Death on the Diamond

And it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game -- forever. The St. Louis Cardinals may be a hard-luck club rallying toward the pennant, but with a killer afoot, they're on a losing streak -- of lives! A brisk, well-played matchup of whodunit and national pastime, Death on the Diamond boasts a roster of all-stars who hit this improbable plot out of the park with humor and conviction. After batboy Mickey Rooney finds acid-laced gloves at spring training, suspects and targets mount all season long, compelling pitcher Robert Young -- himself a suspect despite dodging two assassination attempts -- to bring his A-game to catching the murderer. Is it a financier poised to snatch the franchise from its indebted owner, a gambling cartel angling to improve its odds, ex-players ejected in a betting scandal, Young's rival for club secretary, Madge Evans -- or someone else? With on-deck supporting pros Nat Pendleton, Ted Healy, Paul Kelly, Edward Brophy and blinkof-the-eye hotdog vendor Walter Brennan, Death on the Diamond swings for the fences and scores.