The Boy Who Saved Baseball

“Enthralling…at times stunning…a book filled with memorable moments.”

— Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

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 Del Gato has not been seen in years. Then a mysterious boy rides into town on horseback claiming to know the secret of hitting…

A rollicking and high-spirited story about a shy boy’s quest to preserve his slice of the American landscape. The Boy Who Saved Baseball will make you believe in the power of dreams.

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Winner of the 2004 Paterson Prize for Children’s Literature

Praise for The Boy Who Saved Baseball…

“Developing both cast and multiple plotlines in suitably ‘wild and woolbacious’ prose, Ritter dishes up another stellar read…”

— Starred Review, Booklist

“The Boy Who Saved Baseball…is my favorite new book of the year.”

— Sue Corbett, Miami Herald

“Throw in some physics, ecology, astronomy, and extraordinary, eccentric characters and this fast-paced, sweet-natured tale is more than a baseball story…for more than just fans.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Cheerfully upends the conventions of children’s sports novels…. Fun and funny, full of surprises and baseball lore.”

— James Neal Webb, BookPage

“A downhome story with all the stuff of legend—a stranger riding into town, a former hero and shadowy recluse with a secret, a grim prophecy… Here is Dillontown, where a laptop slides neatly into a saddlebag, and Cruz de la Cruz, a cyber-vato desperado, not only saves el civismo, the very spirit of the town, he saves the holy game of baseball as well.”

— Susan Vreeland, Author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue

John H. Ritter