Breakout Year

A newly traded, newly out third baseman on the cusp of his first major contract hires a fake boyfriend-not expecting him to be the former player who ghosted him years before. But as their star ascends in public, their feelings burn hot in private...threatening to expose what's for the cameras-and what's for real.

Eitan Rivkin is used to being first. First generation born to Russian immigrant parents, first overall pick in the draft, now the first ballplayer to come out... before his first big contract. It's lonely being the first, and it's especially lonely in the inescapable eye of New York sports media. So when he wants to practice dating openly for the first time, he hires a boyfriend-only for the cameras of course. But he never expected that boyfriend to be Akiva Goldfarb, a once-promising player who disappeared after he and Eitan played together way back when.

Akiva is used to being first too. The first-and only-Orthodox Jewish player drafted to play professional ball. The first to quit when things got rough. The first named in the acknowledgements of the books he freelance edits, because, hey, the rent's due on the first of the month. Being hired as someone's (fake) boyfriend is just another gig, right? Even if Akiva left baseball-and baseball players-behind for a reason.

What starts out as a brief arrangement gradually transforms into something more. But being the first openly gay active player in professional baseball comes with a heavy personal cost, one Eitan is less and less certain he's willing to pay. And when an on-field incident threatens to disrupt Eitan's free agency plans, they'll have to figure out if the truth is better than fiction.

Author: Kd Casey
Publisher: Strikeout Press
Published: 09/12/2025
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.76d
ISBN: 9798218770686

About the Author
Casey, Kd: - KD Casey is a writer and sports goth living in the Washington, DC, area. Her books have been featured in the New York Times, Iowa Public Radio, Book Riot, Kveller, Town & Country, and LGBTQ Reads, among other publications. Her second novel, FIRE SEASON, was named a New York Times Best Romance Book of 2022. She's contributed speculative fiction to The Twin Bill, the Hardball Times Fiction Annual, and The Jewish Book of Horror. Her horror short story, "The Last Plague" was longlisted for Best Horror of the Year #14 and recommended for a Bram Stoker Award. She has also written for a variety of baseball analysis websites including Baseball Prospectus. She believes in high socks, unbuttoned jerseys, and the designated hugger, not the designated hitter.

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