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Cruz de la Cruz #2
The Boy Who Saved Baseball
Tom Gallagher finds himself in a tight spot. The fate of Dillontown rests on the outcome of one baseball game, winner take all. And it's all because Tom had to open his big mouth. If only he could get Dante Del Gato-the greatest hitter to ever play the game-to coach the team. But crazy ol' Del Gato hasn't spoken to folks in years, not after walking away from the game in disgrace just before his team played in its first World Series. Maybe Tom has one more hope: Cruz de la Cruz, the mysterious boy who just rode into town on horseback claiming to know the secret of hitting. Not to mention the secrets of Del Gato . . .
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 12, 2003
247 people are currently reading
1198 people want to read
About the author
John H. Ritter
8 books19 followers Novelist John H. Ritter (born October 31, 1951, in San Pedro, California) grew up in the summer-dry hills east of San Diego. "I grew up in a baseball family," says John. "But we were also a family of musicians and mathematicians, house painters and poets. My dad was a sports writer in Ashtabula, Ohio, who moved the family out west, just before I was born, to become Sports Editor for The San Diego Union."
Growing up in a sparse, mountainous region also helped stretch John's imagination. "Out in that country," he says, "there was a real sense of the spirits who walked the land in the centuries before. And being so cut off from other kids, I roamed the hills a lot, following hawks and eagles, climbing boulders, sitting in Indian caves. Rattlesnakes never bothered us much. But I felt the spirits everywhere. I think my mom, who was part Blackfoot Indian, had a lot to do with that."
When John was only four, however, his mother died of breast cancer, leaving his father to raise four small children on his own. John still recalls his mother and her songs. "One thing I remember about my mom is that she sang to us constantly, making up a song for each of her four children that fit our personalities perfectly. So from her, I got a sense of how to capture a
person's spirit in a lyrical phrase."
Over time, his musical interests continued to grow and in high school, the social commentary of folksinger Bob Dylan inspired him to write his own songs, hoping to pursue a musical career. He was, however, a “wild student,” he admits to English professor Chris Crowe in an interview for The ALAN Review, and was torn between his love of baseball and writing, calling himself both “a high achiever and a rabble rouser,” noting, for example, that in 1969 he was voted Senior Class President and the Senior Class Clown. Teachers did, however, recognize his writing talent, although his work was so often read out loud in class that he also admits to growing complacent and somewhat lazy about having to improve his skills.
At the University of California, San Diego, John studied communications while playing for the UCSD baseball team, all-the-while continuing to write Dylan-style songs. But by his sophomore year, he recalls, “I was anxious to get on with my life. And for the vision I had in mind, college didn’t have much to offer me. I knew I had to walk the streets, touch life, embrace life, gain experience.” So like his literary heroes before him, i.e., Dylan, Jack Kerouac, and Mark Twain, John quit school, taking a job as a painter’s apprentice, and set about traveling the country. He learned to live so cheaply that he could earn enough in three or four months to allow him to travel and write for the rest of the year. He did that for several years, until he married his wife, Cheryl, whom he had met in college, and they had a baby daughter. With a family to support, John needed to work nine months a year, painting houses, but the rest of his time went into writing, an artistic lifestyle he later spotlighted in his song-laden socio-political novel, Under the Baseball Moon.
In 1994, after publishing several short stories, John received the Judy Blume Award and a cash grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for a novel in progress. In 1996, he submitted his manuscript through the Curtis Brown Agency to Philomel Books where it became the first acquisition of junior editor, Michael Green. Since then, Green has risen to become Editorial Director and Publisher of Philomel Books and has edited all six of John’s novels.
In 1999, John’s first novel, Choosing Up Sides, won the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award for Older Readers and was designated an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. This hard-hitting work of ... [To see more of this bio, go to John's website or his Wikipedia entry.]
Growing up in a sparse, mountainous region also helped stretch John's imagination. "Out in that country," he says, "there was a real sense of the spirits who walked the land in the centuries before. And being so cut off from other kids, I roamed the hills a lot, following hawks and eagles, climbing boulders, sitting in Indian caves. Rattlesnakes never bothered us much. But I felt the spirits everywhere. I think my mom, who was part Blackfoot Indian, had a lot to do with that."
When John was only four, however, his mother died of breast cancer, leaving his father to raise four small children on his own. John still recalls his mother and her songs. "One thing I remember about my mom is that she sang to us constantly, making up a song for each of her four children that fit our personalities perfectly. So from her, I got a sense of how to capture a
person's spirit in a lyrical phrase."
Over time, his musical interests continued to grow and in high school, the social commentary of folksinger Bob Dylan inspired him to write his own songs, hoping to pursue a musical career. He was, however, a “wild student,” he admits to English professor Chris Crowe in an interview for The ALAN Review, and was torn between his love of baseball and writing, calling himself both “a high achiever and a rabble rouser,” noting, for example, that in 1969 he was voted Senior Class President and the Senior Class Clown. Teachers did, however, recognize his writing talent, although his work was so often read out loud in class that he also admits to growing complacent and somewhat lazy about having to improve his skills.
