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Bobby Baseball
Ten-year-old Bobby Ellis loves everything about baseball, from the hits to the hot dogs. That's why he calls himself Bobby Baseball! Every day he dreams of becoming a major league pitcher and joining the stars in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And what better place to start his career than right here on his own Kids Club team, the Hawks? But the hawks' coach happens to be Bobby's father, who has other ideas. "You're a natural second baseman," he says, expecting Bobby to be a model player who never makes a single mistake. Get real, Dad! When Bobby pitches three winning games in a row, the Hawks rule. Suddenly Bobby's life seems like one big basball game—games on the field, games on TV, and games in his mind. Can Bobby keep on winning? Can he count on Dad?
165 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
7 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Robert Kimmel Smith
39 books59 followersRobert Kimmel Smith began dreaming of becoming a writer at the age of eight, when he spent three months in bed reading while recovering from rheumatic fever. He enrolled in Brooklyn College in 1947, and served in the U.S. Army, in Germany, from 1951-1953. In 1954 he married Claire Medney, his editor and literary agent. They have two children: Heidi (1962) and Roger (1967). After writing advertising copy from 1957 to 1969, Robert Kimmel Smith became a full-time writer in 1970.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 19, 2025
Certain novels seem especially personal for the author, and that's the case with Bobby Baseball by Robert Kimmel Smith. A lifelong baseball fan who as a kid aspired to star in the big leagues, Mr. Kimmel Smith knows the feeling of watching a dream evaporate when you realize you don't possess the talent you thought you did. Bobby Ellis, ten and a quarter years old, is moving up in Little League baseball. He's finally aged into the Mustang League, where boys are better able to handle the speed and complexity of high-level play. Bobby's father once was a professional prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system, so Bobby has the pedigree for the game, and this year he intends to make the leap to potential superstar. Mr. Ellis, who manages the Mustang League's Hawks, hesitates to accept his son on his team—could Bobby handle being treated like any other kid?—but gives in to his pleading and requests him for the Hawks, with the understanding that no special favors will be granted on account of their relationship. Bobby is ecstatic about the coming season.
The potential for conflict manifests right away when Bobby's best friend, "Jumpin'" Jason Moss, begs him to have his father draft Jason for the Hawks. Mr. Ellis is exasperated that Bobby is already ignoring the conditions of their agreement. Whether through the manager's influence or not, Bobby and Jason both end up on the Hawks, and Mr. Ellis doesn't take it easy on them in team practices. He insists his players make every effort to work together like a machine, their heads always in the game so they don't make gratuitous errors. Athletic aptitude will vary, but Mr. Ellis won't tolerate mental laziness.
Playing for his father is hard, as Bobby's older brother Sammy warned prior to the season. Mr. Ellis can't be too harsh with the other kids, so he vents his frustration on Bobby whenever he makes a mistake. Being yelled at is no fun, but Bobby wanted his father to manage him, and Mr. Ellis does give Bobby an opportunity to be the starting pitcher despite believing his son is better suited to play second base. At least Bobby throws strikes under pressure, unlike his teammates. For as long as he can remember, Bobby has longed to be the guy on the mound with the ball in his hands on every play, the team's success or failure dependent on him. But does he have the arm talent to outduel the Mustang League's premier batters? If they hit him hard, will Bobby be able to rein in his temper and roll with the punches as a good pitcher must? No one excels on a baseball diamond by fluke for long. Can his position on the Hawks—not to mention his relationship with his father—withstand the pressure when Bobby's frustration boils over?
Bobby Baseball is packed with subtext, more than usual for a juvenile novel. Without spelling it out, the narrative questions Bobby's motives in regard to baseball. He has obsessively consumed the sport since he was little, but is that because he loves baseball, or saw it as a way to earn his father's attention? Could that also be why he wants to star in the big leagues? A nightmare Bobby has once about losing his temper on the mound and being kicked off the team and disowned by his father raises the question to another level: does Bobby fear his father won't love him if he can't control his own ugly anger? These issues and more are at play in the background of Bobby Baseball, making for a more philosophical story than I anticipated. There's baseball action too, but this is a thinking boy's sports book.
I came close to rounding my two-and-a-half-star rating of Bobby Baseball down, but I'll go the other direction. In fact, I'm tempted to give the full three. Bobby is easy to relate to as he grapples with his complicated emotions toward baseball. Jason is a fun character, as is Jane "Mouth" DeMuth, who learns to be a pretty good scrappy second baseman for the Hawks. She has attitude to spare, but her energy lifts the Hawks' spirits in key moments. The story is consistently, effectively funny, and readers of the author's 1981 book Jelly Belly will recognize its protagonist, Ned Robbins, as a side character here. Bobby Baseball contains quality insight into baseball, sports in general, and living up to goals you set for yourself. Aspiring athletes would do well to read and reflect on Robert Kimmel Smith's novel.
The potential for conflict manifests right away when Bobby's best friend, "Jumpin'" Jason Moss, begs him to have his father draft Jason for the Hawks. Mr. Ellis is exasperated that Bobby is already ignoring the conditions of their agreement. Whether through the manager's influence or not, Bobby and Jason both end up on the Hawks, and Mr. Ellis doesn't take it easy on them in team practices. He insists his players make every effort to work together like a machine, their heads always in the game so they don't make gratuitous errors. Athletic aptitude will vary, but Mr. Ellis won't tolerate mental laziness.
