It's Chad's first spring as a batboy, and the Pine City Porcupines are hot-until they come up against the league-leading Heron Lake Humdingers. Now Chad's got a whole lineup of problems: his favorite player, shortstop Mike Stammer, thinks he's jinxed; Dylan, the other batboy, doesn't even like baseball; there's a goofy new porcupine mascot on the field; plus, Chad has to fill in as batboy for the Herons. It's a good thing there's something in the...

The Pine City Porcupines' batboy, Chad, breaks an important unofficial rule of baseball: Don't talk to the starting pitcher when he's got a perfect game going, where not a single opponent has reached base. Now, because Chad opened his mouth, the entire Pines dugout is upset, the team may lose to the second-to-last-place West Valley Varmints, and Chad has to consult his baseball card collection to figure out how to help his beloved team pull off the...

Diego Prado has spent most of his time on the Pines' bench. But when Danny O'Brien goes on the disabled list, Diego gets a chance to play-and he's on a winning streak! Danny wants one of Chad's "magic" baseball cards to get back in the game. Diego wants to keep playing. What's a batboy to do?|Kurtis Scaletta is the author of several well-received middle school novels, including the baseball-centric story Mudville, one of Booklist's 2009 Top 10 Sports...