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Balls in Play Books in Order

Part ofKate Stewart Books in Order

See all the Balls in Play books by Kate Stewart in order, with sports romance summaries, series background, and guidance on how the baseball romcom stories connect.

Last updated: January 13, 2026

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Publication Order

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3 books

1

Sweeping the Series

by Kate Stewart

2018

Catcher Ren Makavoy is one season from the majors when his off-field reputation threatens everything. The PR expert hired to fix him is the woman who once broke his heart, turning a cleanup job into a second-chance romance at home plate.

2

Major Love

by Kate Stewart

2016

A jaded baseball coach meets a sharp-tongued southern bartender on the worst night of his life. What starts as late-night comfort soon turns into a deeply felt romance that forces them both to reckon with grief, loyalty, and second chances.

3

Anything but Minor

by Kate Stewart

2016

A nerdy flight instructor who has never watched a game collides with a cocky minor league ballplayer desperate to prove himself. Their fling at the ballpark spirals into a full-on romance that rewrites both their plans for the future.

Series background & context

The Balls in Play books drop you into the world of minor league baseball, where struggling players, coaches, and the people who orbit them keep bumping into love when they least expect it. The tone is part sports romance, part romantic comedy, with plenty of ballpark chaos and off‑field heartache.

The series starts with Anything but Minor, where a nerdy flight instructor who has never watched a game collides with a cocky ballplayer fighting to prove he belongs in the majors. She brings charts, checklists, and unapologetic enthusiasm; he brings swagger, superstition, and a long history of treating relationships as one‑night stands. Watching them try to balance her inexperience with his reputation gives the book its mix of humor and slow‑burn tension.

Major Love shifts the spotlight to a coach who has already fallen from grace once and is trying to rebuild his life around the game. A chance encounter on one of his worst nights introduces him to a woman who has more to lose than he does. Their story leans harder into second chances, grief, and the kind of adult baggage that does not fit neatly into a romcom, even as the book stays playful and flirty on the surface.

The novella Sweeping the Series acts as a send‑off for the team. It follows catcher Ren Makavoy, a talented player with a terrible off‑field reputation, and the publicist brought in to clean up his image—who also happens to be the woman who once broke his heart. The shorter length keeps the focus tight: you get a concentrated dose of second‑chance longing, clubhouse banter, and the reminder that reputation is rarely the whole story.

Across the books you will see recurring teammates, inside jokes, and references to the same seasons on the field. Injuries, trades, and career milestones are all there, but they are really a backdrop for how these characters grow up, screw up, and try again. Expect locker‑room humor, found family moments, and steamy scenes alongside genuine conversations about identity and ambition.

You can technically read any of the Balls in Play books as a standalone, but the emotional payoffs land best if you follow publication order. That way, the cameos and callbacks feel like catching up with old friends between innings.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 3 Balls in Play Books in Order (Complete List 2026)