Playing for his father is hard, as Bobby's older brother Sammy warned prior to the season. Mr. Ellis can't be too harsh with the other kids, so he vents his frustration on Bobby whenever he makes a mistake. Being yelled at is no fun, but Bobby wanted his father to manage him, and Mr. Ellis does give Bobby an opportunity to be the starting pitcher despite believing his son is better suited to play second base. At least Bobby throws strikes under pressure, unlike his teammates. For as long as he can remember, Bobby has longed to be the guy on the mound with the ball in his hands on every play, the team's success or failure dependent on him. But does he have the arm talent to outduel the Mustang League's premier batters? If they hit him hard, will Bobby be able to rein in his temper and roll with the punches as a good pitcher must? No one excels on a baseball diamond by fluke for long. Can his position on the Hawks—not to mention his relationship with his father—withstand the pressure when Bobby's frustration boils over?
Bobby Baseball is packed with subtext, more than usual for a juvenile novel. Without spelling it out, the narrative questions Bobby's motives in regard to baseball. He has obsessively consumed the sport since he was little, but is that because he loves baseball, or saw it as a way to earn his father's attention? Could that also be why he wants to star in the big leagues? A nightmare Bobby has once about losing his temper on the mound and being kicked off the team and disowned by his father raises the question to another level: does Bobby fear his father won't love him if he can't control his own ugly anger? These issues and more are at play in the background of Bobby Baseball, making for a more philosophical story than I anticipated. There's baseball action too, but this is a thinking boy's sports book.
I came close to rounding my two-and-a-half-star rating of Bobby Baseball down, but I'll go the other direction. In fact, I'm tempted to give the full three. Bobby is easy to relate to as he grapples with his complicated emotions toward baseball. Jason is a fun character, as is Jane "Mouth" DeMuth, who learns to be a pretty good scrappy second baseman for the Hawks. She has attitude to spare, but her energy lifts the Hawks' spirits in key moments. The story is consistently, effectively funny, and readers of the author's 1981 book Jelly Belly will recognize its protagonist, Ned Robbins, as a side character here. Bobby Baseball contains quality insight into baseball, sports in general, and living up to goals you set for yourself. Aspiring athletes would do well to read and reflect on Robert Kimmel Smith's novel.
January 3, 2012
If you like books about baseball then you will love this. It is about a boy named Robert Ellis but people call him Bobby baseball and he loved baseball from the start. And he gets to play for his dad the Hawks in Mustang liege and he thinks he is the best pitcher in the world but it turns out he stinks and he doesn't know it.I think the other rote this because he likes baseball.I would recommend
this people who like baseball.You can find this realistic book in the L.R.C.
Noah
this people who like baseball.You can find this realistic book in the L.R.C.
Noah
November 22, 2021
Very cute story about a baseball-obsessed boy who is dying to play for his Dad's team in little league, but isn't prepared for the consequences when he doesn't measure up.
November 21, 2016
Robert E. Kimmel is a brat. He’s a whiny, self-absorbed, self-centered, conceited, chauvinistic, oath-breaking, willful, hubristic and hot-tempered monomaniac who seriously over-estimates his own abilities. It’s a good thing he’s only ten years old; otherwise there’d be no tolerating him.
Bobby Baseball, as he likes to call himself (clearly, he doesn’t understand the concept of “nicknames”; those are names other people give you not the ones you give yourself), deals mainly with his family who’ve grown used to his shortcomings. But then his nasty behavior starts spilling over on to his team and teammates. He’s subject to the will of his father and they are at loggerheads for pretty much the entire book. Again and again, Bobby shows that he won’t take direction if it’s contrary to his wishes and that he throws tantrums when he’s thwarted. (I don’t advocate corporal punishment but I dearly wanted someone to give that boy a sharp spanking!)
In the end, the author managed to win my grudging acceptance of Bobby. Mr. Smith kept the tone realistic throughout (although the parts filled with baseball terminology and stats bored me a little) so that we understood that Bobby doesn’t get things his own way all the time. In fact, he rarely does.
Bobby learns to come to grips with his shortcomings, that life isn’t always like a movie and that matters don’t always reach the conclusion you want. Bobby may not become a more level-headed person but he learns that defeat is inevitable and that failure doesn’t mean the end of everything. It’s a hard-won lesson but all the more important because of it.
Bobby Baseball, as he likes to call himself (clearly, he doesn’t understand the concept of “nicknames”; those are names other people give you not the ones you give yourself), deals mainly with his family who’ve grown used to his shortcomings. But then his nasty behavior starts spilling over on to his team and teammates. He’s subject to the will of his father and they are at loggerheads for pretty much the entire book. Again and again, Bobby shows that he won’t take direction if it’s contrary to his wishes and that he throws tantrums when he’s thwarted. (I don’t advocate corporal punishment but I dearly wanted someone to give that boy a sharp spanking!)
In the end, the author managed to win my grudging acceptance of Bobby. Mr. Smith kept the tone realistic throughout (although the parts filled with baseball terminology and stats bored me a little) so that we understood that Bobby doesn’t get things his own way all the time. In fact, he rarely does.
Bobby learns to come to grips with his shortcomings, that life isn’t always like a movie and that matters don’t always reach the conclusion you want. Bobby may not become a more level-headed person but he learns that defeat is inevitable and that failure doesn’t mean the end of everything. It’s a hard-won lesson but all the more important because of it.
May 18, 2013
June Vacation
Read
February 17, 2015good
May 3, 2017
its Alright
it's shows how to become nice and balance feels best not selfish and don't leave nobody out or make them sad
it's shows how to become nice and balance feels best not selfish and don't leave nobody out or make them sad
July 5, 2023
See my dad was my teebqll coach and my sisters softball coach and je wasn't nearly so bad
January 13, 2008
A book that i didn't nessasarily liked, even though I used to love his books.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews