The second middle grade book in the New York Times bestselling Jeter Publishing imprint, Hit & Miss is a baseball novel inspired by the youth of legendary sports icon and role model Derek Jeter. “Just try to make solid contact, stay level and in control. Positive thoughts only, right?” That’s the advice Derek’s father gives him about batting—and a lot more. It seems that Little League season is here. Throughout the long Michigan winter, Derek thought that Opening Day might never come. Now at last he can pursue his dream of one day playing shortstop for the New York Yankees. As luck would have it, he’s on the Red Sox this year, and they seem to have more talent than the Tigers, the team he was on when last season ended in disappointment. His best friend, Vijay, is with him again, and Derek gets the same number—13!—that his father wore in college. Now if the new kid with the chauffeur turns out to be a player, well, the Red Sox might just win it all. But as Derek finds out, both baseball and life are hard. Before the season is over, he’ll break out of a slump, bring his teammates closer together, learn a new sport, solve the mystery of why his sister Sharlee seems so quiet, and suffer the consequences for violating “The Contract” he had signed with his parents. Before he can move closer to his dream, there are many lessons to be learned. Like his first foray into middle grade sports fiction, "The Contract "(S. & S., 2014), Jeter presents a fictionalized story based on his own childhood. Each title in the series is based on the principles of Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. "Hit & Miss" revolves around the maxim "Think Before You Act." ...sharp baseball action keeps the plot moving. This series will have no trouble finding an appreciative audience.--School Library Journal "June 2015 " 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. Paul Mantell is the author of more than 100 books for young readers, including books in the Hardy Boys and Matt Christopher series. Hit & Miss Chapter One SEASON OF HOPE “Derek!” Derek threw down his pencil. He’d been doing his homework, even though it was only Saturday morning. Running to the top of the stairs, he looked down to see his father in the living room, holding a basketball. “Almost finished, Dad. Just one more math problem.” The rule in Derek’s house was, you had to finish your homework before you were allowed to go play. It was right there in his contract with his parents, the one he’d signed the year before. He hadn’t looked at it lately—his dad kept the original safe in his bedroom drawer—but Derek was pretty sure he remembered it all by heart. “Perfect,” his dad said. “I just finished one of my homework assignments for this weekend too.” He wasn’t kidding. Charles Jeter was in his final year of classes at Western Michigan University, studying for a master’s degree. His dream was to be a counselor for kids at risk, and Derek knew that meant a lot to his father, but being with his own kids was just as important to Derek’s dad. Derek could hardly wait. Basketball was fun, and he was proud of his progress over the winter. This was his chance to show his dad just how much better he’d gotten. But the truth was, Derek’s mind wasn’t on basketball, and it wasn’t on homework, either. Because today—this afternoon—was the start of the Little League baseball season. In fact, this afternoon was his first practice! To Derek, no other sport was as important as baseball. His life’s goal was to be the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. He only hoped he still remembered how to hit, after the offseason. For six months a year there wasn’t much baseball being played in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where long snowy winters were the rule. His dad had taken him to the batting cages twice in the past two weeks, but it was still so cold out that every time Derek hit the ball, his hands stung. “I thought you wanted to show me your new jump shot,” his dad called after him with a little laugh. “You’d better get that math problem figured out.” Derek didn’t take the time to answer. He went back to his desk, sat down, and concentrated, long enough to finish his homework and tie his sneakers. Then he raced downstairs to follow his dad, mom, and sister, Sharlee, out the door. They all piled into the family station wagon, and drove off to the university’s outdoor basketball courts for a thrill-packed game of H-O-R-S-E! Sharlee loved to be a part of their games, even if she was too little to put the ball into the basket without someone holding her up. Her usual job was ball-hawk, retrieving the balls that got away and bringing them back to the players. Meanwhile, Mom did the scorekeeping, just to make sure there was no confusi