Two Indigenous players squared off in the 1911 World Series. This book tells their story

Toronto Blue Jays ace pitcher Alek Manoah is off to a tough start this year, in part, because he's having trouble with his slider. 

Over 100 years ago Ojibwe pitcher Charles Bender was likely the inventor of that pitch.

"He entered the game at age 19 and it's amazing to think that he is the inventor of this pitch that's still used today from young ages to the pros," said author Traci Sorell.

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series is a new children's book written by Sorell. It tells the story of Bender facing off in the 1911 World Series against catcher John Meyers, who was Cahuilla — a first for two Indigenous players. The book is illustrated by Arigon Starr.

Meyers was considered a strong hitter with a career batting average of .291 and Bender was a Hall of Famer, but their story isn't widely known.

If you're wondering, Bender's Philadelphia Athletics beat Meyer's New York Giants, four games to two to win the championship.

Here's part of Sorrell's conversation with Day 6 host Brent Bambury about the kind of racism these two players dealt with during their playing careers and why it's a relevant story for the children of today.

I didn't know the slider was invented by Charles Bender. How well did that pitch serve Charles?

The manager of his team [Connie Mack] said consistently that if he had to take just one person, at the end of a game … [if] their backs were against the wall, he was always going to choose [Charles] ... because of that pitch and just his mastery. 

How did Charles get into playing baseball?

So one of the things that I found most intriguing about Charles Bender was that he learned the game of baseball in boarding schools. His first boarding school [was] in Philadelphia, run by the