The Kid From Tomkinsville (Odyssey Classics) (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
One rookie pitcher…one veteran catcher…one epic read!When you read a lot of sports books, you might realize that there are authors and then there are artists who know the depths of raw human emotion and shows it to the reader via the written page. John R. Tunis is both. The story starts out with Roy Tucker, a rookie pitcher, boarding a train to try out for a spot with the Dodgers. He made it through training camp, but problems for The Kid from Tomkinsville were just beginning.After sitting on the bench for several games, Roy got his chance to pitch, but it didn’t go well for him. Roy was depressed and set alone in his hotel room wondering what would be his fate. While pondering these thoughts, Dave Leonard, the veteran catcher, walks in to talk with him. Chapter six is one of those chapters that should be in the sports hall of fame. It needs to be framed and found in every kid’s bedroom to the MLB locker room. Dave points out that “Courage is all baseball. And baseball is all life”. The Kid from Tomkinsville continues on with the team as Dave’s time was up. Soon after, Roy Tucker got injured by a freak incident that happened in the Dodgers’ locker room. The doctor stated that he had medial epicondylitis and he would never be able to pitch again. Soon after this diagnosis, the team learns that their manager dies in a car accident and Dave Leonard comes back as the new team manager. Roy knew his contract would not be renewed since he could no longer pitch. But Dave wanted to try him as a hitter. Roy had 3 strikes at the first game in his new position. Wanting to be alone, he went to a restaurant to eat. When he heard people discussing the game and talking about him, he left to go to another diner only to find people still talking about him wondering why Dave Leonard keeps him on the team. The Kid from Tomkinsville couldn’t take the fans and all the talking. He went to his hotel room and started packing. But an old familiar knock on the door and Dave enters the room. Another lesson in life was about to happen. He started off by reminding Tucker about his first conversation he had with him about having courage. Then the veteran catcher turned manager told him the harsh truth. “They got under your skin today, the fans out there, didn’t they? You can’t take it, hey? Trouble with you is, you’re used to being Mr. Big.” Tunis, John R. The Kid from Tomkinsville (Kindle Locations 1538-1539). Open Road Integrated Media. This may be viewed as harsh, but it was what Roy needed to change his mind to stick it out with the team. It was the start of a new season. Roy’s contract was renewed and he is back as a hitter. He again made news as word spread of how good a hitter he had become. He even gained the attention of pitchers from other teams. Everything was going well for Roy until he got in a slump. But the ever wise Dave knew what the real problem was. In the third long conversation that Dave had with Roy, he outright told him why he was benched. It was because he was playing for himself and not the team. He knew what Dave was saying rung true. And Roy Tucker learned yet another lesson. The last chapter ends with Dave Leonard playing as catcher to replace an injured player and help bring his team to play in the series. The Dodgers won against the Giants to enter the Series by a score of four to three in fourteen innings led by Roy Tucker. This book is a classic. So few authors today write anything of value like what is written in this story. As a personal trainer and sports massage therapist, I know what athletes go through. As the story progresses, you forget that you are reading something from the 1940s. When an author can transcend time, he becomes an artist with a pen. Disclosure: I was asked by the publisher to write a review for this book. I have never heard of this publishing company before and my review is solely my opinion.
Roy Tucker, the “Kid” of the title, is recruited from his hometown baseball field to join the Brooklyn Dodgers during spring training. The young southpaw hurler isn’t quite sure what he’s getting into, having never before been out of his Connecticut home town. The story, published in 1940, rings true for its time. Once in camp and feeling the pressure of its quality and the rigor demanded of its training, quiet, humble, talented rookie Tucker struggles a bit. Thankfully, he’s taken under the wing of near-retirement age, wise, calm catcher Dave Leonard. The Dodgers are a team of scrappers, guys following the example of their feisty manager and shortstop. Taking the reader through two seasons, we follow Roy’s rise and its effect on the Dodgers, his challenges, his between-seasons return home to his grandmother’s farm and his job at the drugstore, his colorful teammates and members of the press. The difficulties Roy encounters force him to make some changes for his second season. Tucker and Leonard are particularly well made, and their teammates become secondary characters with more than enough to make them distinguishable individuals. This is the first of eight books based on the Dodgers by Tunis. His style takes some modest getting used-to for its tendency to jump from one place to another with nothing more than a one line break. Once familiar, it ends up adding something to the story. A baseball fan will eat this up. As one, this reader enjoyed its realism for the time and baseball anecdotes, habits, quirks, and its short-story-like ending. Roy’s next step is in Tunis’ book World Series. I’ll be reading it soon.
What do You think about The Kid From Tomkinsville (Odyssey Classics) (2006)?
I read this book about 15 years ago when my father-in-law recommended it to me. I really enjoyed it but I had forgotten about it until he recommended it again, this time to my 12 year old daughter. This book was written when he was about the same age as my daughter and became very popular at the time, and is the first in a series of sports books written by John R. Tunis. But it is much more than a sports book. The Kid from Tompkinsville draws on the experiences of real athletes but is otherwise fiction. It captures all of what baseball is about -- being a rookie and learning the ropes, following (or ignoring) what the press has to say about the players and the teams, getting through injuries and batting slumps, experiencing different styles of leadership, winning and losing, and learning from mistakes. It really captures baseball at its best and the way it was meant to be. This is a pretty wholesome book and is great for kids. Some knowledge of baseball is needed to get the most out of the story.
—Joel Simon
I like to read at least one or two baseball books in the Summer. I read The Art of Fielding earlier in the year, but I thought I'd pick up another quick one. Set in the 1940s, the story describes the journey of Roy Tucker, a young kid from Connecticut who gets drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a pitcher. He excels as a pitcher but then suffers a freak accident and cracks his pitching elbow. He works to come back to baseball as an outfielder. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I think my sons will too when they get a little older.
—Mary
like medically corny and predictable but also satisfying. this is a YA novel about a kid, from tomkinsville, who gets picked up by the brooklyn dodgers as a minor leaguer, wows everyone with his electric stuff in training camp, and then becomes a phenomenon in the bigs. sort of like the natural, but boiled down to a single season instead of a career, and also without any of the sex or most of the evil. i would say this is for basic tweens if it wasn't 100% riveting. i feel happier about living in the world after blasting through this in a few sittings. dunno if i will read any more john r tunis but i am glad he wrote this and that i read it.
—Pete
