Baseball Heroes is the first book in the new middle grade nonfiction series Good Sports, about the inspiring life stories of major league athletes who have overcome obstacles in the course of their life and careers.   Each book tells the stories of athletes who have encountered and overcome significant obstacles, and whose story exempifies character and nerve in the face of adversity.  Baseball Heroes highlights players who were among the first to break through barriers of race, ethnicity and even sex in order to play professional baseball. Subjects include Jackie Robinson, Hank Greenburg, Fernando Valenzuela, and Ila Borders. These true stories from sports history show how four trailblazers changed the game forever. Breaking the Color Line: Follow Jackie Robinson as he endures racist taunts and proves he belongs, changing the face of the major leagues with his courage and talent. - Fighting Prejudice: Discover the story of Hank Greenberg, one of the first Jewish superstars, who battled vicious slurs on the field to become a Hall of Famer. - Sparking Fernandomania: Meet Fernando Valenzuela, the young pitcher from Mexico whose incredible rookie season brought a new generation of Latino fans to the ballpark. - A Woman in the Game: Learn about Ila Borders, the trailblazing pitcher who became the first woman to play and win in men’s professional baseball. Prolific sports writer Stout starts off his new series for middle-grade readers, Good Sports, with this strong title that focuses on the careers of four trailblazing ballplayers: Hank Greenburg, Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela, and Ila Borders. Each athlete was devoted to the game of baseball, and as a result, advanced not only the rights of minorities and women but also helped to make baseball a game for everyone. Stout writes with conviction and does not sugarcoat the hateful, sometimes racially motivated comments these players endured. He highlights pivotal moments in each athlete’s life, showing that their barrier breaking did not happen in a vacuum but grew from previous experiences, such as Robinson’s distinguished military career and Borders’ childhood Little League games, during which she was heckled by her competitors’ parents. Stout’s action-packed, suspenseful descriptions of milestone games will easily draw young people’s interest, and an author’s note, sources for further reading, and career statistics for each of the players round out this well-paced book. Give this to fans of Matt Christopher, Mike Lupica, and Dan Gutman. Grades 3-6. --Kara Dean My goal for the "Good Sports" series is to provide interesting and compelling stories of athletes that reflect positive values and life lessons young people can use on and off the field, and to motivate young people to read and write, which I believe can be life changing experiences; I know there were for me.  There is no doubt that reading is the best way for a young person to learn to write well, and that the experience of writing also teaches one how to think and learn. I created the Good Sports series based on feedback I received from hundreds of young people, teachers and parents during school visits over the last decade, an experience I enjoy and hope to continue.  On these visits I learned that young readers want books about sports with plenty of action that also tell stories that have meaning to their lives and experience.  Parents want books they can feel good about giving their child, and teachers want books that can motivate children who are otherwise uninterested in reading to pick up a book and expand their world.  As a writer, there is nothing more gratifying than having a teacher tell me that my books have inspired a non-reader not only to read one of my books, but to ask for another book to read.  Each minute a child spends reading is one minute he or she is building toward a positive future. The next two Good Sports titles are "Yes She Can! Women's Sports Pioneers," and "Soldier Athletes: Doing Their Duty."  I look forward to hearing from teachers, parents and especially my readers. GLENN STOUT is the author of Young Woman and the Sea, Red Sox Century, Yankees Century, The Dodgers, and The Cubs. He has been the editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception.  Fenway 1912 ,  an account of Fenway Park's first season, will appear in 2011.  His next "Good Sports" title will be Yes She Can: Pioneers in Women's Sports.  Introduction Baseball has long been known as the national pastime, a game for all Americans. Unfortunately, for many years this simply was not true. Not everyone has always been welcome at the ballpark. At various times professional baseball has either banned certain groups of people from playing or made it very, very difficult for them to play. And although America is a diverse country with people of many different ethnic backgrounds, until very recently the stands at major league ballparks have not looked like America. Baseba