WHIZ KID

The Burcats’ historical novel follows the exploits of a rabid Phillies fan and aspiring novelist.

In the rough-and-tumble Philadelphia of the mid-1930s, young Benjamin Green is a normal kid whose daydreams of big-league baseball play out on the dusty sandlots of his South Philly neighborhood. At the novel’s opening, Ben is on the mound with his dad watching from home plate, and even though Ben gives up the game-winning hit, his father still surprises him with the best gift Ben could imagine: tickets to the Phillies double-header that day against the infamous Brooklyn Dodgers. Tragically, Ben’s father is killed in a car accident shortly thereafter. The story jumps ahead 15 years to 1950; readers find Ben out of the Navy and married to Debby, a sweet hometown girl pregnant with their first child. They live with Debby’s parents while she works a day job and Ben studies English literature at the University of Pennsylvania. Though Ben dreams of becoming a celebrated novelist—his first manuscript is woven throughout these pages—he is torn between following his dream and more practical concerns. His buddy from college and the Navy, Stan, comes from a fabulously wealthy family who owns an ad agency at which Stan plans to work and where he thinks he can get Ben a job, too. “Look man,” Stan tells Ben, “you need a paying job. Debby’s pregnant, remember? Do you want to be a part-time elevator operator for the rest of your life?” Though the offer is enticing, Ben would have to hide a fundamental part of himself: his Jewish identity. As Ben navigates these competing desires to build a life, his journey is effectively juxtaposed with the rise of the 1950 Phillies squad, the eponymously nicknamed “Whiz Kids.” Father-and-son writing team Joel and the late David Burcat have crafted a novel rich with Philadelphia history and a heavy dose of baseball. Fresh literary ground may not have been broken here, and readers not familiar with the game may not connect as strongly with this work, but baseball fans are sure to hang through to the final out.

A fresh, heartfelt take on the American dream and the golden era of the national pastime.