Bottom of the Ninth: Great Contemporary Baseball Short Stories

Writing Baseball

by John McNally, Richard Russo (Foreword)

Skillfully edited by John McNally, Bottom of the Great Contemporary Baseball Short Stories collects nineteen contemporary baseball short stories from a successful mix of well-established writers, lesser-knowns, and a few up-and-comers. These stories are characterized by the same dramatic elements that draw people to the sport itself—the mythologizing of players, the obsessions and romance of the game, the bonds between players and fans, parents and children. From a key play, a missed catch, a chance lost, these are tales of characters facing high stakes and calls to action, metaphorically and literally, in the bottom of the ninth.

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 2003

About the author

John McNally is the author of three novels (After the Workshop, America's Report Card and The Book of Ralph) and two story collections (Ghosts of Chicago and Troublemakers). He's written two books on writing: Vivid and Continuous: Essays and Exercise for Writing Fiction and The Creative Writer's Survival Guide: Advice from an Unrepentant Novelist He's edited six fiction anthologies, on subjects ranging from superheroes to baseball. He also writes screenplays and held a Chesterfield Writer's Film Project fellowship, sponsored by Paramount Pictures. A native of Chicago's southwest side, he presently lives and teaches in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Marshall Merims · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me. Repeated stories with profanity and sexual situations. Stopped reading at page 80.