Delayed Steal: Baseball Stories

Baseball is life, or so the saying goes. In this book, a man's relationship with his father coincides with the twists, turns, and surprises experienced in the game of baseball. From a sandlot in Massachusetts at the turn of the century to an old stadium cum Wal-Mart in present day Oregon, the reader is taken from one game to the next, with father and son ever present-either on the field or in the stands. On his lifelong journey the man learns the lessons his dad tries to teach him on the diamond: discipline, obedience, loyalty, teamwork, curiosity, and respect. He handles life's curve balls, in the form of rejection, alcoholism, and divorce, with the grace and stamina of a true athlete-and in the process discovers the common bond he shares with his father. Steady and detailed as the game itself, Delayed Steal is a book for anyone who once sat in the stands as a kid, rooting for the home team. Author Marshall Umpleby also wrote the heart breaking World War II novel On Falcon's Wings, described as "terrific story telling" and "absolutely one of the best books I have ever read."