Nick Book Review

Felix Piloto was one of the kids that loved playing sports outside.  He LOVES baseball.  Baseball is the only thing he likes to do. Felix’s father wasn’t around so it was just Felix and his mom.  In Free Baseball, Felix was a little baby and he had lived in Cuba.  His father played professional baseball over in Cuba, but he wanted what was best for the family.  He took his family to a boat to be smuggled out of the country, but it was too small for all of them to fit.  Felix’s father stayed behind so that Felix could have a better life.  He was kicked out of Pro baseball for this, but his family’s life did improve. 

Felix is the best guy on his team.  All Felix wanted to do was to go to an East Naples Egrets game.  Felix had won some tickets off the radio so he was finally able to go.  He really wanted to go with his mom but his mom was busy with work and school.  She was going to school so she could get a better job.  

Felix begged enough so he got his mom to let him go.  His mom wouldn’t let him go by himself so she had a babysitter go with him to the game. When they got to the game Maryann wanted to sit by her friends so she didn’t let Felix go sit in the seat he had the ticket for.  Maryann’s friend bugged Felix the whole game so he didn’t really get to watch the game.  After the game Felix got to run the bases at the “Birds Nest.”   Felix had never been in a real dugout before so he wanted to check it out.  When he entered the visiting team’s dugout, a guy mistook him for a being a batboy.  Felix went along with it because he didn’t want to go back to Maryann quite yet. 

Felix did the chores that were asked of him, and he decided he liked this job, so he hid on the Miracle’s bus.  When the bus stopped, Felix was relieved that he had made it alive.  Felix left a message for his mom telling her that he had gone home with a friend who he had seen at the game.  Felix spent the night in a bathroom in the team’s clubhouse at the field.  Felix’s got the official job, as batboy and his mother still believed that he was at a friend’s house.  Felix became great friends with Vic.  Vic was the general manager and owner of the Miracle Baseball Team.  Vic took care of Felix for the few days that he was there with the Miracle.

Felix would have to tell his mother where he was at some point, but he really didn’t want to.  When he finally did his mother was extremely mad, but Vic got her to calm down.  Vic gave Felix’s mom some tickets to watch the Miracle play.  After that game, Vic and Felix’s mom got to talk and it ended up that Vic offered her a job as a worker for the Miracle organization. 

When Felix found out that his dad wasn’t playing baseball anymore and that he had gotten remarried.  Felix now realized that his dad will never come back to him.  After getting the job as batboy, Felix was able to mature and gain a better relationship with his mother.

I really liked like this book.  I usually don’t like to read, but when I started reading Free Baseball, I never wanted to put it down.  Soc Corbett did an amazing job with this fiction story.  It really made me feel like I was watching the games and being the batboy with Felix.  It gave me a good picture as to what the baseball fields looked liked.  Free Baseball really put me in the mood to really watch or play some baseball.  I would rather play than watch it though.  I really encourage other baseball freaks, like me, or anyone who just wants to read a good book, to read Free Baseball.