In The Young Pitcher, high school senior Ken Ward is on top of the world--he's popular, a somebody. But as a freshman at Wayne University, Ken quickly discovers he's a nobody who's treated like dirt by upperclassmen. When Ken can't stand the harassment anymore, he bursts out of his gloom by slugging a sophomore bully--who turns out to be captain of the varsity baseball team. It looks as if Ken's dream of making that team has gone down the drain... until in a moment of wild excitement he proves himself with, of all things, a potato! And Ken keeps on proving himself until the last out of a heart-pounding league championship game.
Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 October 23, 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book.