Review of "The Year Mom Won the Pennant," by Matt Christopher

Review of

The Year Mom Won the Pennant, by Matt Christopher ISBN 0316139882

Four out of five stars

 This book is smooth but not spectacular when the season of the Thunderballs baseball team is chronicled. The title of course gives away the ending, so the interesting part is the journey to the end of the season. It is an unusual year for the Thunderballs baseball team, the men that coached the team in earlier years simply cannot do it this year. At the start of the season when it looks like there will be no team as they need a coach, Nick’s mom stepped up and agreed to be their coach.

 The book was originally published in 1968, so the concept of a female baseball coach was far more unusual then as it is now. Nick and his friends are at first uncomfortable with her and must be coached to address her as “Coach.” She turns out to be very knowledgeable about the game, her strategies often turn out to be correct. The story is good, it keeps your interest as the circumstances play out but is in no way riveting.

 One very unusual feature that is an anomaly appears on page 134. In that image, coach mom is sitting on the bench with the players and is wearing a dress. Even in the 1960’s women that coached sports teams wore pants when they were outside and active.