On February 7, 1936, two of the greatest players in baseball history met at a game in Oakland, California. Satchel Paige was a veteran of the Negro Leagues, but everyone knew he was the most talented player in any league. In fact, the game had been arranged to test out a potential new player for the Yankees: a kid named Joe DiMaggio. Could Joe get a hit off one of Satchel's pitches? As the all-Black Satchel Paige All-Stars played the all-white Dick Bartell All-Stars, Joe and Satchel faced off four times, with Satch on the mound and Joe at bat. A lively and dramatic account of the game and those encounters is the focus of a picture book that also underscores the respect that major league players and scouts had for Paige's talent, and the racism that kept him from the major leagues for another twelve years. (Ages 6-9)

In 1936, the New York Yankees wanted to test a hot prospect named Joe DiMaggio to see if he was ready for the big leagues. They knew just the ballplayer to call—Satchel Paige, the best pitcher anywhere, black or white.
For the game, Paige joined a group of amateur African American players, and they faced off against a team of white major leaguers plus young DiMaggio. The odds were stacked against the less-experienced black team. But Paige's skillful batting and amazing pitching—with his "trouble ball" and "bat dodger"— kept the game close.
Would the rookie DiMaggio prove himself as major league player? Or would Paige once again prove his greatness—and the injustice of segregated baseball?