As the All Star Break and summer vacations near, a baseball-based book seemed like the ticket. For any Giants fan, Bob Mitchell's "Once Upon A Fastball" stands out. It includes mystery, poetry, history and a magical baseball that takes the main character, Seth Stein, back in time to historic baseball games, including the moment Bobby Thompson hit The Shot Heard Round the World in 1951.

Mitchell combines classical poetry, relationships between Seth Stein and his missing grandfather, his son, his ex-wife, his current girlfriend, and his ever-devoted freshman history class at Harvard, with lots and lots of good baseball. If this seems like a lot of ground to cover in 200 pages, it is. That's the trouble. This book tries too hard much too hard. Mitchell uses descriptive passages and metaphors like there is no tomorrow.

"Terry delivers an aspirin and the attendees at Candlestick expel a collective oooooh as dirt that has been lying caked and fallow inside Ellie Howard's catcher's mitt explodes in all directions when the ball makes impact, like dust shooting out of a Persian rug that has just been spanked by a batwing beater." It can make the reader wish there were no tomorrow.

As a historian, Mitchell has done his homework

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and then some. His baseball knowledge is flawless and he delightfully brings to life not just the ballparks of the Giants (Polo Grounds and The 'Stick), the Yankees, and the Mets, but the emotional roller-coaster fans must endure at each game with one side experiencing complete jubilation and one abject defeat.

Unfortunately Mitchell's writing and storyline are not nearly as flawless. The words, "too much" invade the reader's head too often. His description of an exchange between Seth and his girlfriend Kate tries too hard to be fun and clever.

"Kate gives Seth one of those Mae West ÔWhy dontcha come up and see me sometime' glances. Seth returns it with one of those Jimmy Cagney ÔAw simmer down sister, or else you'll get a juicy grapefruit right in the puss' looks."

Mitchell also uses the laundry list technique to demonstrate wide ranges, such as when describing Kate's reaction to Seth telling her the story of his time-travels, "She spent the entire 60 minutes literally and figuratively on the edge of her seat. Smiling. Frowning. Giggling. Laughing. Crying. Cheering. Booing. Getting angry. Getting happy. Being frightened. Being proud."

The entertaining and insightful baseball scenes are almost enough to carry this book, but then, a huge plotline flaw rips the story apart. It is too absurd to ignore. Like the '86 BoSox, victory was there to be taken, but it slipped through Mitchell's fingers (or was between Buckner's legs?)

Recommendation: This should have been a walk-off base hit, but instead it is a swing and a miss.

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Contact Kel Kanady at books_at_bulletin@yahoo.com.