"Pinch Hitting takes its place in the dugout alongside Bernard Malamud's The Natural as a timeless baseball fable, shot through with wonder." -Daniel Paisner, author of Balloon Dog, A Single Happened Thing, and The Complete Game (with Ron Darling)

Joe Skelton has never written anything longer than a shopping list, but now his brain tumor is making him write a novel. It's a baseball novel about a crippled janitor who cleans up at a forgotten minor league field, and who is accidentally discovered to be a perfect never-misses hitter. Will Joe die before we find out whether the Joltin' Janitor makes it to the big leagues? An imagined Roger Angell leads an unforgettable ensemble of quirky characters on a gentle and poignant race to discover the meaning of baseball, fate, will, and chance.