At the University of California, San Diego, John studied communications while playing for the UCSD baseball team, all-the-while continuing to write Dylan-style songs. But by his sophomore year, he recalls, “I was anxious to get on with my life. And for the vision I had in mind, college didn’t have much to offer me. I knew I had to walk the streets, touch life, embrace life, gain experience.” So like his literary heroes before him, i.e., Dylan, Jack Kerouac, and Mark Twain, John quit school, taking a job as a painter’s apprentice, and set about traveling the country. He learned to live so cheaply that he could earn enough in three or four months to allow him to travel and write for the rest of the year. He did that for several years, until he married his wife, Cheryl, whom he had met in college, and they had a baby daughter. With a family to support, John needed to work nine months a year, painting houses, but the rest of his time went into writing, an artistic lifestyle he later spotlighted in his song-laden socio-political novel, Under the Baseball Moon.
In 1994, after publishing several short stories, John received the Judy Blume Award and a cash grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for a novel in progress. In 1996, he submitted his manuscript through the Curtis Brown Agency to Philomel Books where it became the first acquisition of junior editor, Michael Green. Since then, Green has risen to become Editorial Director and Publisher of Philomel Books and has edited all six of John’s novels.
In 1999, John’s first novel, Choosing Up Sides, won the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award for Older Readers and was designated an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. This hard-hitting work of ... [To see more of this bio, go to John's website or his Wikipedia entry.]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
July 3, 2010
Baseball is the only sport I even remotely understand, and I certainly wouldn't want to read about it. I feel obligated, as an English teacher, to read at least some of these books that would appeal to my sports enthusiast tweens, but it's a duty I can't actually fulfill because of the torturous conditions of the job. I HATE it. HATE IT.
When I realized that a fellow English teacher forces ALL of her 7th grade students to read this one, my first reaction was to feel sorry for them, and then to feel sorry for myself, as surely I'll need to actually read this one (for reals) since I may have some of those kids for 8th grade next year, and I ought to be familiar with its characters and plot for reference. So I bore up and prepared for the worst.
I never expected that I'd raise my voice at my boys when they dared to interrupt me at "the best part" or "a really important part"(which happened many times, not just the climax). I never expected to read every word with anticipation, to pause and reflect and predict in earnest, to smile at all of the baseball imagery in the rich metaphorical descriptions of people, animals, non-baseball movements, and the landscape, and definitely I did not expect to cry at the end. I loved the story, the author's craft, and in the end, I actually loved the baseball. Quite surprising. Quite pleasant. Thanks for the assignment, Ms. Parzych.
When I realized that a fellow English teacher forces ALL of her 7th grade students to read this one, my first reaction was to feel sorry for them, and then to feel sorry for myself, as surely I'll need to actually read this one (for reals) since I may have some of those kids for 8th grade next year, and I ought to be familiar with its characters and plot for reference. So I bore up and prepared for the worst.
I never expected that I'd raise my voice at my boys when they dared to interrupt me at "the best part" or "a really important part"(which happened many times, not just the climax). I never expected to read every word with anticipation, to pause and reflect and predict in earnest, to smile at all of the baseball imagery in the rich metaphorical descriptions of people, animals, non-baseball movements, and the landscape, and definitely I did not expect to cry at the end. I loved the story, the author's craft, and in the end, I actually loved the baseball. Quite surprising. Quite pleasant. Thanks for the assignment, Ms. Parzych.
October 21, 2017
This book is very interesting in which you can't really plan what's going to happen next. It keeps you on your toes especially during the big game that decides whether or not the mayor gets the rights to Doc's land. Tom is one of the most relatable character I've read about in the sense that he is very humorous and enjoys life as it comes to him. My favorite part of the book is when the book's mood completely changes after the game when everyone realizes that Doc has died. I could really sense what Tom was feeling because the story created a vivid description about the connection the two had made over time. I loved the ending where Tom inherits all of Doc's land and money because I really didn't want the Mayor to bulldoze the baseball field and Doc's house. It also seems really great that all of Tom and his family's hard work ended up getting paid off by getting Doc's 1.5 million dollars. If only I was that lucky.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2012
Book Review
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H Ritter
Realistic fiction
Content is baseball and finding hope and ability
Young adults, likely male, but females would enjoy it also.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball starts off as a 12 year old boy goes to see an elderly friend who owns the land companies want to destroy and develop for years. The land is in the town and holds an historic ball park. The elderly friend decides to have a game of baseball decide wether he sells his land or not, Dillontown vs. the fancy city down the road. We learn that a baseball legend lives up in the mountain, and can help the team. The story goes to tell about how this team can come together and gather their best resources in order to save the spirit of their small town.
