The Rookie: A Review

As a lonely child, Jim Morris took one thing with him wherever his family moved-his ability to hit and throw a baseball. For Jim, the passion of becoming a major-league ballplayer was his anchor and inspiration…until injuries and life got in the way. A decade after Jim walked away from the minors and began a life of fatherhood and mortgage payments, he made a promise to the hardscrabble high-school team he coached: if they could win their local championship. He would try out again for the big leagues. They did-and he did. Now, in this wondrous, heart-tugging  book, Jim Morris tells the story of his remarkable life and his amazing journey to the Big Show at the age of thirty-five…and how he finally fulfilled his childhood dream.

Wow! This is one of the most incredible stories that I have read. Jim as a child loved baseball. He liked to spend his time with a ball, didn’t really need any one else along to make him happy. Of course as he got to where he was going to play a game it does take more than one person.

He played in various school teams and got into the minor league, but he just could not make up the ladder to the Big League.

Meanwhile, he got married, bought a house and along with that came mortgage to pay and the children started coming along with even more costs and expenses to meet.

As he got into his thirties, his job included coaching a high-school baseball team. Kids liked him because he treated everyone including them with respect. But somehow his team was not making the grade.

Then the team came up with a bargain. We win the championship you try out again for the big league!

Jim agreed to it not really expecting them to win. But they did!  He believed in keeping his word so he went for a try out and amazed the judges. So he headed home…

By the time we walked into the house, my answering machine had a dozen messages from the Devil Rays, each one more eager than the last. The last caller had been Dan Jennings, the Tampa Bay scouting director

“We want you,” he said. “When can you start playing?”

I highly recommend this book. Check with your favorite book store or order on line from Amazon.com.