Ray & Me

Baseball Card Adventures #9

by Dan Gutman

The ball hit me. It sounded like a bomb going off in my head. Everything went dark. The last thing I remember was hearing somebody yell, "Call 911!"

When Stosh gets hit in the head with a baseball, he's lucky to survive. Then he learns about another player who wasn't so lucky—Ray Chapman, the only player in major league history to get hit by a ball and die. If only they'd had batting helmets back then . . .

Get ready to go back in time as Stosh travels to 1920 to try to save Ray—and meets Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, and even Harry Houdini. This baseball card adventure is a wild ride to a moment that changed baseball history forever!

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Childrens

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."

Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

another fun, Dan Gutman book. sticking to his theme of the Young Boy going back in time to experience, and sometimes fix problems.

Like the others, I loved, this book is a nailbiter, as well as a fun book for baseball junkies like myself.

I highly recommend this book.

[Alex Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because it showed how dull it was in the 1920's like when a horrible and non expected events happens after they take care of that they go on like nothing happend

[Jake H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot-
Joe Stoshack, a young baseball fanatic, has a gift of traveling through time. Flip Valentini, his baseball coach, is one of his best friends. Stosh takes on this adventure of saving Ray Chapman’s life of being the only player in history of dying from getting hit by a baseball. Because they didn’t have baseball helmets when Ray played, he died from one hard pitch to the head. This encouraged Stosh after he was hit from a baseball. Stosh was not feeling good, but his coach, Flip, encourages him to pitch for him anyways. Stosh is not normally a pitcher for his team, but there starting pitcher was injured. Stosh struck the first two guys out, then came their best hitter. They called him Hammerin’ Cameron. He could hit the ball extremely fast. Stosh threw to change ups to him. On the third pitch, stosh threw one down the middle. Hammerin’ Cameron hit a line drive to Stosh’s head and put him in a coma for 2 weeks. Stosh wants to save Ray Chapmans life by traveling through time with a baseball card. Will Stosh even be able to still travel with his injury? Will he find Ray in time? How will he find him?

Main Characters-
Stosh- Loves baseball, has a gift of traveling through time with baseball cards, young baseball player, interested in changing MLB history. Stosh is the dynamic character because he now knows how important safety is to baseball as well as good equipment.
Flip- Stosh’s baseball coach, encouraging, knows everything about baseball, Hall of Fame MLB star, old.
Babe Ruth- Cocky, alchoholic, liar, good at baseball.
Ray- Not a good listener…

Key Issue-
The key issue is to raise awareness of how dangerous sports used to be without the advanced equipment we have today.

Other information-
I would recommend this book to someone who likes adventure and sports. This is my favorite book out of Dan Gutman’s “A Baseball Car Adventure” series. This book is one of the few books that I have read that is exciting from the very first page to the last. I could read this book again and still enjoy it. I got this book at our library. This was the last book I needed to read in this series and I’m glad I saved the best for last. This is book has by far the most action and suspense in out of all the books in this series. I gave this a 5 star rating because this book was cool.

[Dan Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my classroom my students and I are blogging about the books we've been reading. As I finish a book I will post the same review here that I post for my students to read. Therefore, what follows is the review I wrote and posted this morning to our class blog page.

This book is either the 9th or 10th in Dan Gutman’s “Baseball Card” series featuring the main character Joey Stoshman (Stosh). This book opens with Stosh being asked by his coach (Flip Valentini) to move from his usual position (shortstop) to pitcher for this one game. Although Stosh is reluctant to do so the coach convinces him to do it. Unfortunately, Stosh gets hit in the head by a line drive and winds up in the hospital where he is visited by his mom and his coach. During the coach’s visit he tells Stosh about the only baseball player (Ray Chapman) to ever die from being hit by a pitch. As he has done in previous books in this series Stosh wants to go back in time, this time to see if he can keep Chapman from being killed.

