"For the Love of the Game" by Jessica Mullino

Jessica Mullino's "For the Love of the Game" is a story about a young woman who wants to meet the father who was never in her life. The major conflict of the story comes when she attends a baseball game in order to try to meet him, but doesn't see him during the game or after. The conflict is quickly resolved, however, when the narrator finds a note from her father on her car, promising to meet in the near future.

The detail and imagery in this piece was very strong, especially in the opening scene with the baseball game. The level of attention to little pieces of imagery, such as the way the red dirt clung to the umpire's clothes, the hole in Joel Johnson's shoe, and the way the scouts sat behind home plate with their "guns" and their expectations all worked together to set up the scene and mood. There was no need to tell the reader what was going on, because there was enough detail to show  what was important instead.

There were a few inconsistencies that I thought could be fixed to make the story stronger. First, how did the narrator's mother get in contact with Johnson to let him know that Lindsey was coming? The note Johnson left his daughter suggest familiarity with Lindsey's mother; sure they had been in a relationship at one point, but that had been sixteen years prior. If she was in contact with him while their daughter was growing up, would he not have come to meet her at some point? He said that he loved her without knowing her, so I feel like he would have at least wanted to see his child at some point during her life. Another thing I thought was inconsistent was the fact that Lindsey didn't know that Johnson's shoulder was bad -- she watches an old tape of her father almost religiously, and plays softball herself. If she was going to make an effort to see him, I feel like Lindsey would have done her research and known her father wasn't playing due to his "situation."