Jeremiah observes Walt and Dr. Dugan growing closer. He feels uncomfortable about their relationship and cannot bring himself to call Dr. Dugan by her first name, Sarah. Walt tests a gray SARB that functions well until Jeremiah pretends to be injured, causing it to shut down. Walt compares the robot’s malfunction to his own hesitation about something important and makes a private phone call in his room.

Jeremiah applies sports psychology to help Alvin overcome his tendency to choke in the outfield. He teaches Alvin to focus by telling himself he will catch the ball and not collide with his brothers. Following this advice, Alvin successfully catches three of four pop flies. When he misses the fourth, he admits he failed to tell himself he could catch it. Alvin starts calling Jeremiah “Coach.”

The Eagles gain a positive reputation in Hillcrest for their sportsmanship and love of the game. The Brownie Bakery displays a support sign, and the Hillcrest Senior Citizens Center sends a bus to watch practice. These seniors offer loud opinions during practice. Mr. Hazard performs in his eagle costume for the elderly attendees.

However, when the team celebrates their improvement at Junk Ball pizza parlor, Chip Gunther, owner of a local sports shop, sits at a nearby table and loudly mocks them as “turkeys” (238). Donald recalls Walt’s advice to ignore junk, but Jeremiah decides to confront Gunther. He approaches the table and reminds Gunther of his role in hiring Coach Perkins, stating that Gunther does not know the difference between a turkey and an eagle. The team gathers behind Jeremiah as he demands Gunther never call them turkeys again, explaining they work hard and play fair. Some restaurant patrons applaud, but Gunther storms out, and a waitress warns them not to cause more trouble. The Eagles lose their appetites but leave feeling united.

Jeremiah tells Walt about confronting Chip Gunther. Walt warns that a man like Gunther might not let the issue go. Gunther complains to El Grande about Jeremiah’s disrespect, but El Grande supports Jeremiah’s actions and predicts the matter will soon fade.

Meanwhile, the Eagles prepare to face St. Peter’s Middle School. When St. Peter’s arrives with a priest and Sister Claire, a nun with a large whistle, Logo worries they have divine support. Alvin points out that Rabbi Tova is present for the Eagles. Franny runs over to meet St. Peter’s two female players. Sister Claire introduces herself to Jeremiah with a firm handshake. The priest invites Rabbi Tova to join in a pre-game prayer. She delivers a blessing for the players, the game, and the umpires. Then, Sister Claire blows her whistle to start the game.

The Eagles play well against St. Peter’s. Franny hits two home runs and helps execute a double play. Sky’s fastball is effective against their lineup. Alvin catches pop flies without colliding with his brothers and hits effectively. Roy Nader makes a spectacular running catch, prompting cheers from the crowd. Mr. Hazard dances in his eagle costume, Donald’s father cheers, and Rabbi Tova shouts encouragement. When Jeremiah walks to the mound to advise Sky, however, he suddenly feels nauseous. He sits down on the mound, El Grande rushes over, and Jeremiah asks someone to call Walt.

At the hospital, Dr. Dugan informs Jeremiah that his heart rate is dangerously low and he must stay overnight. He protests that he needs to help the team, but Walt and Dr. Dugan are firm in their decision. Jeremiah is connected to a heart monitor he names Marvin. His phone is confiscated, leaving him disconnected and in the dark about the Eagles’ game. He struggles to sleep, the medication forces frequent bathroom trips, and frustrated, Jeremiah questions whether he will ever be able to run.

The next morning, Dr. Dugan checks on him. Jeremiah complains about being disconnected from the world. When she reviews his chart, he asks how much she likes his father. She initially deflects, but he presses her with his “chart of likes” ranging from a little to a whole lot. After confirming he has no chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness, Dr. Dugan disconnects him from Marvin and clears him to go home. As she does, she admits she likes Walt “a whole lot” (249).

Jeremiah arrives home from the hospital to find a large banner reading “WE WON!!!” hanging across his porch, signed by the entire team. He is wearing his portable heart monitor. Franny rushes over to tell him the final score was 3-2 and shows him a celebratory team photo he is not in. Walt tells Jeremiah he must rest for a few days. When Franny asks if he’s coming to practice, Walt says it will be several days, disappointing her.

Bobby Benchant arrives at Jeremiah’s house and asks to speak privately. They walk to the backyard stream, where Benchant announces he is quitting baseball because his father insists he focus on football to prepare for high school. Jeremiah questions whether this is what Benchant truly wants and highlights his baseball strengths, including his powerful hitting and ability to rattle pitchers like Jackie Robinson did. Inspired, Benchant calls his father. After the conversation, he tells Jeremiah he will stay with the team.