There are certain events that happen during our lifetimes which we will never forget. As I was reading this book, one of these events came back to my mind. In the summer of 1967 I was nine years old and a Red Sox fanatic. I never seemed to tire of poring over the statistics and box scores in the newspaper. That August the Red Sox were in a race for the American League East pennant. In the middle of August the Red Sox were playing a weekend series against the Anaheim Angels. On the morning of Saturday, August 19th, at breakfast my Dad told me of a serious season ending injury that had happened in Friday night’s game to the team’s right-fielder, Tony Conigliaro whom I idolized. In the bottom of the 4th inning he was hit by a pitch thrown by the Angels’ Jack Hamilton. As “Tony C” ducked to get out of the way of the pitch, his helmet was knocked off and he took the ball square on his cheekbone which then shattered. Although, he thankfully didn’t suffer the same fate as Ray Chapman, it did pretty much end his professional baseball career. I was never good at sports so I cannot relate to how he must have felt then, but I can relate to how he must have felt when he had to face the fact that he would no longer be able to do that which he loved most and had worked hard at for so long to become good at. I love to teach and I would be devastated if I could no longer do so. I imagine that this is the way that “Tony C” must have felt as he came to the realization that his professional baseball career was over.

Although I do not come away from reading this story with any particular message in mind I am grateful for Dan Gutman having written this book because I learned a bit of baseball history that I was previously unaware of. I was quite surprised by the way the story developed as well as how it ended. I expected the ending to be very different from how it did end yet the way that Gutman has written the book, the ending, in my mind, is very logical. In my opinion, although girls may enjoy reading this book, I believe that it is an ideal one for any boy who likes history and/or baseball. As mentioned previously, Dan Gutman has written nine other books in this series and, if they’re written as well as this one was, reading them would certainly be very enjoyable and well worth the time spent.

[Heather Shembarger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this historical fiction book. It educated me on the tragic death of Ray Chapman and also the pitcher who threw the fatal pitch, Carl Mays. Both young men were thriving baseball players whose careers would never be the same after that fateful day. When Stosh goes back in time to try to warn Ray, nothing seems to go his way. Once again, Stosh's dad also makes a questionable request in which Stosh must become the voice of ethics and morality. A black doctor who is actually patterned after a real African-American doctor of the times also tries to contribute with his knowledge to help and save Ray. Read the book to see how the event unfolds, but also be sure to read the fascinating blurb at the end which clarifies what is real and what is not. It provides additional information on how this event also affected Ray's wife of less than a year and also a daughter who was born after his death. As real life goes, endings are not always happy so be prepared to have your emotions tangled with.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I are reading this series together, and the fundamental premise-- that a kid can travel through time with a baseball card-- generally holds these books together pretty well. The story of MLB fatality Ray Chapman and Carl Mays, the grumpy pitcher who beaned him literally to death, isn't as well known as some of the stories Gutman takes on. I felt like that helped this book-- that his writing felt fresher and more creative when he could take a few more liberties outside the shadow of, say, Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson. These are pleasant books and this is probably the best one we've read yet.

[Wampus Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was at an event at a bookstore and sat by a table of books on clearance. The cover with the most random pull quote by a grinning boy cracked me up. Then reading the plot on the back cover made me think this YA novel would be weird enjoyment.

It wasn’t. And the plot kinda goes pffffffft. I’m not the target audience here. So I’ll just give it three stars and wonder about the befuddling method of time travel (stare at a baseball card for a while) that gets that spunky narrator back and forth.

[David Rough · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 10th novel in the baseball series highlights Ray Chapman, the only player in major league history to get hit by a ball and die. Stosh takes two trips back in time to 1920 with a batting helmet and a doctor in tow to try to save Ray.

I like the return to the history of baseball and the time travel by baseball card in this segment of the series. I think I only have one more book to read in this series (Ted & Me). I have really enjoyed these novels for young readers.

[Mamiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've liked all three "Baseball Card Adventures" books I'd read so far, and this is my most favorite. I liked it because, although this is a fictional story, it still incorporates a lot of the realities of the time, such as the Prohibition, racism, and medical progress. It left me feeling sad for Ray Chapman, whom the protagonist tried to help but couldn't, and appreciate the medical/scientific as well as societal progress we've made since then.

[Tanner Crandall · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very good book, I love how they look at the past and bring back history that happened back then. I love that they didn't change the past because then they would be ruining the history of baseball. If you love the history of baseball it is a great book like you learn that Babe Ruth was on the Yankees when the blow to the head happened.

[Josh Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good entry in the Baseball Card Adventure series. These books have started to get a little more complex in their story-telling and the issues addressed and I've enjoyed that.

