Working not just hard . . . but also working smart pays off. So does working together. Duh! Spine-tingling sports action, dramatic home runs, and clutch . . . and not-so-clutch performances are the order of the day in Team Players , the first season of baseball for Rob Mathews at Hillsdale High! This is the last season of Rob’s first year in Hillsdale and the Pirates are looking for their first league championship in many years. The Pine Bluff Warriors and the Danielson brothers stand in their way . . . again. After the hectic end to a frantic basketball season, Rob Mathews was hoping for a calm, relaxing baseball season . . . but that all goes out the window on his first real day of practice when he is tested by an angry senior, Kenny Johnson . . . who doesn’t want to lose his spot as a starter. After a rocky start, and some help from senior Bill Tompkins, Hillsdale-s 3-sport star, Rob and Kenny forge a partnership and combine to show the rest of the team and the town what being a team player can do for a baseball squad. The season is full of big wins and losses, the realization of goals and some frustrations, but also an overriding determination to take down Pine Bluff. Can they break their drought and defeat the Warriors to bring Hillsdale the league title? The action on the field in Team Players , especially down the stretch, will keep you on the edge of your seat! Off the field, Rob’s season is full of ups and downs. Working the plan provided to him by his nerdy neighbor Allison Pierce, Rob becomes a boyfriend and finds out firsthand what being in a high school relationship is all about . . . and tries to figure out if he likes it or not! Rob and Allison continue to see their friendship grow stronger, with both there to support each other when they need it most. Allison starts to take a liking to baseball, with Rob’s help and Grandpa Russell’s tutelage. With the help of Allison and Rob’s Mom, Emily, Rob learns some life lessons about doing the right thing and helping out someone in need . . . only to have that support come through for him when he needed it most. ABOUT THE SERIES . . . Team Players is the third in a completed series of twelve books by Mac McGowan. Written with a light narrative hand, riveting sports action, and a sprinkling of humor, the stories flow along briskly. The series follows Rob chronologically through his high school career, in either a football, basketball, or baseball season. Rob will face bitter rivals in all three sports and questions of morals, ethics, integrity, and social interaction, on and off the field of play. Through Rob, his mother, the girl-next-door, his best friend, a special girlfriend, and his two mentor coaches, the reader will learn life lessons along with Rob. The series matures as Rob does, slowly working his way toward adulthood as the conflicts go from bullies to bad coaches to girl problems and work their way up to relationships, where to go to college, and how to look at long-term life goals. It takes a while, but we watch as Rob goes from caring only about what a girl looks like to a guy who understands what’s inside that matters. But make no mistake . . . action-packed sports are at the heart of all 12 books. The series offers an excellent opportunity for readers to enjoy thrilling wins and losses against bitter rivals on the field or court . . . and experience the joy and heartbreak of teenage romance, learn life lessons, make better choices, learn a little coaching philosophy, and become better people. More importantly, it offers an enjoyable, easy, fun, thrilling, and satisfying read.