The most exciting event in the book in my eyes is when a boy named Cruz comes to play for the Dillontown team. He is a great player but he brings something else, a video game. It's not any video game though, it is a hit simulation game called the hit sim. The team practices hitting all sorts of pitches until they can do it in real life on the field. But will this be a secret weapon they can win the big game with?
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball or books about hope not lost. Once you start reading this novel you can't put it down.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H Ritter
Realistic fiction
Content is baseball and finding hope and ability
Young adults, likely male, but females would enjoy it also.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball starts off as a 12 year old boy goes to see an elderly friend who owns the land companies want to destroy and develop for years. The land is in the town and holds an historic ball park. The elderly friend decides to have a game of baseball decide wether he sells his land or not, Dillontown vs. the fancy city down the road. We learn that a baseball legend lives up in the mountain, and can help the team. The story goes to tell about how this team can come together and gather their best resources in order to save the spirit of their small town.
The most exciting event in the book in my eyes is when a boy named Cruz comes to play for the Dillontown team. He is a great player but he brings something else, a video game. It's not any video game though, it is a hit simulation game called the hit sim. The team practices hitting all sorts of pitches until they can do it in real life on the field. But will this be a secret weapon they can win the big game with?
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball or books about hope not lost. Once you start reading this novel you can't put it down.
December 5, 2012
The Boy Who Saved Baseball
John H. Ritter
Realistic Fiction
The fate of the town is in a little league baseball team's hands.
He wrote it for young males.
In this novel we meet Doc and Tom. Doc owns a big piece of land in town. A company wants to buy out Doc's land and do construction on it. The town baseball field is on that land and Tom plays for the baseball team. Tom talks to Doc about everything and Doc decides that a baseball game will make the final call. Tom's team against an all-star team. If Tom's team wins they keep the land. If they lose the landis sold. Who will win and what will it take to win?
A big event in the book is when they have the Town Hall meeting. Doc gave them a deadline for when he would make his decision and the deadline was that day. At the Town Hall meeting he tells everyone his decision. He leaves the fate of the town in the baseball team's hands and describes why.
I would recommend this book to anyone. I think males would enjoy it the most because some may be able to relate to the story. The book keeps you interested and entertained. I think everyone would enjoy this book.
John H. Ritter
Realistic Fiction
The fate of the town is in a little league baseball team's hands.
He wrote it for young males.
In this novel we meet Doc and Tom. Doc owns a big piece of land in town. A company wants to buy out Doc's land and do construction on it. The town baseball field is on that land and Tom plays for the baseball team. Tom talks to Doc about everything and Doc decides that a baseball game will make the final call. Tom's team against an all-star team. If Tom's team wins they keep the land. If they lose the landis sold. Who will win and what will it take to win?
A big event in the book is when they have the Town Hall meeting. Doc gave them a deadline for when he would make his decision and the deadline was that day. At the Town Hall meeting he tells everyone his decision. He leaves the fate of the town in the baseball team's hands and describes why.
I would recommend this book to anyone. I think males would enjoy it the most because some may be able to relate to the story. The book keeps you interested and entertained. I think everyone would enjoy this book.
December 7, 2012
The Boy Who Saved Baseball
John H. Ritter
Realistic Fiction
Content includes baseball, determination, and triumph.
Teenage baseball players.
In this book, a boy named Tom Gallagher gets himself in a pickle. Doc, the owner of several acres of land in Dillontown, is planning to sell his land including the baseball field. Just before he gets ready to sell his land Tom tries to talk him out of it. Doc decides to put the field's fate on the game. Now the fate of the Dillontown baseball field lies in the hands of Tom and his team. Just when they feel like everything is over, a new player named Cruz de la Cruz shows up. Cruz knows all the secrets about baseball and maybe even how to get the great legend Dante Del Gato to come out of hiding.
Event: The most important, exciting event is the game at the end of the book. The game decides wether Dillontown gets bulldozed of if they get to keep their field how it is. This game is a down to the wire game.
John H. Ritter
Realistic Fiction
Content includes baseball, determination, and triumph.
Teenage baseball players.
In this book, a boy named Tom Gallagher gets himself in a pickle. Doc, the owner of several acres of land in Dillontown, is planning to sell his land including the baseball field. Just before he gets ready to sell his land Tom tries to talk him out of it. Doc decides to put the field's fate on the game. Now the fate of the Dillontown baseball field lies in the hands of Tom and his team. Just when they feel like everything is over, a new player named Cruz de la Cruz shows up. Cruz knows all the secrets about baseball and maybe even how to get the great legend Dante Del Gato to come out of hiding.
Event: The most important, exciting event is the game at the end of the book. The game decides wether Dillontown gets bulldozed of if they get to keep their field how it is. This game is a down to the wire game.
