Mystery Coach by Matt Christopher

and hugged the players who had
     come through for them.
    Then Chris, Tex, Steve and the rest of the team advanced upon Mr. Herrick like a horde, and one by one they shook his hand.
    “Mr. Herrick, please coach us the rest of the season, will you?” asked Tex. “We need a guy like you.”
    Mr. Herrick smiled. “Well … I don’t know,” he said modestly. “Some of you didn’t like a stranger telling you what to do.”
    The place went silent all of a sudden. Theboys looked at each other, then at Mr. Herrick. And then, like a shot, the realization hit them.
    “You’re the man on the telephone!” Tex yelled.
    “That’s
right
!” the other guys chimed in, all except Chris.
    Mr. Herrick’s smile spread wider and he nodded. “Right. I’m the man on the telephone,” he confessed.
    “I thought you were,” Chris said. He turned and looked beyond the backstop screen and the grandstand, to the white house catercorner
     across the street, the house where the Herricks lived. He looked back at Mr. Herrick.
    “You watched us from your house,” he said. “That’s how you knew us and were able to tell us what we were doing wrong.”
    Mr. Herrick nodded. “Yes. I was usingbinoculars and I had Steve give me your names. That’s how I was able to call each of you.”
    Chris turned to Steve. “Did you know he was doing it?”
    “Yes. But I didn’t want to ask him to coach the team. I … I didn’t think you guys would … well … want him to.”
    “Oh, no?” cried Chris. “What about it, guys? Do we or don’t we want Mr. Herrick as our coach?”
    “YES, WE DO!” they shouted almost in one voice.
    “There,” said Chris. “It’s settled.”
    He smiled at Mr. Herrick. “Thanks, Mr. Herrick,” he said. “We really appreciate it.”
    “So do I,” replied Mr. Herrick, smiling and blinking his eyes. “And from now on call me Coach.”

MYSTERY COACH
    by Matt Christopher
    What can a team do when all of its members know they are getting absolutely no coaching from a man they thought they could
     depend on?
    That was the question Chris Richards and the rest of the Blazers asked themselves when they found out to their amazement that
     their coach, the strong force in back of last year’s team, didn’t seem to care anymore. To make matters worse, Steve Herrick,
     one of the team’s best players, started talking about quitting the team and walking out with a few of the other players. Then
     suddenly the mysterious phone calls began to occur. It seemed that each member of the team started to get instructions on
     the phone from a mysterious voice that would only identify itself as “Coach.”
    How the boys finally identify the mystery coach while at the same time come to understand how to get along as a strong team
     unit is the subject of this fast-paced sports story from an author who has given enjoyment to many thousands of young readers
     who hunger for exciting stories that are told simply and well.
    Illustrated by Harvey Kidder

THE KID WHO ONLY HIT HOMERS
    by Matt Christopher
    Illustrated by Harvey Kidder
    Sylvester looked like a poor prospect for the Redbird’s baseball team at their first practice. He was pretty bad at bat and
     even worse in the outfield. He was ready to give up playing altogether when he met a stranger, Mr. George Baruth, who loved
     baseball just as much as he did. Mr. Baruth told Sylvester he could become a top-notch player and began to coach him. In no
     time at all this became true. Whenever Sylvester came to bat for the Redbirds, he hit a home run. Before long, Sylvester was
     famous, and yet he had new problems. How could he handle the fame which the press had brought him? And what would happen when
     Mr. Baruth went away as he said he would have to? Would Sylvester still have his good luck at bat? This is an entertaining
     story of the rise of a phenomenal young baseball player. Sports fans will be especially intrigued by the mysterious Mr. George
     Baruth and the special