A baseball novel written in the 50s that read like a baseball novel written in the 50s. The vernacular (especially the baseball-related phrases) and metaphors were hillybilly-esque. I wasn’t sure if that was intentional or just typical figures of speech of the time period. The story revolves around a pitcher that hides the illness of his best friend (a catcher who has Hodgkins) from his teammates for fear he could be kicked off the team. The two play on a fictional MLB team called the Mammoths. The story follows an entire season and builds to an “emotional” conclusion at season’s end, but I didn’t really connect with the characters or concluding scenario. Easy read and enjoyed the old-time baseball, but no desire to read the author’s other similar books.