Read
October 12, 2016Cruz De La Cruz is a kid 50 miles north of Dillow town he wants to help them keep their town. Dante Del Gato a former MLB player wants to coach the team so the town will stay the same. The baseball team is in the final inning and jack is up to bat with a man on 1 and 3 and hit a fly ball that will probably get caught but it doesn't so the wildcats get to keep their town>
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2025
This book was amazing.
More thoughts on it coming soon.
Reread: Aghhh so good. This book is just so rereadable <3
More thoughts on it coming soon.
Reread: Aghhh so good. This book is just so rereadable <3
February 9, 2018
I selected this book because I am a fellow baseball player and love the sport. I enjoy to play and watch it. I found this book at the library in my classroom and I thought i would give it a try. I read the first few pages and thought it was interesting so I decided to try and read the whole book and I did.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball is about a boy named Tom Gallagher. He is a baseball player for his town team which is called Dillontown. He has a good elderly friend named Doc Altenheimer. He can't decide whether to sell his ranch to developers. Tom convinces him that he can't do that because on that land is the Century-Old Ballpark built by miners, which is called Lucky Strike Park, and that all his friends love that ballpark and he can't sell it because it would be destroyed. Doc makes a deal with Tom, if his team of 12 friends can beat the All Star baseball camp team down the road from Dilliontown, he won't sell the land. But, if they lose he will sell the land. The All Star baseball camp was a much better team than Tom's. Tom's team didn't have a lot of kids in their town that were good and the baseball camp had kids from all over the state. Tom's team had a week to prepare for the game. At their first practice they didn't know what to do. The kids tried to hit but never really hit it hard. Until, the Famous Cruz de la Cruz came to town to help out the team. He was the best baseball coach the team could ever ask for. In that week of preparation he went over the fundamentals of baseball and hit over 100 ground balls and pop flies to every kid on the team. He also threw many live pitching at bats and helped everyone on the team find their swing. He was such a help that the worst hitter on the team was able to hit line drives into the outfield. Hopefully Cruz de la Cruz's help would be enough to help them win the big game.
What worked in this book was how you could use your prior knowledge of baseball and the fundamentals and imagine how much work the team had to do to get better. When you read the book you remember what it was like from your own personal experience that it is hard to get better at hitting. Also the amount of time you have to put into practicing to finally field the ground balls and pop flies with ease. It was just satisfying when you see them get better.
What didn't work was how the book's plot went right into it even at the begining of the book. In the first 3 pages it already states the problem. Personally, I would have liked to have more filler in the beginning of the book so I would be able imagine everything clearly in my head instead of trying to figure out what's happening as it goes on.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball is about a boy named Tom Gallagher. He is a baseball player for his town team which is called Dillontown. He has a good elderly friend named Doc Altenheimer. He can't decide whether to sell his ranch to developers. Tom convinces him that he can't do that because on that land is the Century-Old Ballpark built by miners, which is called Lucky Strike Park, and that all his friends love that ballpark and he can't sell it because it would be destroyed. Doc makes a deal with Tom, if his team of 12 friends can beat the All Star baseball camp team down the road from Dilliontown, he won't sell the land. But, if they lose he will sell the land. The All Star baseball camp was a much better team than Tom's. Tom's team didn't have a lot of kids in their town that were good and the baseball camp had kids from all over the state. Tom's team had a week to prepare for the game. At their first practice they didn't know what to do. The kids tried to hit but never really hit it hard. Until, the Famous Cruz de la Cruz came to town to help out the team. He was the best baseball coach the team could ever ask for. In that week of preparation he went over the fundamentals of baseball and hit over 100 ground balls and pop flies to every kid on the team. He also threw many live pitching at bats and helped everyone on the team find their swing. He was such a help that the worst hitter on the team was able to hit line drives into the outfield. Hopefully Cruz de la Cruz's help would be enough to help them win the big game.
What worked in this book was how you could use your prior knowledge of baseball and the fundamentals and imagine how much work the team had to do to get better. When you read the book you remember what it was like from your own personal experience that it is hard to get better at hitting. Also the amount of time you have to put into practicing to finally field the ground balls and pop flies with ease. It was just satisfying when you see them get better.
What didn't work was how the book's plot went right into it even at the begining of the book. In the first 3 pages it already states the problem. Personally, I would have liked to have more filler in the beginning of the book so I would be able imagine everything clearly in my head instead of trying to figure out what's happening as it goes on.
April 28, 2019
I thought that this book was actually really interesting. I wonder if this book was based on something that actually somewhat happened in real life or if it is just made up. I also thought that it was interesting that there was some spanish in the book considering baseball is an American sport. This book was fun to read to me but I don't think I liked it as much as I wanted to because I don't really have much interest in baseball. I don't think I will be reading another book about sports this year because I feel like they are all kind of the same in a way. I haven't ever heard of this author before but I think the way he writes is easy to read. Some things in the book did confuse me but I managed to work through them. They talked about a pro baseball player named Dante Del Gato in the book and I wonder who he is. I think from reading this book I got somewhat more interested in baseball. Now that I have read this I feel like later on I might start reading the books that are like Joe and Me.
