The Right Call by Tommy Greenwald. 272 p. Game Changers series. Amulet Books/ Abrams, April 15, 2025. Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.
Cal Klondike was a middling to bad baseball player until he wasn't. Even he can't explain where his arm came from. One day, he just started getting better, throwing harder, throwing faster. This earned him an invitation to join Waltham Baseball Academy as their rising star. Cal is fine with the pressure. He has his best bud, Luis to pitch to and loves the game; but with each win, rumors of scouts - not just college scouts, but pros - rise and his dad starts to get a little weird. He's more intense. He starts arguing with umpires and even Cal's coach.
This important story is told in multiple formats - texts, emails, transcripts of Cal's sessions with his guidance counselor and a trial, sports news articles and Cal's own free verse poetry. The reader's attention is grabbed by a news article about an umpire who was seriously injured after a disputed call, then flashes back. Cal is likable and relatable. He's a kid who has raw talent and a love of baseball. Unfortunately, expectations rise too high, too fast. This situation is so relatable in this day and age of focusing on one sport all-year-round in elite and expensive travel leagues. Instead of learning other sports at a recreational level, many student athletes are not developing well-rounded skills and may be asking too much of their growing bodies. I was totally drawn into this story from the first page and seriously did not expect to finish it in a puddle of tears.
On a personal note, when sons # 2, 3, and 4 were coming up, there were travel teams and rec teams and they were all on both for soccer, and just rec for basketball and baseball. They were better at soccer, but enjoyed the other sports. Then, came an elite travel soccer league and time got tight. Suddenly there was indoor soccer in the winter and spring soccer. They also attended music school and were good musicians. Oy.
Son #2 got to play at Carnegie Hall with his orchestra, but had to change into his baseball uniform in the car and rush to a game afterwards. Another time, there was a conflict with soccer that couldn't be resolved and my husband got mad and told me that he wasn't going to be Itzhak Perlman. When I relayed this message to his violin teacher, she responded with, "He's more likely to be Itzhak Perlman than Pele." This stuck with me. He's now a neurosurgeon who specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery. Sorry, proud mom moment.
The point is, it was getting out of hand almost thirty years ago and the pressure cooker has only gotten worse. Many of my former students were very busy with school teams, and elite teams and often had trouble getting homework done and sometimes even had trouble staying awake in class. And, this competitiveness is not just relegated to sports. Elite music students are often exhausted from hours of practice and music competitions.
So, this book hit home for me as a parent, and I'm sure it will resonate with student athletes. I have enjoyed Tommy Greenwald's books ever since a fifth grade teacher read Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to (Not) Reading to her class. I found out about the book because when her class came into the library for the first time and I asked what their favorite book was, most of them shouted that title. I was unfamiliar with it and they were more than happy to tell me all about it.
The Right Call hits a slightly older audience and it's part of a series of companion books called Game Changer. They are all told in multiple formats and explore the impact of high expectations and rising violence in sports. This might be Tommy Greenwald's best book yet.
The Right Call belongs in every school, classroom and public library.
