Washington Senators star Scotty MacKay is a left-handed pitcher whose fastball isn't what it used to be. His team is in last place. His girlfriend just got an acting job as a pitcher of Kool-Aid on a TV commercial. And if that isn't enough, he's just been teamed with a catcher he detests: Jason Cornell.

Jason is twenty-eight, has lots of teeth, and poses for underwear ads. He's blond and has blue eyes. Scotty's favorite color is blue...

By August, Scotty's got a major league problem on his hands.

Scotty Mackay knows how to throw a fastball. That pitch alone earned him two Cy Young awards for the Washington Senators, but now that he's turned 36, his pitching is starting to wane. What used to be a frightening pitch to batters has become old hat and easily hit. So his catcher suggests he tries some new pitches, like throwing a curveball, and against his own doubts, Scotty begins teaching himself the curveball. And lo' and behold, his once downward spiraling career makes a 180-degree turn. He begins winning games, surprising everyone including himself, and quickly gets the Senators on track to potentially win the pennant.

Then Scotty's longtime catcher is injured, and the Senators make a trade for a catcher from Cleveland, someone that Scotty detests: Jason Cornell. Cornell is the pretty boy, posing for underwear ads and making all the ladies swoon. And those eyes.... Scotty does everything he can to make Jason's life miserable but soon comes to a serious conclusion -- that he may be falling for the new catcher.

"Changing Pitches" is a fun and funny baseball novel, giving insight into the inner workings of the locker room and what really goes on during those discussions on the pitcher's mound. Told through journal entries, newspaper clippings, snippets of conversations (from the pitcher's mound), and interviews, author Steve Kluger manages to throw a little potential gay romance into the baseball mix without taking away from the baseball aspect. So while Scotty tries to figure out whether or not he truly is falling in love, he still helps the Senators keep inching closer and closer to that pennant. It's a fun read that even a diehard baseball fan would enjoy. ( )

This was a cute story. I read it because I've read two of his other books. I thought it would be like the Dreyfus Affair, but thankfully it was very different. ( )