A boy becomes a phenomenal baseball player one summer when a mysterious stranger resembling Babe Ruth befriends him.

Long practice improves Mel's value as a basketball player, but he finds it difficult to surmount the prejudice of Caskie Bennett, the basketball team's star player and Mel's new neighbor.

Daren's tendency to blame everyone but himself when anything goes wrong causes problems with his best friend, with a young neighbor who idolizes him, and with one of his basketball teammates.

Rusty Young wants to play basketball in the summer league, but his parents object because Rusty has been diagnosed with diabetes. That is only one of the obstacles Rusty has to overcome before he can join the team.

Already troubled by his parent's divorce, Bobby Canfield is further distressed when he learns that his father, who has coached him in running bases, intends to move away.