Jeremiah’s house is overrun with Walt’s SARBs. One fast blue SARB causes Jerwal to trip and lose his right hand, which Walt and Jeremiah reattach. Walt places the troublesome SARB in a timeout on a shelf. When Franny visits, Jeremiah shows her the live eagle cam, hoping to introduce his philosophy of soaring. However, they witness a hawk circling unattended baby eagles, distressing Franny. She criticizes the eagle parents for neglecting their young. Despite this, Jeremiah gives her a card with an eagle flying through a storm and the word “SOAR” on the back, telling her she is an eagle. Unconvinced and upset by the eagle cam, Franny leaves. A SARB rolls in front of her as she exits.

With the season ending, the Eagles hope for one more game. Jeremiah asks Walt how much longer they will remain in Hillcrest, but Walt is evasive, saying the situation is complicated. The team continues practicing without a scheduled game, growing restless. Benny attends on new medication that makes him less talkative, but he watches from the field and runs laps, though he stops whenever something interesting catches his attention. Danny coaches Benny on proper running technique.

Jeremiah leaves subtle reminders around the house about the approaching end of the school year on June 16th, pressing Walt for information. Similarly, he does not know what to tell the increasingly frustrated team about their next game. Terrell and Logo complain they are being ignored.

The suspended high school team, led by Mac Rooney, arrives at the practice field with their equipment. Mac asks if the Eagles want to play a scrimmage, and El Grande agrees. The Hornets dominate the first two innings, leading 8-0. Mac suggests mixing the teams to make it competitive. Five Hornets join the Eagles, while Joey Fitz waves Franny over to his team, referring to her as “the girl,” which angers Franny.

With mixed teams, the game becomes more balanced, reaching 10-7 in the sixth inning. Franny, still fuming about being called “the girl,” comes to bat against Sky and hits a powerful home run. The Hornets play in a relaxed, encouraging manner, cheering for both sides. Franny’s team wins the scrimmage. After the game, some Hornets reminisce about playing on the same field when they were younger. El Grande invites them to return anytime. Joey Fitz calls Jeremiah Coach Two.

Jeremiah calls everyone back for a group photo, with Terrell lifting Benny onto his shoulders. All the Eagles screech together as El Grande captures the moment. The photograph appears on the front page of the Herald. Jeremiah hopes the page-one coverage will be impossible to ignore. El Grande schedules a meeting with two coaches from the middle school league.

Jeremiah and Danny help Donald to become less stiff on the field, and they encourage him to hustle everywhere. To boost Donald’s confidence, Danny rebrands him to Donald “Mo-lay,” explaining that mole is a spicy sauce in Spanish with bite and heat. Donald’s posture and demeanor immediately improve as he embraces the new identity. Danny impresses Jeremiah, who sees his potential as a future coach.

El Grande approaches with a thumbs-up and gathers the team. He announces they will play the Millville Marlins in four days for their final game of the season, as league championship games begin the following week. The Eagles did not qualify for the championship due to insufficient games played. Terrell notes the Marlins are a serious team, but El Grande insists the Eagles are serious too.

Jeremiah goes to the school office to recruit supporters. He asks Dr. Selligman, the principal, to attend the game. The office secretary seems reluctant, but Dr. Selligman enthusiastically promises to bring people and cheer loudly enough to embarrass Jeremiah.

Dr. Selligman arrives at the game with a large group holding small eagle stuffies. The Marlins have no mascot or rabbi. Sky asks Rabbi Tova to say a blessing before the game, reminding her not to forget the umpires. At first, the Eagles play terribly. By the bottom of the second inning, the Marlins lead 4-0. Danny shouts for mercy. Jeremiah calls a timeout and delivers a passionate, pre-rehearsed motivational speech about the team being a family and playing their game. He tells them this is their time and their win. The speech works, and the team improves.

In the fourth inning, Franny homers, but the Marlins also score, making it 5-1. By the sixth inning, the Hillcrest section is packed and loud, with Walt, Dr. Dugan, Hargie’s dad, several Hornets players, and Mr. Hazard all cheering. Rabbi Tova stands and shouts for aggression. The noise begins to overwhelm Benny. The Eagles hold the Marlins scoreless in the top of the inning with key defensive plays from Jupiter, Aiden, and Franny.

In the bottom of the inning, Jupiter reaches first on a bunt, and Benchant walks. Terrell hits a grounder that gets Jupiter out at third, but they have runners on first and second base. Benchant steals third and taunts the pitcher. As Aiden prepares to bat, Benny signals to Jeremiah that Donald should bat instead. Trusting Benny’s intuition, El Grande substitutes Donald, who hits a double that scores two runs, making it 5-3.

