An average kid with an above average talent for predicting baseball pitches tries to help his favorite player out of a slump in this New York Times bestselling novel from authors Tim Green and Derek Jeter. Jalen DeLuca loves baseball. Unfortunately his dad can’t afford to keep him on the travel team. His dad runs a diner and makes enough to cover the bills, but there isn’t anything for extras. So Jalen decides to take matters into his own hands and he sneaks into the home of the New York Yankee’s star second baseman, James Yager, and steals a couple of balls from his personal batting cage. He knows that if he can sell them, he’ll be able to keep himself on the team. But like the best-laid plans—or in this case the worst!—Jalen’s scheme goes wrong when Yager catches him. But Jalen has a secret: his baseball genius. He can analyze and predict almost exactly what a pitcher is going to do with his next pitch. He can’t quite explain how he knows, he just knows. And after proving to Yager that he really can do this, using a televised game and predicting pitch after pitch with perfect accuracy, the two agree to a deal. Jalen will help Yager out of his batting slump and Yager won’t press charges. However, when he begins to suspect that the team’s general manager has his own agenda, Jalen’s going to need his friends and his unusual baseball talent to save not only Yager’s career, but his own good name. Tim Green was an NFL first-round draft pick and a star defensive player for eight years with the Atlanta Falcons. He is the New York Times bestselling author of dozens of books for adults and kids including The Dark Side of the Game , The Fifth Angel , Exact Revenge , Football Genius , Football Hero , Kid Owner , and Left Out . Tim graduated co-valedictorian with a degree in English literature from Syracuse University before earning a law degree with honors. He has been an NFL commentator for FOX Sports and NPR. Tim and his family live in upstate New York. Derek Jeter is a fourteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series winner who has played for one team—the storied New York Yankees—for all twenty seasons of his major league career. His grace and class on and off the field have made him an icon and role model far beyond the world of baseball. Baseball Genius 1 JALEN PEERED THROUGH THE WINDOWS of the Silver Liner Diner to make sure his father was still busy. A man in a black knit cap sat at the counter with a newspaper, a cup of coffee, and a piece of pie. In one booth a young, awkward-looking couple in fancy clothes scowled at each other, arguing in silence behind the glass. Jalen watched his father deliver two plates of his special stuffed calamari to the couple. While the Silver Liner was a diner, it was also much more: a place for authentic Italian food. While the two didn’t seem to go together, Jalen’s father somehow seemed to scratch out a living. When a car drove up with new customers, Jalen knew he had time to sneak off into the spring night. He snugged the empty backpack on his shoulders as he crossed the railroad tracks. Wind picked at his curly hair, and he paused at the wailing sound of a distant train. Beside the station stood a fast-food place, the lights on its big yellow-and-blue-and-purple sign extinguished for the night, since it closed after the last train arrived from New York. Jalen’s dad usually let his help go after dinnertime but squeezed a few extra dollars from the Silver Liner by staying open late, even after midnight, if he had any customers. Main Street was empty, but Jalen decided to take a detour and avoid the streetlamps. He jogged fifteen minutes to the other side of town, all uphill, to Rockton’s oldest and biggest estate. It had been built in 1782 by the great-great-grandfather (step-great-great-grandfather, she’d always point out) of one of his best friends, Cat Hewlett. Its heavy iron gates stood open, but he stopped to catch his breath. Fastened to one of the great stone columns by a thick chain was a bronze plaque letting visitors know they were about to enter Mount Tipton. Jalen wondered what name his home would go by if anyone cared to call it anything. Probably Broken Box or maybe Shabby Shack. He darted through the gates and into the shadows, avoiding the long, sweeping driveway and the lights buried in the grass alongside it. His friends were waiting for him at the corner of the stables. The rich smell of horse manure swirled deep in Jalen’s nose. Daniel Bellone didn’t even smell it anymore. He and his family lived above the horses, along with two other families who helped maintain Mount Tipton in all its original glory, trimming the gardens and grass, painting the buildings, scrubbing floors, and polishing the brass and silver when needed. Cat lived in the big house—as Daniel called it—but with her messy brown hair, scrubby jeans, and the sweatshirt she wore, she looked like she was the one who lived above the stables. “Ready?” she asked, sn