The words leap from the cryptic poem left for Harvard professor Seth Stein by his Papa Sol, the doting grandfather who vanished without a trace four years earlier. It was Papa Sol who instilled an unquenchable passion for baseball in Seth's soul; it was Sol who also ignited Seth's obsession with history, spinning fabulous tales of times and people long gone. And when Papa Sol disappeared, it was Seth who stepped up to the plate, caring for Sol's bewildered wife as she clung to her cherished memories.

Seth is still searching for answers when the poem--"For Setharoo, on his fiftieth birthday"--appears in his grandmother's home. It leads him to a scuffed, yellowed baseball, resting in a box handmade by his grandfather. Without warning, a single touch of the rough leather thrusts Seth through the swirling vortex of history onto the streets of 1950s New York and then to the greatest baseball game ever played, the Bobby Thomson "Shot Heard `Round the World" playoff classic. It is in this surreal, sepia-toned site of past glory that historian Seth begins a wondrous, life-changing odyssey that allows him to find the answers he so desperately seeks.

Suspenseful, thought-provoking, funny, and poignant , this beautifully crafted novel is a joyous tribute to our inspiring and timeless national pastime, and a rare treasure for all those who love baseball. [close]