The Catcher's Mask (Peach Street Mudders Series) Book

Mudders' catcher Rudy Calhoun is having a bad season behind the plate until, at a yard sale, he buys a used catcher's mask that greatly improves his playing.

Children's Literature

Rudy is suffering an off season in the position of catcher for the Peach Street Mudders. Every day he has to listen to the taunts of his teammates as they comment on his mistakes. Rudy believes that not having his own catcher's mask is at the root of his troubles. On the way home from another miserable practice, he notices that the Turnbulls are having a yard sale, and he stops to see what they have. An old catcher's mask catches his eye, and when he tries it on, it's a perfect fit. Mr. Turnbull points out the initials, Y.B., on the mask, telling Rudy that he doesn't remember who carved them into the mask. Then Mr. Turnbull adds a book about baseball to Rudy's purchase, and Rudy hurries home. When he reads the book, he learns that one of the characters in it is Yogi Berra. Believing that the mask also belong to Yogi Berra, Rudy hurries to practice the next morning, certain that the mask of a Hall-of-Famer will bring him good luck. The rest of the story entertains as it teaches a lesson about believing in oneself.