Even More Reviews of Pinch Hitting
Pinch Hitting is a tender story of memorable characters facing unique situations. Who knew that small-town baseball and classical music could be woven together in one book? The storytelling moves at a rapid clip but is suffused with grace.
-Edie Sonn
A goodhearted fable and minor league baseball belong together, like a ball nestled in a well-oiled glove. Morris Hoffman's ode to Harold Fungo is clever, preposterous, and ultimately loving. Get ready to cheer (and weep). A charmed and magical journey indeed!
-Brian Kaufman, author of The Fat Lady’s Low, Sad Song
Life, love, and baseball, the holy trinity of many a fine novel, work their magic once again in Pinch Hitting, a novel by Morris Hoffman. Set in Colorado, an assemblage of colorful characters tells the remarkable and romantic story of Joe Skelton, who mysteriously starts telling a story in his sleep about the life and times of Harold Fungo, a shy ballpark janitor-turned-minor league baseball hero. Skelton’s wife, Katherine, stays awake nights to take down the story of Harold’s remarkable transformation, and eventual rise, to the major league Cincinnati Reds. Completion of the book takes on urgency as Joe’s untreatable tumor signals that death approaches. Morris Hoffman’s novel takes the reader deep into the lives of ordinary people as they confront life’s most unpredictable challenges and deepest disappointments, while attempting to hold onto their hopes and dreams.
-Bob Rothman, author of A Terrible Guilt