43 pages • 1 hour read
Dan GutmanHonus and Me
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 12-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary: “The Designated Hitter”
Honus Wagner steps up to the plate, looking confident but not cocky. Joe studies his stance and technique, impressed. The Pirates take the lead as the game progresses, and the crowd roars for Ty Cobb to mount a comeback. Joe notes Cobb’s intensity: “He had the weight of all Detroit on his shoulders. But like any great hitter, he was able to channel his aggression into the task at hand” (63). Cobb taunts Honus, warning him to watch out. Honus responds that he’ll be waiting.
Joe notices Honus pat his right shoulder with his left hand—the signal. Joe heads to the tunnel behind the Pittsburgh bench, where Honus reveals a deep gash on his hand from catching one of Cobb’s spikes. He is unable to hold a bat, and needs Joe to step in as his designated hitter. Joe is stunned. Honus, however, reassures him: “It’s a simple game […] You catch the ball and throw it where it’s supposed to go. You hit the ball and run like hell. There ain’t much to bein’ a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer. And you’re a ballplayer. Now it’s time for you to prove it to yourself” (66).
Putting on Honus’s uniform, Joe steps out from the Pittsburgh bench, pulling the cap low over his eyes. As he walks toward the plate, Cobb mocks him, calling him “elephant ears.” This time, the insult doesn’t bother him. Joe swings and hits the ball, sending it flying. He sprints, making it to one base, then another, and finally decides to push for home. His teammates pound him on the back, cheering.
Afterward, Joe sneaks back to the tunnel where Honus is waiting. Honus tells him he knew he could do it, and that the Pirates, safely leading 7—0, can manage the rest of the game. They swap uniforms again, and Honus returns to the field.
Chapter 13 Summary: “The Other Half”
Joe watches from the stands as the Pirates secure their first World Series win. Joe follows Honus to the clubhouse, where the players are celebrating. Honus hugs Joe, thanking him for his help and telling him he now has all the tools to be a great ballplayer. He shares his plans to donate his winner’s share to a Pittsburgh boys’ home: “I got a roof over my head […] The boys need it more than me. I know what it’s like to be poor” (74).
Honus leads Joe to his locker, saying he has something for him. While rummaging through bats, gloves, and clothes, Joe’s attention is caught by a photo taped to the locker door. It’s a picture of a young woman, with long hair, standing in a garden. The photo has a jagged rip on one side. Joe is stunned as he realizes it’s the missing half of the photograph Miss Young gave him when he cleaned out her attic.
Joe asks Honus about the woman in the photo. Honus explains that she was his girlfriend, Amanda Young. When he left for Pittsburgh, they promised to marry when he returned. She tore the photo in half, saying they’d tape it back together when he came back. But he never returned, having heard rumors that another man was courting her.
Joe reveals that Amanda lives next door to him, never married, and still remembers Honus. He shows him the half of the photo Miss Young gave him. Honus is stunned. He then gives Joe 12 Honus Wagner T-206 baseball cards. Joe is overjoyed: each is worth a fortune. However, teammate Fred Clarke snatches the cards and rips them to pieces, laughing. Joe reassures himself that he still has the one original card and prepares to return to his own time. Before Joe leaves, Honus asks what the future holds for him. Joe tells him about his eventual retirement and even the year of his death. Honus asks Joe to send his love to Amanda Young.
Back at his hotel, Joe tries to use his remaining Honus Wagner card to return to his time, but the magic doesn’t work. He realizes the card is from 1909—he needs a modern card to travel to the future. He remembers that he keeps a baseball card in his shoe to patch a hole, and pulls out a Craig Grebeck card. Holding it, he thinks: “I wish I was a boy again” (76). He feels the familiar tingling and loses consciousness.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Pros and Cons”
Joe wakes up in his bed and prepares for school. His mom shares something important with him: “I thought it over and decided it was wrong to tell you to return your baseball card to Miss Young. I think you’re old enough to make that decision yourself” (78). Joe is surprised by her change of heart. At school, Joe can’t stop thinking about the card. If he sells it, like his dad wants, he’d have a lot of money, but would feel guilty. If he gives it back to Miss Young, he’d feel good about doing the right thing, but wouldn’t have any cash. Keeping it without selling it would mean no money, but he’d be able to visit Honus again in the past. To figure it out, Joe draws a line down the middle of a sheet of paper, making a list of pros and cons.
His teacher notices and picks up his notebook. Under “pros,” Joe has written things like “new house, college, new car,” and under “cons,” it says, “it’s wrong.” The teacher tells Joe that real life isn’t as simple as adding up two columns: “It would be wonderful if real life was as simple as mathematics, Joe, but unfortunately it isn’t” (80). She suggests that when making tough decisions, he should think about the person he respects most and ask what they would do. On his bike ride home, Joe thinks about people he admires. His mind immediately goes to Honus Wagner. With that, Joe decides he will give the card back to Miss Young.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Going… Going… Gone”
When Joe gets home, he finds the door unlocked and assumes his mom forgot to close it when she left for work. But something feels wrong. When he enters his room, he notices every drawer has been opened and emptied onto the floor. His room is the only one that has been disturbed. Nothing seems to be missing, but it’s clear someone was looking for the Honus Wagner card.
