Have you ever watched a baseball game where tempers escalated and you feared that retaliation by one side could result in an incident with serious injury? I imagined such a scenario in 2010 when I feared my favorite player Chase Utley would be beaned after an incident with the Mets. I actually feared for his safety, and I imagined the worst. What if the Mets' manager ordered his pitcher to retaliate against Utley. All I could think of was the 1920 tragic bean ball death of Ray Chapman by Carl Mays during a game; the only fatality (other than a player who ran into a wall) in the history of the game.
Because I was a prosecutor most of my life, I wondered what would happen in today's society if a death occurred in such a circumstance. Would it transgress the bounds of mere assumption of the risks of the game? Would it be criminal? If so, what would be the appropriate charge? If there were homicide charges, what impact would that have on the way the game would be played?
That was the genesis of my novel which places a rookie pitcher in the middle of a brewing storm between his team and a division rival. The questions raised above are explored in a legal suspense thriller as well as the "unwritten code of baseball" which places pressure on the rookie to rise to the expectations of his teammates. But will his decision cross the bounds of society's code? You will be front and center in the trial of the century.You decide if the pitch was intentional, reckless, or merely a necessary part of the game. Along the way you will have the benefit of expert witnesses to aid your decision. I hope you enjoy the read as much as I did writing it. Harold kasselman