u/Aromatic_Cap_38

It would have been written before 1999 when I was in 5th grade and was required to read it... Had a side character with a last name similar to Blanchard (that was my 5th grade teacher, he had an ego because he was in the book as one of the main characters friends) setting was urban, NYC or one of the Burroughs... the main character is a boy...

sorry it's so little to go off of... but... if it helps I think it had something to do with baseball or baseball cards...