November 21, 2024
Dillontown is a small town somewhere in California. New developers threaten to take over the land and would take away the old Baseballfield with its history. Then everything rests on the outcome of a Baseball game played by the local kids. And will Del Gato -a former Pro Baseball Player- who lives a solitude life in the mountain help them?
Overall just ok for me. I liked the atmosphere and the Hispanic culture/flair throughout the book which you don't get too often in novels.
To be very honest, I wasn't all convinced that it would have been such a bad thing to develop the land also considering there would have been a new ballpark as well. Also the whole thing about developing this learning program by kids in just a few days also felt more then a little far fetched to me.
I was hoping to get some great baseball vibes from this book but overall I wasn't really feeling it.
Overall just ok for me. I liked the atmosphere and the Hispanic culture/flair throughout the book which you don't get too often in novels.
To be very honest, I wasn't all convinced that it would have been such a bad thing to develop the land also considering there would have been a new ballpark as well. Also the whole thing about developing this learning program by kids in just a few days also felt more then a little far fetched to me.
I was hoping to get some great baseball vibes from this book but overall I wasn't really feeling it.
Read
February 28, 2019I chose this book because I like baseball and thought it would be a good book. I really liked that this group of friends decided to take on the all star team in baseball because they wanted to keep the baseball field they loved. They know they aren't as good and might have a hard time winning but that doesn't stop them from trying. When they discover that there is a guy that lives in the mountain that is a really good hitter, they have to convince him to help them win. The team is full of different personalities and teammates that are determined to win. I really found parts of this book funny. I was really surprised by the ending. If you like baseball then I would recommend this book.
November 17, 2017
I really liked this book! I would recommend this book to who ever likes baseball or sports.
April 4, 2018
I read this book aloud to my 13, 11, and 10 year olds. They rated it five stars. They enjoyed the baseball and the mystery (their words). Fun story.
July 14, 2019
A fun read for baseball lovers.
July 21, 2025
This was an enjoyable read. I would recommend it to 5th graders.
November 29, 2022
good book
December 18, 2008
John Ritter's book, The Boy Who Saved Baseball, is a moving underdog story about our national pastime. In this story, a small California town is torn in half as developers come in to try to "fix up" the area. They're already made vast improvements on part of the town by fixing up homes, bringing in new businesses, and supplying their youth baseball team with a brand new field and equipment. Many of the townspeople, however, do not want to see this happen to the rest of the area despite the benefits, fearing that they will loose their connection to the surrounding countryside and their small town way of life. It is decided that the fate of Dillontown is going to be decided by a baseball game between the town's two teams. If the Wildcats, a rag-tag team of kids who barely have bleachers on their field can win, then the town will remain as is. If the well-equipped team from down the hill wins, however, then progress is truly the answer and the developers will be allowed to move in. It is up to a strange kid named Cruz de la Cruz and a washed-up former major leaguer to teach the rest of the team to really see the ball and play to win. Will the Dillontown Wildcats come out on top?
This book is a great baseball story that is sure to please sports fans. However, I would encourage those who perhaps aren't quite as baseball savvy to consider this book as well. Everyone can appreciate this underdog story. The poetic language is also sure to please, and the description really transports the reader to the California countryside.
This book is a great baseball story that is sure to please sports fans. However, I would encourage those who perhaps aren't quite as baseball savvy to consider this book as well. Everyone can appreciate this underdog story. The poetic language is also sure to please, and the description really transports the reader to the California countryside.
May 8, 2011
Ritter, John H., The Boy Who Saved Baseball. 216 p. Philomel Books. 2003. ISBN 978-0-399-23622-8.
Whether you like baseball or not, I think you’ll like this book! This book obviously has a sports focus that will get boys attention. However, this book will definitely appeal to girls too. The story and characters in this book are developed so well, that the book will appeal to a large audience.
Dillontown, a small, sleepy town between San Diego and the desert, is about to change forever. Old and wise Doc Altenheimer owns 320 acres in Dillontown. He’s under a lot of pressure from a local housing developer to sell it so the developer can build a housing development. Doc promises to not sell the land, which includes a dilapidated baseball field, if the Dillontown not-so-talented summer camp team can beat the very-talented team that’s located nearby.
Tom Gallagher, the 12-year-old narrator, feels responsible for his team winning the game. He will try anything to get the team together and in shape for the big game. Amazingly, he gets some help when the mysterious and talented Cruz de la Cruz rides into town (literally!). The team is so desperate they even pay a visit to the reclusive Dante Del Gato, a former major league legend. Del Gato claims to have the secret of hitting, which would really help the team.
