1st Inning: Manhattan, 1845

Felix Schneider loves baseball. An immigrant from Germany, he finds himself amidst a huge urban fire; flames engulf entire street blocks.

2nd Inning: Northern Virginia, 1864

Louis Schneider, a baseball lovel, ends up as a soldier in the Civil War.

3rd Inning: Brooklyn, 1894

Arnold Schneider meets up with King Kelly, a New York Giants player.

4th Inning: Coney Island, 1908

Walter's father changes their name to Snider to make it more Americanized. Walter does not agree with the change.

5th Inning: Brooklyn, 1926

Frances (aka "Frankie") notices that all the talk is about playing the numbers and winning at gambling,

6th Inning: Fort Wayne, IN, 1945

Kat (Katherine) is a player on the Grand Rapids Chick softball team. To her, this is the best thing since sliced bread.

7th Inning: Brooklyn, 1957

Jimmy Flint and his classmates are taught how to hide under their desks in case atomic bombs are dropped on them.

8th Inning: Brooklyn, 1981

Michael Flint learns to throw a curveball with a family baseball that has passed through the generations.

9th Inning: Brooklyn, 2002

Snider Flint uses the internet to research the value of certain baseballs.

The Brooklyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings by Alan Gratz, 2009

I thought it was interesting that the novel spans the years of 1845 to 2002, but some of the adventures of the baseball-loving kids are a bit unrealistic.

• Books about baseball
• Alan Gratz's web site