"You wanna know who threw the fastest pitch ever ?" Many baseball players claim that Satchel Paige was the fastest pitcher in the history of the game. Stosh and his coach, Flip Valentini, are on a mission to find out. With radar gun in tow, they travel back to 1942 and watch Satch pitch to power hitter Josh Gibson in the Negro League World Series. They soon learn that everything about Satch is fast -- whether it's his talking, driving, or getaways. But is he really the fastest pitcher who ever lived? Grade 4-7–When 13-year-old Joe Stoshs coach brings a radar gun to practice, it prompts a discussion of who was the fastest pitcher in baseball history. Able to use baseball cards to go back in time, Stosh clocks the fastball of famous Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige. Since no cards were produced for those teams, he substitutes a postcard found on eBay. His coach, Flip, accompanies him on the journey to the past and they arrive in Spartanburg, SC, in 1942, a few days before the Negro League World Series. They witness racial discrimination at a local diner, and, shortly thereafter, the duo hook up with Paige and join him on the road to the big game in Pittsburgh. Gutman sketches Paiges colorful personality: confident, cocky, talkative, and undoubtedly one of the greatest talents ever to play the game. The story is lighthearted but clearly conveys the injustice that denied the athlete the opportunity to play in the major leagues for most of his career. Supporting characters border on the stereotypical and the fast-paced plot hangs heavily on coincidence. Enhancing the action-driven story are plenty of well-written baseball scenes, black-and-white photos, and the appearance of Negro League players Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and Buck ONeil. Fans will be delighted with this latest addition to the series. –Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. “Gutman sketches Paige’s colorful personality... The story is lighthearted but clearly conveys the injustice that denied the athlete the opportunity to play in the major leagues for most of his career.” - School Library Journal “Gutman has again crafted a delightful mix of humor, magic and history surrounded by the sheer joy of baseball.” - Kirkus Reviews “The reader will get a good sense of this wry, articulate, and immensely talented player.” - KLIATT "You wanna know who threw the fastest pitch ever ?" Many baseball players claim that Satchel Paige was the fastest pitcher in the history of the game. Stosh and his coach, Flip Valentini, are on a mission to find out. With radar gun in tow, they travel back to 1942 and watch Satch pitch to power hitter Josh Gibson in the Negro League World Series. They soon learn that everything about Satch is fast -- whether it's his talking, driving, or getaways. But is he really the fastest pitcher who ever lived? Dan Gutman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Genius Files series; the Baseball Card Adventure series, which has sold more than 2 million copies around the world; and the My Weird School series, which has sold more than 37 million copies. Thanks to his many fans who voted in their classrooms, Dan has received nineteen state book awards and ninety-two state book award nominations. He lives in New York City with his wife. You can visit him online at dangutman.com. Satch & Me By Dan Gutman HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright ©2006 Dan Gutman All right reserved. ISBN: 0060594918 Chapter One Run on Anything "This guy ain't so fast, stosh," my coach, flip Valentini, hollered. "He can't pitch his way out of a paper bag." We were at Dunn Field playing the Exterminators, probably the weirdest team in the Louisville Little League. Most of the teams in our league are sponsored by doctors, hardware stores, or banks. Normal businesses, you know? But these guys are sponsored by an exterminator. Whoever heard of a Little League team sponsored by a company that kills bugs? On the front of their uniforms, the Exterminators have their logo (a squashed ant) and on the back they have their phone number (1-800-GOT-BUGS). It looks really stupid. They even have their own cheer, which they insist on rapping along with a drum machine before they take the field. It goes like this . . . Stomp 'em! Spray 'em! That's the way we play 'em! We send the pests back to their nests! When we turn the lights on, It's lights out for YOUUUUUUUU! Man, I'd be embarrassed if I had to play on that team. The Exterminators even have a mascot. Before each game, some little kid dressed up like a roach runs out on the field. They call him Buggy. The whole team chases Buggy around the infield. When they catch him, they pretend to beat the crap out of him. Or at least it looks like they're pretending. The mascot is probably the little brother of one of the kids on the team. It's all very entertaining, and the moms and dads i