Can they convince Del Gato to share his secret of baseball and save the town? Will the Wildcats win the game in order to save their town?
Read The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter to find out.
Whether you like baseball or not, I think you’ll like this book! This book obviously has a sports focus that will get boys attention. However, this book will definitely appeal to girls too. The story and characters in this book are developed so well, that the book will appeal to a large audience.
Dillontown, a small, sleepy town between San Diego and the desert, is about to change forever. Old and wise Doc Altenheimer owns 320 acres in Dillontown. He’s under a lot of pressure from a local housing developer to sell it so the developer can build a housing development. Doc promises to not sell the land, which includes a dilapidated baseball field, if the Dillontown not-so-talented summer camp team can beat the very-talented team that’s located nearby.
Tom Gallagher, the 12-year-old narrator, feels responsible for his team winning the game. He will try anything to get the team together and in shape for the big game. Amazingly, he gets some help when the mysterious and talented Cruz de la Cruz rides into town (literally!). The team is so desperate they even pay a visit to the reclusive Dante Del Gato, a former major league legend. Del Gato claims to have the secret of hitting, which would really help the team.
Can they convince Del Gato to share his secret of baseball and save the town? Will the Wildcats win the game in order to save their town?
Read The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter to find out.
January 7, 2013
I recommend this book to anybody who likes baseball or a good book to read. Tom Gallagher is in a tight spot. The Dillontown baseball field is about to be torn down by developers, and he has to save it. After all, Dillontown is a baseball town of legends. It's where the great Dante Del Gato became the best hitter baseball has ever known. Now the fate of the entire town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, winner take all. If Tom's team loses, they lose their field too. But how can they possibly win? Just when everything seems hopeless, a mysterious boy named Cruz de la Cruz rides into town and claims to know the secret of hitting. Not to mention the secrets of Dante Del Gato. Since he walked away from the game years ago, Del Gato hasn't spoken a word to anyone. But that's not going to stop Cruz de la Cruz from helping Tom ask Del Gato to coach the Dillontown team. It's a crazy idea, but it just might be Tom's only hope for saving his town. You will have to read the book to find out if Del Gato coaches the team to save the town.
May 20, 2010
When I read the Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter I thought it was really good. It had a good story line and a good plot. I like how he added in about Dante Del Gato. The player that played there that went on to play professional baseball. I also loved how they got him to coach the team. Also when at the end, well I dont wanna spoil the ending. This is a great book and you should read this. And every kid out there that is trying to use this review for a book report you better not! Not really. But seriously I encourage everyone to read this book. It has a great story line and a great plot. John H. Ritter is my second favorite writter.
July 2, 2013
I feel that this book was quite predictable. I also think that the author could've explained some of the actions in the story. Otherwise, I think that the book kind of changed my look at baseball. I used to think that baseball was a boring sport. Now I see the significance it can be to people or a whole towns fate. I now see that baseball has a ton of skill involved, not just it being mindless swinging. Who would've known that there is a whole art behind batting. I am glad that my mom forced me to read this, as I usually have a thing for judging books by it's cover.
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February 24, 2015This a good book about a boy and his team to save baseball in Dillontown. In Dillontown they are having one match to determine if they should break down the stadium.He can either save the stadium or lose the stadium.
This is a great book for people who enjoy baseball. This book is great for people in middle school. I would recommend this book to my friends and family.
This is a great book for people who enjoy baseball. This book is great for people in middle school. I would recommend this book to my friends and family.
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April 15, 2010Didn't like it!
December 11, 2014
im reading this book now and to tell the truth i cant stop this book is to good for me to stop reading
July 15, 2024
Small town kid baseball books >
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April 15, 2010I am reading this in reading class with Mr.Janss!!!!
December 1, 2017
The Boy Who Saved Baseball was written by John H. Ritter. It is a fiction book about a small town in the mountains. A lot of people in the town liked the game of baseball but some people wanted to tear the baseball field down and build something they could use to make money. The theme of this book is to stand up for what you believe in.This book is about working as a team to accomplish what many thought was impossibe. .