[JD Elvington · Rating 4 out of 5]

👍

[Brandon Banda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave the book "Ray and Me" by Dan Gurman a 4 star rating because it was an amazing book but hard to understand sometimes. Some of the character in the book include Flip Valentini, Stosh, Cameron, Dr. Wright, and Ray Chapman. Some of the major events in this book included Stosh or Joey getting hit in the head with a ball and going into a coma. Another includes Stosh learning about Ray Chapman and how he died. Finally the last major event was Stosh imagining what it was like at Ray's final game.
This book may seem like it has no meaning or theme, but it does. The theme or main idea is learn about history so you can learn something new. I say this because of how Stosh tells you how Ray Chapmans last game was and what went on. It taught you about the history of a baseball player that you may have never heard of. Also like how his coach first tells him about Ray and how he related to Stosh and what happened to him. This is why I gave this book a 4 star rating because it was a well put together book but was confusing at sometimes.

[Jean Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I enjoyed this story not only because it was fun to read about Joe, but it was also fun to read about Joe going back in time and read about baseball in the 1920s. I enjoy not only watching baseball but I also really enjoy reading about it and learning new facts. It was great to see Joe's reactions when Joe was able to meet multiple different baseball players and people along the way including Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, and Henry Houdini.

I think this would be a good book for independent readers for ages around ages 9-10. I think young boys and girls who enjoy playing baseball and watching baseball would enjoy this story and connect to this story as well. This is one of the book's in the baseball card adventure series. If children really enjoy this book they can continue to read about other adventures Joe has. Joe has multiple baseball cards and pictures he has and uses to travel back in time with. If students like a specific baseball player they can look to see if a player is mentioned in one of the other books.

This book contains multiple real life facts and pictures in the book that can be great teaching topics or interesting things for students to read about.This book contains a section in the back in the book called Facts and Fictions about the 1920s, baseball in the 1920s, and general information about baseball players and teams as well. The book also is illustrated with photos from the 1920s with black and white photos including Jackie Robinson. The book specifically mentions Jackie Robinson stealing second base, and a picture of Jackie Robinson stealing second base is on the next page.

[Nick G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read the book Ray and me by Dan Gutman. It is 173 pages long and is historical fiction. I rated this book four stars because it had a a lot of action. Once in the book the main character Joe Stoshack and a doctor who go back in time get arrested and thrown in an insane cell with straight jackets on. They end up escaping with a cool trick. Also Joe gets hit in the head with a batted ball. That is why I rated it four stars. This is the general info on the book Ray and Me.

The book start when Joe is in a baseball game. The coach Flip Valentini asks him to pitch because their starting pitcher was absent. Joe ends up pitching in the game. But he gets hit with a batted ball and has to go to the hospital. Joe was in a comma for two weeks and had dislocated his shoulder. While he was in the hospital he researched major baseball players who have been hit by a batted ball. But Joe found this one guy who got hit by a ball in 1920 and died, his name was Ray Chapman who played for the Indians. Joe decides to go back in time with a batting helmet to save Chapman. When Joe goes back in time he get his batting helmet shattered by a baseball bat and his mission fails. But Dr. Dwight the doctor who took care of him in the hospital wanted to go back in time to try to save his life again. Read the rest of this book to find out what happens when Joe Stoshack and Dr.Dwight go back in time and escape a straight jacket.

[Landen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray & Me, by Dan Gutman was a great book. This book was about a kid named Joe Stoshack who can travel through time with baseball cards. During this book Joe gets hit by a ball in the head at his baseball game. After he is cured he hears about a guy named Ray Chapman who was the first guy to get hit in the head by a baseball and die. Joe goes back in time to try to save Ray read this great book to find out more.

I personally really liked this book. This book always kept me wanting to read more and always kept me on the edge of my seat. I also liked this book because it was funny and about baseball. Some funny parts were when Dr. Wright dressed up as a white man. Also when they came back from time traveling.

I would recommend this book to people who like baseball, mystery, action, adventure, and even thriller. If you like any of these topics you will love this book because it is full of all of them. I would most definitely read this book I enjoyed it and I am sure you will too.

