse that Umpires took in those days makes you wonder why they put up with it or why anyone would of wanted to umpire in those days. Well done, Del.

Finally a narator who plays the roles

I only listen to books when it is impossible to read. Driving, cooking, laundry are all examples.
These other tasks do seem to cause distractions, which cause some confussion as to who is saying what. Mr. Jones' narration by using different vocies for the different characters saves confusion allowing a distracted mind to refocus and follow all story.
it comes very near to listening to the old time radio shows minus the bells whistles and wooden blocks
The story of Casey was very enjoyable and with the reading of Mr. Jones other book about Sam McGee I know there is enough factual history intertwined to make me want to research further to see if i like the facts more than the fiction.

More than a baseball story

Really enjoyed the book and all the characters. Great story that is thoughtful, entertaining and engaging. Highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a good read.

Plodding, more "tell" than "show"

I'm puzzled by all the 5-star reviews here on Audible and the over-the-top reviews on Amazon claiming that this book belongs among the greats of baseball fiction. I had decided to give up on this book (something I rarely do) after about the first 1-1/2 hours because the book seemed to be nowhere near a plot. I gave it one more chance the next day and the plot kicked in so I stuck it out to the end.

Even so, I had issues with the book. First, the author frequently "tells" the reader what happened in a summary, rather than actually taking the reader into the scene. This happens less as the book progresses, but remains annoying throughout.

When an actual scene is presented, the dialogue is often stilted and unnatural, as characters tend to say things to fill in backstory/character, to advance the plot, or to present the reader with a historical factoid, rather than speaking in a "normal" cadence. For example, an ongoing annoyance to me was the constant references both in dialogue and in narration about how Brewster, the umpire, takes things literally and doesn't understand idioms such as "raining cats and dogs" (but then Brewster often immediately shows or even states himself that he does understand it).

Speaking of which, the character of Brewster is presented showing stereotypical signs of autism. This diagnosis is never stated in the book but is referred to on the back cover of the paperback. The presence of a high-functioning autistic character doesn't bother me (I have both a sister and a nephew with autism), but the author repeatedly pounds the reader over the head with narration and scenes designed to show that he has autism until I was yelling at the audiobook "Ok, I get it already, he has autism!" Also, the choice to portray the umpire as being on the spectrum didn’t seem to add anything to the story, other than giving Brewster a ready-made and stereotypical “personality.” Brewster, being an honest and loyal person, would have done what he did whether he had autism or not.

Needless repetition such as the above is another issue I had. For example, in the first hour or so, I counted no fewer than five reminders to the reader that Brewster had visited another umpire on the morning prior to the game where Casey strikes out. Trust your reader to remember things.

This paragraph only: TRIGGER warning but also a SPOILER: Another "striker" against the book (Brewster continually uses the word "striker" to refer to a pitched strike, whereas as far as I know that 19th century term refers only to a batter; as a vintage baseball player myself I've done some research into this but I'm not an expert so maybe Brewster is using the term correctly) is the gratuitous rape scene. I found it unnecessary, but maybe the author felt it explained some character actions. I didn’t. I think the character would have done what she did regardless. Either way, of all the scenes in the book that were summarized instead of "shown," the author unfortunately selected this as one of the scenes to show in detail.

And this may just be a matter of personal taste, but I found that the author's decision to jump forward and backward in time (at one point even having a flashback within a flash-forward!) did nothing to help the telling of the story and at points confused it. I get that he was interspersing the description of the Casey game with the stories of the characters a-la "For the Love of the Game," but even given that, it’s not a straight up alternating of “past” and “present,” but each “timeline” jumps forward and backward in time. In my opinion it would have been better with a straight-forward telling.

Narration by the author is passable but not great. I've certainly heard worse. He has a tendency to draaaw wooorrds ooouuuut as if he's announcing, rather than just reading the book. The accent used for the Hungarian Joseph Pulitzer sounds like a cross between bad French and bad Dracula, and is sometimes unintelligible. And for some unfathomable reason, the quotation at the beginning of each chapter is read then immediately repeated with the last couple of words fading out, which just added to the frustration of this listener.