Second Base Sloan

Two runaway boys. One yellow dog. A freight train heading north into an uncertain future. This is Christy Mathewson's America, the one that existed between baseball's founding era and the modern game, a country of hobos and hope where kids on the road learned that survival depended on wit, luck, and having someone watching your back. Wayne Torrence Sloan and Junius Brutus Bartow Tasker couldn't come from more different backgrounds, but when they find themselves kicked off a freight car in the cold pre-dawn, they discover something that transcends class: a friendship forged in shared hardship. With their dog Sam padding beside them, they set out northward in search of work, food, and shelter. Their banter reveals two distinct personalities, yet their shared aspirations bind them together. The road offers danger and opportunity in equal measure, and the boys must learn to depend on each other in a world that has little patience for strays. Part of a four-book baseball series by one of the sport's first celebrities, this novel transcends its sporting roots to become a timeless tale of loyalty and growing up. It's for readers who love American history, coming-of-age adventures, and stories about finding family in unlikely places.