[Gherig Svendgared · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The ball hit me. It sounded like a bomb going off in my head. Everything went dark. The last thinwag I remember was hearing somebody yell call 911.” ( Pg 12) On August 17, 1920 Ray Chapman s killed by a pitched baseball. The baseball was pitched by Carl Mays. This was before helmets. When the main character, Stosh, heard about this he felt bad because of that pitch .Carl Mays was not accepted into the hall of fame. But Stosh had a special power where he could go back in time by only holding a baseball card. He did it a lot of times before. When he was playing a baseball game his team's pitcher was gone and his coach made Stosh pitch even though Stosh plays shortstop and doesn’t pitch. He was feeling sick. Stosh agreed to do it. When he was pitching, a ball hit his head. He lost his power. I would suggest reading the book Ray And Me in about 6th grade. Will Ray get into the hall of fame? Will Stosh save Ray's life? Find out by reading Ray And Me.

[Nick McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main characters in this book are Stosh, Ray and Flip. Stosh is a young boy that is growing up in Louisville. He and his coach Flip have a very close bond. Flip owns a baseball card store and has pretty much taught Stosh everything there is to know about baseball. One day Stosh is struck in the head with a baseball and is pretty upset about it all. Flip then tries to comfort him with baseball stories like he always does. Flip tells him about Ray Chapman, the only player ever to be killed in a baseball game in the MLB. He was hit in the head with a baseball and wasn't as lucky as Stosh. Stosh then goes back in time for one of his craziest adventures yet. Two things I really liked about this book are that it has to deal with Baseball and shows us the history of the sport. One thing I didn't like was that Ray Chapman died from this actually and that's sad to me. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to learn a little something about baseball. Overall great book.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book, which was recommended to me by my son, in the Baseball Card Adventure series. These are such good books for boys, who tend to be reluctant readers. I love the concept of Stosh tine traveling with his baseball cards to go back in time to meet and learn about different baseball players lives. In this episode, after Stosh gets hit in the head with a ball, he learns of Ray Chapman who was the first professional baseball player who died when he was hit in the head by a wild pitch. This obviously led to the development of batting helmets. My son is on a big reading kick and is devouring this series. He loves them and I have to agree with him. Baseball books are spot on for my athletic 9 year old son. I am grateful that these books exist and love when my son recommends a book to me. I read it in one sitting and it was great! 4 stars!

[Jayren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books is a really great series because it creates a lot of suspense and worrying. I like this book because not only does it really make you on your end of your seat but it really tells you a lot about the main characters and I think this book would be very good for you to read. In this book, there are a bunch of characters but the main people are Ray, Babe Ruth and they boy Charles and throughout the story, they travel back in time to prevent a famous baseball star from dying from a ball coming at him ninety miles per sec. In order for them to stop that, they run into some really famous people and some weird but regular people. In the end he didn't save his life but he did realize that he can to save someone's life back at home. Because he did save a very important person in the story when they return home. He is a famous baseball star/celebrity.

[Weston Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stosh was playing at a baseball game but, was hit in the head by a baseball and knocked out. Upon reawakening he learns about a player who wasn't so lucky when he was hit. The player's name is Ray Chapman, and he's the only baseball player who was ever killed by a baseball. Back in his day there were no batting helmets so, it's up to Stosh to fix that. As he travels back in time (don't ask where he got the powers) to save Ray he meets some other famous figures of that time.

I liked this book but, there are somethings that I still didn't understand. For example the fact that changing the past can greatly affect the future so if saving Ray changed history how would it alter history. Also he can time travel and it never says how he got his power, that is all. I think that anyone who likes time travel or baseball history would enjoy this book.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A review of “Ray and me” By: Dan gutman
The book Ray and Me is a Sports novel . He plays baseball for the Chicago Cubs. The book is about a kid named stosh, that has special abilities to go back in time. The reason he goes in time is to keep ray a helmet and make sure he doesn't get damaged. They brought a Doctor to try to help Ray but Back then they black people couldn't be doctors then and when they found out he was black they put them in a cell that crazy people go in and they both had to wear a straight jacket. If stosh didn't get out they would be stuck there in til they got stosh’s baseball cards to time travel back home…..

I recommend this book for people that like sports book or fictions books.

Will they save Ray or does something happened? That’s your decision to go read the book. I would give this 4 out of 5 stars.

[Hayden Calleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray And Me by Dan Gutman is a great book about baseball. It is historical fiction because it took place in a real time but the story wasn't real. It also had some real people with some made up people. In the book Stosh goes back in time to try and save Ray Chapman's life after he is hit in the head by a ball.

