Guide to Baseball Short Stories: L

Lane, Kathryn. "Baseball over the Moon." SWIRL, 2010. Repr. Moreira. Girl worries that the arrival of a baby brother will stop her father from playing baseball with her.

Lardner, Ring has his own page in the Guide.

Leonard, Elmore. "Chickasaw Charlie Hoke." (2001). In Penzler. Affable ex-minor-leaguer must land a job as a casino greeter.

Lescroart, John. "Sacrifice Hit." (2001). In Penzler. Police chief and his new girlfriend solve the murder of an inept youth-league player who stands between an obsessed coach and a trip to Williamsport.

Leslie, Nathan. "The Pinch Hitter." Slow Trains 3.3 (Winter 2003-04). Prose-poem-like vignette about a veteran batsman.

Leto, Julie Elizabeth, Kimberly Raye, and Leslie Kelly. Boys of Summer. Toronto: Harlequin, 2006. Three linked erotic stories.

Mild for erotica, steamy for romance, these three stories follow a trio of women associated with a baseball club through their involvement with various ballplayers and coaches. Leto's story is called "Fever Pitch," Raye's is "The Sweet Spot," and Kelly's is "Sliding Home."

Levine, Stuart. See O'Brien Córdoba.

Lewis, Valerie. "Giambi." Slow Trains 8.2 (2008). Met fan, suffering from depression, learns that his girlfriend's computer password is the name of the Yankee first baseman.

"Baseball is the opposite of clinical depression," says the narrator. "Baseball has numbers, statistics, scores, rivalries, fights, rumors, trades, drug scandals, and a hundred other things that distract you from the fact that you can't stand waking up in the morning and you genuinely don't want to live anymore."

Lippman, Laura. "Ropa Vieja." (2001). In Penzler. A private eye must find out who's poisoned an Oriole pitcher's portion of the title treat.

Livengood, William P. "The Rookie Pitcher." Sport Story Magazine 11.6 (22 May 1926): 107-115. The title character, Frank "Bank" Teller – on whose success a vital operation for his younger sister hinges – becomes a pawn in a power struggle between a stubborn manager and a gambling sportswriter.

Lowry, Robert. "Little Baseball World." Mademoiselle (1946). Repr. Lewis. A woman who has become a die-hard Reds' fan by listening to radio broadcasts gets the chance at last to see her idols play in person.

Very interesting story about the power of radio and the imagination. Deserves another reprinting; it's little-known.

Lupica, Mike. "The Shot." (2001). In Penzler. Branca-like pitcher buys a gun; is the Thomson-like slugger in his sights?