The Boy Who Saved Baseball is about a 12 year old boy who saved baseball in the small town of Dillontown. Baseball was a popular game in the town and the Wildcat baseball camp was getting ready to start. Some people in Dillontown said they should tear down the baseball park and build something that would make the town money. To keep the baseball park, the town people along with the mayor decided that the Wildcats would play a game against someone else. If they won they could keep the park but if they lost the park had to be torn down. The Wildcats were no good. One player quit before the camp ended. They only had eight players. One day they were practicing and a boy, named Cruz, riding a horse showed up at camp. He traveled for two days on mountain trails to get to the camp. There was one man from Dillontown that played major league baseball but none of the boys had ever seen him. His name was Del Gato. They knew where he lived but everybody was too scared to go to his house because he had two mean guard dogs. Del Gato hit 16 base hits in a row his last season and the 12 year old boys wanted to know the secret to hitting. So one night Cruz and Tom snuck out of camp and went to find Del Gato. Some of the people were complaining about the leader of the wildcats baseball camp because he had never played baseball. Cruz and Tom convinced Del Gato to come coach them. Cruz and Tom headed back to camp so they wouldn’t get caught sneaking out. A few days later Del Gato showed up at the camp. The boys wanted to know the secret of hitting and he said their was no secret but he did try to trick his eyes to slow stuff down. He said to help with timing he looked at birds wings when they flew. This gave Cruz the idea to make a video game to help batters with their timing. The team they were playing had a really good pitcher. Cruz found a video of the pitcher on the other team and programed the pitcher into the video game. The team practiced with this for a couple of days.The night before the game Tom woke up and realized that Cruz was gone. His sleeping bag was rolled up, his horse was gone and his jersey was hanging up. On gameday there was still no sign of Cruz. The team had one of the subs pitch. The Wildcats ended up winning 5-4. They were still upset that Cruz left but realized without his help they could not have won.
I really enjoyed the book The Boy Who Saved Baseball. One of my favorite parts was when Cruz made the video game to simulate the other team’s pitcher. I would like to be able to do that to practice and improve my hitting ability. This book made me think of the movie The Sandlot. They were both about boys who loved baseball.
If you enjoy baseball you will like this book. The Boy WhoSaved Baseball shows how a group of kids can pull together, work hard and make a difference in their town. Their love for baseball pushed them to save the ballpark in their town.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball is about a 12 year old boy who saved baseball in the small town of Dillontown. Baseball was a popular game in the town and the Wildcat baseball camp was getting ready to start. Some people in Dillontown said they should tear down the baseball park and build something that would make the town money. To keep the baseball park, the town people along with the mayor decided that the Wildcats would play a game against someone else. If they won they could keep the park but if they lost the park had to be torn down. The Wildcats were no good. One player quit before the camp ended. They only had eight players. One day they were practicing and a boy, named Cruz, riding a horse showed up at camp. He traveled for two days on mountain trails to get to the camp. There was one man from Dillontown that played major league baseball but none of the boys had ever seen him. His name was Del Gato. They knew where he lived but everybody was too scared to go to his house because he had two mean guard dogs. Del Gato hit 16 base hits in a row his last season and the 12 year old boys wanted to know the secret to hitting. So one night Cruz and Tom snuck out of camp and went to find Del Gato. Some of the people were complaining about the leader of the wildcats baseball camp because he had never played baseball. Cruz and Tom convinced Del Gato to come coach them. Cruz and Tom headed back to camp so they wouldn’t get caught sneaking out. A few days later Del Gato showed up at the camp. The boys wanted to know the secret of hitting and he said their was no secret but he did try to trick his eyes to slow stuff down. He said to help with timing he looked at birds wings when they flew. This gave Cruz the idea to make a video game to help batters with their timing. The team they were playing had a really good pitcher. Cruz found a video of the pitcher on the other team and programed the pitcher into the video game. The team practiced with this for a couple of days.The night before the game Tom woke up and realized that Cruz was gone. His sleeping bag was rolled up, his horse was gone and his jersey was hanging up. On gameday there was still no sign of Cruz. The team had one of the subs pitch. The Wildcats ended up winning 5-4. They were still upset that Cruz left but realized without his help they could not have won.
I really enjoyed the book The Boy Who Saved Baseball. One of my favorite parts was when Cruz made the video game to simulate the other team’s pitcher. I would like to be able to do that to practice and improve my hitting ability. This book made me think of the movie The Sandlot. They were both about boys who loved baseball.
If you enjoy baseball you will like this book. The Boy WhoSaved Baseball shows how a group of kids can pull together, work hard and make a difference in their town. Their love for baseball pushed them to save the ballpark in their town.
February 8, 2019
John Ritter's book, The Boy Who Saved Baseball is a quick and easy read about the Wildcats baseball team trying to save their hometown field in Dilltown. Tom Gallagher loves baseball and so does his dad. He and his friends must stick together and beat the Vikings to win their field back.
Dilltown is a baseball town and always has been. Tom Gallagher loves the sport of baseball and plays on the local team, the Wildcats. Doc rivers is an older man who is Tom's dear friend and always helps him with everything. Doc owns the land where their community field is and he is in danger of losing it. The mayor believes that the land could be used for a better purpose, so he is taking the land from Doc, and says he will be tearing down the field. The Wildcats aren't very good and it is almost guarenteed that they would not beat the Vikings. Mysteriously, a very good player, Cruz de la Cruz shows up and he makes the team much better by himself. The Wildcats still need a better coach in order to be able to beat the Vikings. Therefore, they go on the search for Dante del Gato, a former major leauge baseball player who resides near Dilltown. Tom and Cruz go on the hunt for Dante and end up convincing him to coach the Wildcats. They get much practice and rest before the big game, so how would they do in their do or die game to win their field back? Could the beat the Vikings and earn their field back?
