Paul Elias had a future as a pro ballplayer -- at least until they sent him to Afghanistan. Now, he had to find a new way to make his mark in the world. But he would have good help.
Size: 247 KB (44,940 words)
Genre: Erotica
Sex Contents: Much Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, Consensual, Romantic, Heterosexual
Review by Quasirandom [other reviews by Quasirandom]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
Standard disclaimer: I don’t like baseball, but I enjoy Tony Stevens’ baseball stories. (The other author who can do this is Mitsuru Adachi.) His ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ series is Great Stuff, especially if you’re looking for straightforward romances with young adults where it just so happens at least one partner is involved with the game.
This story is installment #6, but that number means little — the series has something of an overall arc, but each story stands alone and can be read in any order. You can also read it knowing little to nothing about baseball — the sport is important in the story only because it’s important to the characters, and the emotional significance of sportsball events is always made clear.
That said, this one doesn’t actually have a baseball player at its center — he’s a former pro who lost a foot serving in Afghanistan. He hadn’t made it to the big leagues yet, and now there’s no way he can. He still loves the game, though, and spends most of the story looking for what comes next.
Well, okay, that’s not really true — or true only in hindsight. He spends most of the story coming to terms with his rehabilitation and coping with an artificial foot, and with his growing relationship with attractive law student Lois, either one of which would pre-occupy most people.
A solid story, well told, and a beautiful relationship. If the playing-baseball aspects of Stevens’ stories put you off despite the story qualities, try this one.
Oh, and one final note: this story is Premium, which makes it one more reason to support this site by getting a Premier membership.
Review by bill9900 [other reviews by bill9900]
Reviewed:
While checking "Random Stories from the Archives" the other day, this story popped up and caught my attention.
I've read all of Tony Stevens' "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" stories over the years, but had never written a review of one. So this review is LONG overdue!
Tony writes knowledgeably about baseball, particularly the Orioles, but I find that the real interest for me is the relationships he creates between his characters. They're always believable, with a good dose of real-life human behavior - a real pleasure to read.
This story, "Two Strikes", was the sixth in the series (a total of 18). If you'd like to read a really good series of stories by a talented author, with many of the characters having cameo appearances in each other's stories, you'll enjoy these.
Tony hasn't published anything here at SOL since 2016, but I like to think he's still writing and will entertain us yet again with one of his tales. At any rate, I hope he is.
Review by The Old Fart [other reviews by The Old Fart]
Reviewed:
I love Tony Stevens' Take Me Out to the Ballpark series. The various relationships between the team members and their women makes for great reading.
'Two Strikes' is radically different. No ballplayer trying to show what he can do on the field, trying to beat the odds. But yet...
Two Strikes is about a minor league player who would have been one of the greats if he hadn't stepped on a mine in Afghanistan. His legs are amputated so high above the knee that the therapists are worried about his ability to use the artificial legs they build for him. Like the heroes in all the other ballpark stories, baseball is Paul's life. But he doesn't have the experience to even think about becoming a coach, much less his dream, a manager.
There's a woman in the story and she's a major part of it. There's sex, but it's a story of love. And courage. And determination. You'll enjoy this story.
