The Adventures of Slugger McBatt (Unabridged‪)‬

Probably no one uses baseball as metaphor better than Kinsella. The stories in this collection range in tone from zaniness to pathos. It's hard to choose a favorite story: maybe the bizarre "Reports Concerning the Death of the Seattle Albatross Are Somewhat Exaggerated", about a mascot from outer space who really looks like a bird. Or the title story, about childhood innocence violated. Or the touching "Valley of the Schmoon", told by a man who has lost everything without having the faintest idea why. Or "K-Mart", about the betrayals and losses in growing up, trying to restore life as it should be and was in boyhood baseball days.