The Boy Who Saved Baseball

by John H. Ritter

Book Overview

Tom Gallagher is in a tight spot. The fate of the Dillontown team 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, Dillontown's greatest hitter ever. Since he walked away from the game...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142402869
• ISBN13: 9780142402863
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great story for kids.

I read this to my two girls, ages 7 & 9 and they both liked it. Some of the references will go over the heads of younger kids, and kids not familiar with baseball lingo but the story will hold their attention. What I appreciated also was that the story portrayed in an easy-to-understand fashion the concept of how our choices are relavent and how the future depends on the choices we make now. It also showed how the value of things, whether they be land or people or an old ballpark can not be understood with snap judgements or measured simply in dollars and cents, but rather that intangibles such as love, sentimentality, teamwork, and cooperation have a far greater, if less measurable effect on the quality of our lives.

Review of The Boy Who Saved Baseball

Hey reader, do you like underdog stories? If you do, you will enjoy The Boy Who Saved Baseball, by John H. Ritter. It is about a baseball team of friends that isn't very good that has to beat an extremely good rival team in order to save their town from being developed. Tom, (the main character) has to also find out why Dante Del Gato quit baseball. You will become a fan of the Dillontown Wildcats baseball team by the end of this book. I recommend this book because it is very interesting and I had fun reading it. If something seems impossible, but you try your hardest, you can achieve your goals, but have fun trying. When Tom and his friends were running down the big hill, most of the kids are laughing. Tom tries his hardest and works out in order to get better at baseball. They have a sleepover the night before the big game. When the team was losing, nobody gave up. The team always eats out together. This book really shows why you should never give up on anything. You will literally become friends with these interesting characters, they are mostly all nice people. Tom isn't that great at baseball but is a friendly kid who helps out his neighbor, (Doc). Cruz de la Cruz is an excellent baseball player and tries to help all of his teammates become better baseball players. Doc is an old friendly neighbor who is read the box scores by Tom every morning. Dante Del Gato is an old grumbling man who used to play professional baseball but is now despised by the town... read the book and find out why! Maria is one of the few girls on the team. You will think that these characters are people that you know. You will feel like every place in this book is real. This story takes place mostly in Dillontown, California and in the present. Dillontown is a small town located on the California-Mexico border. This book will show how hard work and determination can pay off toward your dreams. The mysterious and friendly characters will be like people that you actually know. I would definitely recommend this great novel to all people. You will enjoy The Boy Who Saved Baseball if you read it.

The boy saved baseball review

The name of the book I read was The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter. The main conflict in this book is that the whole town especially the people who have alot of money and own alot of land want to tear down the old Dillontown baseball field, but thier baseball team the wildcats dont and if they could beat the best team in the state they get to keep there baseball field. This is pretty much the main problem in the story. I didnt really dislike anything in the book the author was very creative the only sad part is when doc dies but it is for a purpose. The book was very exciting. It was exciting because the author was vey creative with it and it allways left you hanging in a way. When I was reading I felt like I was tom because I have the exact same personality and he does what I would do. One of the best things about the book was its ending it was so creative, I love how the author thought ahead of time when he wrote the book. This book is the first book I have ever read by this author and I loved it it was absolutely awesome in a couple of days I am going to look up his name in the library and read another one. Also the authors writing was so descriptive I felt like I was in the book as I said before. This authors writing style is my writing style I loved it. I also like how descrbed his characters and what there personalities were. They were perfect for each person. If I had to rate this book I would give it a 3 thumbs up. After I read a book I always Say I loved I and give it a 5 star rating. Not that the books were bad I just didn't enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this one especially the ending. I dont want to give anymore information out just in case your reading this. I would recomend this book to boy or girl at any age its a fantastic book. You have to read it! By: Max Mordini

My Favorite Book of the Year!!

I love this book! I?ve already read it three times and you have to to see all the cool stuff in it. I really like Cruz de la Cruz and Tom and Maria Flores. But del Gato is my hero because he is so honest and doesn?t care what people say. This book is a mystery and a legend and you never see the ending coming?you think you do but you don?t. That?s why I read it all over again. My dad loved it, too.

The Best Sport Book EVER!

This Baseball thriller was one of the best books I have ever read. This book gives it all, sports, sports, and more sports. This book is for a true sports fan and any one else who likes some thrilling adventures and suspense to the very end. Well I hope this book gives you a great time reading it as it did to me.