Billy Baggs Trilogy: Striking Out

When the older brother is killed in a tractor accident, the Baggs family has to find ways to go on. They set off in their own directions. Mother decides to buy a typewriter and get a job. She chooses to "strike out" in a new direction. Father just wants to give up. The younger brother goes into town one day and picks up a loose baseball, and when he throws it back to the team who lost it, he discovers he has quite a throwing arm. Father and son struggle. They meet another father and son who are struggling in their own way. This is the first in a heartwarming series, followed by Farm Team and Hard Ball. Great father/son books. Not for the youngest in the crowd - there's talk of a rape.