jemsdal publishing

The Arkansas Connection

Frank Munro, manager of the New York Mets, leads a turbulent life trying to win with a team of mostly dysfunctional underachievers. Soon after the Mets lose the final game of the season in spectacular fashion, Frank hears of his mother’s death back in Catsville, Arkansas, and must return there for her funeral. His attempt to give her remains a grand send-off results in mayhem, and out of pity his mother’s old friend Alice invites him to a “tea party.” There he provides a play-by-play of the Mets’ latest game to Alice and her three friends, a difficult task considering the “tea” is actually moonshine. Frank manages to survive the evening slightly worse for the wear, and returns to New York to find the team's owner has decided to give him one more chance.

 
Meanwhile, Bobby Sherward, the player (who happens to have a medical license) responsible for the Mets’ latest defeat, recovers from his ball-inflicted concussion and decides that his future is in medicine, not baseball. He takes a position at a veteran’s hospital in Arkansas. Upon arrival, he is amazed to discover he has chosen a hospital within spitting distance of Frank’s hometown. And that’s not the only unsettling coincidence Bobby must contend with, for it soon becomes apparent that Broken Arrow Memorial is the medical equivalent of the Mets. Run by a dictatorial and psychotic medical director, Ulysses Grant, the hospital is the home of indifferent or incompetent doctors, electro-convulsed patients, and assorted weird experiments.

Bobby soon has enough, but before he leaves town he encounters a remarkable young sandlot baseball player, Jonathon Brown. Besides being a phenom on the field, Jonathon is also a mathematical genius who runs a highly successful investment group. Bobby manages to convince Jonathon to try out for the Mets, and his incredible skills both on the field and in finance bring him and the team fame and prosperity. They also raise the ire of the brokerage firm losing their professional athelete customers to this new financial advisor. As a result, the head broker makes plans to “eliminate” the new competition. Will Jonathon survive his trip up to the Big Leagues, and complete the Arkansas Connection?