The Big Field

The Big Field


Mike Lupica’s, The Big Field, is a 243 page book about a young shortstop nicknamed Hutch. Hutch plays shortstop on the baseball diamond until a better shortstop, Daryll, comes along and Hutch is forced to move to second base. He envies the new shortstop who is always boastful, and they eventually get into a fight because Hutch sees his dad practicing with the new shortstop, and he feels that his dad hates baseball because he wasn’t good enough unless he is practicing with Daryll. All this, however, is resolved in part because the two teammates put aside their trivial differences so they can win the championship at the big field. The strength of this book is achieved by the realistic emotions felt by both the protagonists and antagonists that remind us of natural behavior or feelings.

The strength of this book is the power of its realism which is represented through many examples. One example is that Daryll does not have a father so he feels jealous of Hutch when he takes him for granted. Another example is Hutch’s feelings of anger towards his father because he chose not to help him but Daryll and he isn’t even his own son. And a third example exists when Hutch feels ashamed of his dad because he has to drive people around or carry their golf bags or even work at Hutch’s school’s snack bar for a living,but there is some twist when his dad shows Hutch where he works Hutch finnaly respects him more and Daryll bonding with Hutch slowly over time, and Hutch and his dad celebrating after they win the championship game Hutch and his family aren't stressed and feel like a real family. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves baseball or a good triumph story.