My favorite part of this book is when Tom and the team camp out after a practice. The reason i like this part is because it shows the team bonding together and having fun. This is just like my team and I, we always hang out together and bond. This is a very relateable part to my life, and i think this is one reason this is my favorite part. It's a very actionous part too. All the teamates are having fun playing games and bonding, this is very relateable and this is why it is my favorite part.
I would reccomend this book to any one who loves sports or action packed books. This book moves at a fast pace so anyone who loves quick reads would like this book. If you like baseball, a good sporting event, or just sports in general, then you would be very pleases with this book.
Dilltown is a baseball town and always has been. Tom Gallagher loves the sport of baseball and plays on the local team, the Wildcats. Doc rivers is an older man who is Tom's dear friend and always helps him with everything. Doc owns the land where their community field is and he is in danger of losing it. The mayor believes that the land could be used for a better purpose, so he is taking the land from Doc, and says he will be tearing down the field. The Wildcats aren't very good and it is almost guarenteed that they would not beat the Vikings. Mysteriously, a very good player, Cruz de la Cruz shows up and he makes the team much better by himself. The Wildcats still need a better coach in order to be able to beat the Vikings. Therefore, they go on the search for Dante del Gato, a former major leauge baseball player who resides near Dilltown. Tom and Cruz go on the hunt for Dante and end up convincing him to coach the Wildcats. They get much practice and rest before the big game, so how would they do in their do or die game to win their field back? Could the beat the Vikings and earn their field back?
My favorite part of this book is when Tom and the team camp out after a practice. The reason i like this part is because it shows the team bonding together and having fun. This is just like my team and I, we always hang out together and bond. This is a very relateable part to my life, and i think this is one reason this is my favorite part. It's a very actionous part too. All the teamates are having fun playing games and bonding, this is very relateable and this is why it is my favorite part.
I would reccomend this book to any one who loves sports or action packed books. This book moves at a fast pace so anyone who loves quick reads would like this book. If you like baseball, a good sporting event, or just sports in general, then you would be very pleases with this book.
February 14, 2018
The book “The Boy Who Saved Baseball” is a great mixture of fight, determination, and courage as they try to overcome one of the biggest challenges they have faced so far in there life. Even with the odds against them all, anything is possible. Especially with a legend as your coach. In the beginning it starts out as a mystery where they have to try and figure out a way to make their team better. As they stumble across a baseball legend that left his career in the dust after a phenomenal streak of hitting. That streak of hitting made it seem like he found “The secret of hitting.” But as the story progresses they find out that it was hard work and dedication that brought him to the level of hitting he was at.
The book had a lot of moments where I had no clue who was talking because he did not provide all the names after every person spoke. But when I did figure it out the conversations were too mature especially since they were all young and immature. That is how I figured out that it was not only a mysterious type book but it was also a fiction book. John used a lot of dialogue, which makes you feel like you were in the book as a movie.
When Dillontown had their annual baseball camp they had a an opportunity to go against the cities all star team to attempt to save the town’s history with the field. As the camp kept progressing, the improvement was there but wasn’t happening fast enough to win, so Tom, and Cruz began to create a hitting simulator called “Hitsim.” It worked like a automatic pitcher that threw just like the guy on the other team. This became a mojot key in trying to get a better chance at beating the All stars i the big game because they definitely did not have the skill with the limited amount of people they had show up.
I recommend all ages who like sports to read this because it is a cool experience to see the fight they had in them and all the determination any team strives for. I also recommend this book to people who are sad and feel like they can’t accomplish anything in life, because this is a great underdog story that will make you feel good inside, after a rough day.
The book had a lot of moments where I had no clue who was talking because he did not provide all the names after every person spoke. But when I did figure it out the conversations were too mature especially since they were all young and immature. That is how I figured out that it was not only a mysterious type book but it was also a fiction book. John used a lot of dialogue, which makes you feel like you were in the book as a movie.
When Dillontown had their annual baseball camp they had a an opportunity to go against the cities all star team to attempt to save the town’s history with the field. As the camp kept progressing, the improvement was there but wasn’t happening fast enough to win, so Tom, and Cruz began to create a hitting simulator called “Hitsim.” It worked like a automatic pitcher that threw just like the guy on the other team. This became a mojot key in trying to get a better chance at beating the All stars i the big game because they definitely did not have the skill with the limited amount of people they had show up.
I recommend all ages who like sports to read this because it is a cool experience to see the fight they had in them and all the determination any team strives for. I also recommend this book to people who are sad and feel like they can’t accomplish anything in life, because this is a great underdog story that will make you feel good inside, after a rough day.
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