Joe checks his backpack and finds the card. He puts it into his wallet and hides it in his back pocket. Outside, Joe finds Birdie Farrell waiting for him. Birdie asks where the card is, and Joe lies, saying he put it in a safe place. Birdie explains that he once owned a Honus Wagner card, and that it disappeared from his store one day after he left for lunch. He accuses Joe of taking it. Birdie grabs Joe’s arm and spins him around, finding the card in Joe’s back pocket. Suddenly, Miss Young appears, pointing an old rifle at Birdie’s head. She orders him to drop the card. Birdie does, and when she sees it, she is shocked: “You’re fighting over a stupid baseball card?!” (84). Joe explains the card’s value and how he found it. Miss Young rips the card in half, and Birdie drops to his knees, devastated.
Joe helps Miss Young back home and decides to tell her everything: how he traveled through time and met Honus Wagner in 1909. She doesn’t believe him at first, but when he shows her the torn photo from Honus’s locker, she is stunned. Joe gets an idea: perhaps he can use the ripped-up card to send Miss Young back to the past. He holds the pieces of the card between their palms, closes his eyes, and wishes for her to go back to 1909. Slowly, Miss Young begins to transform: “She was turning into a young woman before my eyes. A beautiful young woman, the young woman in the photo” (85). Within moments, she fades away, disappearing completely.
Chapter 16 Summary: “On My Own”
Joe plays in his final Little League game against the Panthers. Someone makes fun of him, calling him “Dumbo,” but Joe just laughs. He feels calm as he settles in the batter’s box. He earns third base, much to everyone’s surprise. He thinks: “Too bad Honus can’t see me now” (87).
Chapter 17 Summary: “Hmmmm, I Wonder…”
Six months have passed, and rumors about Amanda Young’s disappearance are still spreading in town. Some say she had a hidden fortune and was kidnapped for it. Others claim she was a witch. The police even searched the nearby lake for her body. Joe felt bad that Miss Young tore up the Honus Wagner card, and he stopped collecting cards for a while. But eventually, he got over it and began visiting baseball card stores again.
One day, while browsing at a shop called Sport Card City, Joe overhears two men arguing about Babe Ruth and a mysterious incident during the 1932 World Series: The people who were there that day are all dead now. It’s baseball’s biggest mystery” (89). Joe asks the store owner if he has a 1932 Babe Ruth card. The owner hands him the card, and as Joe holds it, he suddenly feels a powerful tingling sensation all over his body.
Chapters 12-17 Analysis
These chapters continue to explore The Role of Sports in Shaping Personal and Societal Identity. Joe’s character undergoes significant growth, particularly in terms of his confidence and morality. At the beginning of Chapter 12, he is still uncertain of his place in the world. When Honus Wagner asks him to be his designated hitter, Joe initially doubts his abilities. However, the experience on the field proves to him that he is capable of much more than he believed. Joe’s growing athletic abilities help him see himself in a new light.
As the story progresses, Joe’s growth continues. In Chapter 14, Joe faces a moral dilemma about what to do with the valuable Honus Wagner card, torn between the potential financial gain from selling the card and his sense of right and wrong. Joe’s teacher advises him that real life isn’t as simple as adding up pros and cons, and this guidance helps Joe come to a decision. Eventually, he chooses to do the right thing by returning the card to Miss Young. This decision represents a major moment in Joe’s character development: he has embraced The Importance of Honesty and Integrity over material gain. He has also overcome his self-consciousness about his appearance and what others think of him. In Chapter 16, when Joe plays baseball, he is self-assured and no longer affected by people’s mockery. This demonstrates how much he has changed throughout the course of the novel.
These chapters continue to underscore the value of mentorship. Wagner plays a crucial role in Joe’s growth. Honus not only believes in Joe’s potential, but gives him the opportunity to prove himself as a player, asking him to play in his stead. His words of encouragement—“you’re a ballplayer. Now it’s time for you to prove it to yourself” (66)—helps Joe realize his worth. Honus represents not just the ideal of the ballplayer but an ideal of personal integrity. For instance, he donates his winnings to a boys’ home, saying: “It feels so good when I do somethin’ nice for somebody” (74). His actions show Joe what true generosity and selflessness look like. In Chapter 14, when Joe is struggling with what to do about the card, he reflects on what Honus would do and ultimately decides to return it. Honus’s influence is a guiding light for Joe.
The conflict with Birdie creates suspense, shifting the tone to one of danger. Birdie is established as a villain as he tries to steal the Honus Wagner card and claim it as his own. He is also a foil, or a character who illuminates other characters through contrasting qualities. Birdie represents greed and selfishness, while Joe’s mother, Joe, and Honus represent integrity.
These chapters also continue to explore The Value of History and Tradition. Joe’s journey through time offers him insights into the past, giving him a deeper understanding of baseball and its customs. The historical photos of Wagner and the newspaper clippings scattered throughout the novel add a sense of verisimilitude, or authenticity. The revelation that Amanda Young is Honus’s ex-girlfriend deepens the connection between past and present. When Miss Young is sent back in time to reconnect with Honus, the narrative highlights the idea that history is something that can be revisited or altered.
The novel ends with Joe traveling again, which opens the door to more adventures and sequels, suggesting that his journey is far from over. This keeps the narrative open, and implies that Joe is on a path of continual self-discovery. His travels through time suggest that there are still lessons to be learned.
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