Although he's only just graduated from high school, 18-year-old Dean Duffy thinks of himself as a has-been. Mired in an inexplicable and frustrating two-year batting slump, he helplessly watches as a once-promising baseball career fizzles when he strikes out to end his senior season. With his baseball career now seemingly over, Dean settles into a series of odd jobs as he tries to puzzle out his future. However, when a longtime mentor arranges a baseball scholarship to a private college, he is forced to make an adult decision for the first time in his life. A favorite of teachers and librarians across the nation, author Randy Powell has the uncanny ability to capture the attention of teenagers and parents alike. Narrator Jeff Woodman enlivens this absorbing story with the emotions and enthusiasms only Dean Duffy feels.