In this book, Sylvester goes to a baseball practice but did not sign up to play on a team. Another interesting character, Mr. Bruth, is a stranger in the town of Hooper and chooses a different town to live in every year! Mr. Bruth tells Sylvester to talk to the coaches about practicing with the team. They were nice enough to let him keep coming to practice because he loves baseball so much.

Even though he wanted to quit right away, the coaches encourage him to stay. Sylvester thinks Mr. Bruth is pulling his leg when he offers to help him get better outside of practice. In the end, the reader learns that Sylvester just needs to believe in his heart that practicing will help him become a better player. He also learns to believe in himself like Mr. Bruth and the coaches do.