The Art of Fielding Chapter 5 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Six weeks later, the Harpooners are on their way to play ball in Florida.
  • The freshpersons warm the bench, and Owen reads a book while everyone else plays.
  • The Harpooners win their first game, making their season record 1-0, "undefeated" (5.42).
  • Then they lose their next five games. Oh well, you win some, you lose some… well, this team loses most.
  • Mike Schwartz is sick of losing, and he's sick of what a bad shortstop Lev Tennant is, so he starts a fight with him, getting them both suspended.
  • This means Henry gets to take Tennant's place.
  • They lose that game, but they win the next, making their record in Florida 2-9, enough for the Harpooners to be optimistic.
  • Then, in the span of three pages, we skip to Henry's junior year of baseball. Henry has bulked up, the team is doing much better (10-2), and Henry might even be a Major League prospect.