Franny is up next. Benny tells Jeremiah that Franny hits better when angry. Jeremiah calls timeout and deliberately angers her by telling her not to “play like a girl” (276). Enraged, Franny hits a two-run homer to tie the game. She refuses to speak to Jeremiah afterward. Handro gets hit by a pitch and later steals second. Logo strikes out, and Alvin hits one down the line. Jeremiah, coaching first base, signals Handro to run home. Handro scores, making it 6-5. A Marlin parent protests the call and storms off. The Marlins change pitchers, and Alex strikes out to end the inning.

In the final inning, Jupiter strikes out two batters. The third Marlin hits a long fly to deep right field. Donald scrambles underneath it, makes a two-handed catch, trips and falls, but never releases the ball. The Eagles win, and everyone erupts in celebration. Benny runs under the stands, overwhelmed by the noise. After the Marlins leave, Benny’s mother tells the team that Benny wants to play catch. The entire team forms a circle on the field and joyfully plays catch with Benny, who laughs as Alvin plops the ball into his glove.

Walt announces the Magellan Group is moving its headquarters from St. Louis to Hillcrest, allowing Jeremiah to attend seventh grade there and continue coaching the Eagles. The move also makes it possible for Walt and Dr. Dugan to marry in six weeks. Jeremiah’s friend Yaff in St. Louis is unhappy about the news. Jeremiah now calls Dr. Dugan by her first name, Sarah.

The new family dynamic presents challenges. Sarah’s dachshund, Hillary, does not get along with the robots, constantly barking at Jerwal and urinating on a SARB. Sarah threatens to institute a no-robots-in-the-bedroom rule. The family holds meetings to discuss issues, including conflicting baseball team loyalties—Sarah is a Red Sox fan while the others are not. Jeremiah awkwardly walks in on Walt and Sarah kissing multiple times.

Jeremiah shows Sarah his stuffed eagle, Baby, and tells its story. Sarah says it symbolizes the love Jeremiah received during his first nine months before Walt adopted him, adding that people carry love with them even if they do not remember the people who loved them. Then, Sarah shares that she was also adopted. Her birth mother was a 15-year-old from Georgia who died before turning 18 from an overdose. Sarah never knew her biological father. Her adoptive parents told her she grew in their hearts, and she believes this influenced her decision to become a cardiologist.

Later, Jeremiah and Sarah watch the eagle cam as the father eagle teaches the eaglets to fly. Sarah tells Jeremiah she wants to help him fly as long and as far as he can. Jeremiah reflects on how hearts can be broken and healed in many ways, recalling his late Uncle Jack’s advice about playing the hand you’re dealt. Remembering this, he wholeheartedly accepts Sarah as his new mother.

Two days before the MVP dinner, Jeremiah’s heart begins racing and his blood pressure spikes. Sarah admits him to the hospital. Walt sleeps in a chair by his bed all night. Just before the event, Sarah removes his IV and clears him to attend the dinner in the hospital cafeteria. There, Jeremiah sits at the head table with Walt, Sarah, Franny, El Grande, Dr. Selligman, and Mr. Hazard. Benny moves his chair to the wall to avoid being overwhelmed. El Grande gives a speech about the season, explaining he had always taken baseball for granted but now understands it must be fought for. He praises the team’s exceptional teamwork and predicts Jeremiah will manage a major league team someday.

El Grande then announces that Jeremiah Lopper is the recipient of the MVP Award. Stunned, Jeremiah believes he cannot win because he cannot play. El Grande clarifies that a player is anyone who takes part in a sport or game, and Jeremiah took his part by coaching everyone, including El Grande himself. Franny, wearing a blue dress, brings the trophy to Jeremiah. Everyone stands and applauds. While Jeremiah fights tears, hospital staff and doctors join the standing ovation. As the applause continues beyond what seems appropriate, he experiences a powerful feeling breaking through him. He realizes that in the future, when people ask what healed his heart, he will reveal that it was baseball.

Ultimately, Coach Perkins is charged with second-degree murder and will stand trial. Thanks to Jeremiah, Hillcrest Middle School officially changes its mascot to the eagle, with the motto: “Changing for the better, learning how to soar” (297). At the wedding, when Walt drops the ring, Franny fields it flawlessly and tosses it to Jeremiah. Then, he hands it to his dad for what he considers a perfect double play. Jeremiah concludes that this is not the end, but the beginning.