Review of "Spark Plug at Short," by Jackson Scholz

Review of

Spark Plug at Short, by Jackson Scholz

Five out of five stars

Jimmy Teal is a rookie shortstop that is tearing up opposing pitching during the spring training games. The team he is playing for is the Philadelphia Quakers and they have an established, solid shortstop. Yet, it is impossible to ignore his .600 batting average, even though by his own admission he has received far more than his share of favorable bounces.

 The solution is to trade him to the Oil City Apaches, a team made up of players discarded by other teams as well as young and unproven players. When Jimmy receives word of the trade, he blurts out some very unfavorable statements calling the team the “garbage heap of big-league baseball.” The Apaches are mired at the bottom and struggle to win, even when the other team struggles to get the win.

 Oil City is a collective fanatic for the Apache baseball team and when the public learns of Jimmy’s comments, there is a powerful and brutal backlash. Jimmy is forced to weather the storm of criticism and play the best baseball he can. It is only when he demonstrates an act of kindness that the fans relent and cheer him once again.

 Scholz is once again at the top of his writing game with this story. It contains a lesson regarding talking negatively out of anger as well as the strength of persistence in the face of adversity. Even though it embarrasses him to do so, Jimmy immediately accepts responsibility for his actions. He expresses the proper regret at the right time and demonstrates that he is a man of high character. A lesson that is important for people of all walks of life.