P. Edmund Fischetti

Big Train's Backyard P. Edmund Fischetti

Alex Santucci is a 14-year veteran, former All-Star 3rd baseman for the Kansas City Crowns. The slugger has spent his entire Baseball career playing in the Midwest and is in the last year of a 6-year, $55 million contract. Just before the All-Star break, rumors start about Alex being traded to the Washington Presidents after their Superstar infielder Bruce Hammersly goes down with an injury. Alex grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC and lived on Johnson Avenue, a couple of Backyards from the house of his baseball idol, Walter Johnson, "The Big Train". Ironically, his emotional world changes when his team Doctor introduces a new pain medication. He decides to take his girlfriend of five years, Sally Keegan PhD, an Associate Professor at nearby Park University, home to Bethesda during the four day All-Star break. Physically Alex finds his power stroke and becomes Baseball's hottest hitter. As his feelings for Sally reach new heights, Alex starts to come to grips with many new emotions about his past family history. As the trade deadline approaches, the young Kansas City Crowns are surging towards first place. Crowns owner Larry Garson, who treats Alex as a son he never had, refuses to consider trading him and his big contract. Crowns General Manager Frank Fellows knows that he could use the ten million in savings for veteran pitching talent and young prospects in a trade for Santucci. Will Alex's future be now in Kansas City or will his destiny be fulfilled in "Big Train's Backyard" of Washington DC!