I really like this book because it is a great baseball story. It also has a good lesson in the story but I don't want to spoil it for you. If you are interested in baseball or fiction then you will think it is great too.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports or historical fiction. I think this is a good book for 4th to 7th graders. Overall this is a really great book that lots of people will like. When you're done with this one read the rest of the series it is just as good.

[Brett Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The character I like the most is Joey because he is a great kid who has had to go through a lot in life, and he has an awesome power of traveling through time. The setting of this story is important because it takes place in the 21 century, and then it goes back to the 1900s with Joey's tie traveling. If I were Joey I would travel through time to see all of the World Series in person. I would have to find a lot of baseball cards to do it, but it would be worth it. This book makes me think about how lucky we are to have the technology that we have. When Joey travels back in time to try to save Ray Chapman they don't wear batting helmets. Also, when Ray gets hit with the ball they wait a long time to try and operate on him. Nowadays he would wearing a helmet. If he still got hit that badly, then he would be airlifted to a hospital to get worked on by doctors.

[Danny Karmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my 3rd quarter independent reading Ray and Me is another in the sports series written by Dan Gutman about baseball players in history. The main character Stosh gets hit in the head with a baseball, he goes back in time to try to save Ray Chapman, a batter who was killed by a pitch back in 1920, New York. While in 1920 New York Stosh meets such baseball greats as Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker. As much as Stosh tries to change fate, ultimately he can't and Ray Chapman does die. This book is interesting because it would be very cool to go back in time and meet the legends of sports and possibly have a conversation with someone like Babe Ruth..

I highly recommend this book

Ray and Me is 170 pages

[Max W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe “Stosh” Stoshack is back with a new is adventure in history. This time he is going to try change history again. He is trying to change the fate of Ray Chapman and the career of Carl Mays. He traveled back in time to 1920 twice read and find out more. This is part of the & me series by Dan Gutman.

The one main character is Joe Stoshack: He is a very important character because he can travel through time by using baseball cards, and is a great athlete.

There are no real issues with this book in my opinion.

I gave this book five stars because I enjoy sports books and this book intrigued me.
My reaction to this book is a little confusion at the ending.
I would recommend this book to any sport lover.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another book (so it's a quick read) recommended by Granddaughter A. She read this one for a book talk she will be giving at school and after she told me about it, I definitely wanted to read it. So glad that I did.

Joe Stoshack, known as Stosh, has the ability to travel back in time by holding onto a baseball card from that year. After he is hit in the head by a ball and recovers after being in a coma for 2 weeks, he decides he wants to go back in time to see if he can prevent the death of Ray Chapman, the only baseball player who died from being hit in the temple by a baseball on August 16, 1920.

Quite an interesting fictional story, interlaced with some true facts. If you like time travel books, and baseball, then this one is a great combination to read.

[Stephanie Gamez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It was a very interesting book that took place in a baseball field and 1920's

This book takes place in a baseball field and in the 1920's also in a baseball field. When it talked about the 1920's it was a kid that traveled from the future to the past (1920's). He traveled to the past to stop a baseball from hitting Ray Chapman in the head which lead him to death, but when he tried to prevent the ball from hitting him the security stopped him and that's when he got hit in the head. He tried to prevent it again but this time he tried it with a docter but it didn't work out because he was black and white people didn't get along with the black people.

I would totally recommend this book to the people who like baseball and who like stuff about the past.

[Rochelle Sondae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Baseball Club Adventure I've read. The other books were referenced however it seems as though they are probably all stand alone stories. I was surprised by how much 'other' information there was as I expected the story to just be about baseball. Women's suffrage, prohibition, segregation, world wars, cancer, AIDS, brain surgery, drunk drivers, split families, etc. etc. etc. There is so much more and yet it is all mentioned as a matter of fact without much explanation or analysis so kids might not even notice. Written in 2009, its recommended for children 10-14. I think that slightly younger children would enjoy it more. I thought it was closer to 8/9 to 12 year olds.

[Caleb Lattin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty cool. It had a really cheesy storyline, but it was humorous and a great read! This book is about when Stosh gets hit in the head with a baseball while pitching during a game. He goes to the hospital and recovers. He looses his time trave power for a while but gets it back while hearing about a guy named Ray who was the only baseball player to be killed by a baseball. You'll have to read this awesome book to find out what Stosh does when he gets to 1920. The is a great series and they all have famous baseball players in them. Whole series is a good read if you like time-travel books. It would be a great class read because they all have a hint of history in them.