Synopsis/blurb….
Right around the turn
of the century, Otto Penzler invited me to write a story with a baseball theme
for an anthology, MURDERER'S ROW. I agreed, wrote a story which I called ALMOST
PERFECT, and did as I always did—sent it first to Alice K. Turner, fiction
editor at Playboy. If she passed on it, I intended to send it to Otto...but
Alice crossed me up by buying it, and so I had to pass the news (good for me,
bad for him) to Otto.
"Oh," he
said. "Well, can you write another baseball story for me?" I replied
that I'd love to, but I really didn't have a viable idea for one. Long pause.
"Well, that's never stopped you in the past."
And a day later I had
an idea, and some days after that I sent in KELLER'S DESIGNATED HITTER, which
appeared in due course in MURDERER'S ROW and was later subsumed into HIT
PARADE, third of the Keller episodic novels.
This is its first
publication as an eStory for Kindle. I've always liked it, and I'm grateful to
the two people to whom it owes its existence: to the late and much-missed Alice
Turner, who snatched ALMOST PERFECT off the table, and to Otto Penzler, who's
always known better than to take no for an answer.
Keller’s Designated Hitter sees the return of my favourite
hitman in the seventh of ten individually released episodes.
I do like a sporting theme as a backdrop to a bit of
criminal enterprise, though I doubt baseball would be my first pick as a
scenario. I understand the gist of the game and the object of the exercise, but
the subtleties and nuances escape me………inside pitches, walk him intentionally,
a .320 hitter to get at a .280 hitter……..all went straight over my head.
What I did get was a feel for the event and the worldwide
camaraderie that seems to exist at sporting occasions where complete strangers
strike up conversations during the event, only to part and very likely never
see each other again.
Keller’s contract is on a baseball player and said baseball
player is approaching several milestones in a hitter’s career – 400 home runs
and 3000 hits. Does Keller get impatient to get the job done or does he kick
back take in a few ball games and let the man reach his milestones before doing
the deed.
Mr Block delivers again.
4 from 5
Read in February, 2018
Published - 2001
Page count - 33
Source - Kindle Unlimited
Format - Kindle
Block's the sort of storyteller, I think, who can draw the reader into any sort of context, even one that the reader isn't as familiar with. Glad you enjoyed this one, Col.
ReplyDeleteMargot, I did enjoy it, but it's not my favourite backdrop for a story.
DeleteLove Keller (thanks to you) but never too sure about baseball... We'll see.
ReplyDeleteGot to be honest, baseball in crime ficrion isn't a big draw for me, but.....
Delete