John H. RitterRecensioni

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Dillontown has always been a baseball town and Tom loves it. He's not the best player on the team, but he eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. The problem is that the mayor would like to build a golf course and houses and a new baseball field where the old one is...and somehow the landowner has put whether or not he will sell on the fate of the team. If they win - the field and mountains stay. If they lose...Tom doesn't want to think about it. Chances are slim until the first day of baseball camp when Cruz de la Cruz shows up and convinces the team to get the crazy ex-baseball player for their coach.

This is a baseball book first and foremost, but it is also a book with a lot of heart. I liked the emphasis on the underdog, as well as on the culture of the community. However, there is enough baseball in here that you would need to know and like the sport to enjoy the book.

This was an excellent book. Well-written, great metaphor, and a good message.

Andy, the son of two small-time local musicians, plays the trumpet in a 3-man jazz/Latin/blues/reggae band. He dreams of making it to the big time. Glory, who Andy knew as a child but didn't especially care for, moved away when she was younger, but is now back in town. She plays softball and also dreams of making it big. When the two cross paths again, there's not just a romantic attraction, but also a special music & sports bond.

This is a young adult novel, and I was initially attracted to it because of the title & yes, the cover art. It's currently the beginning of baseball season & I felt this was a good book to pick up to help get me in the mood. I admit, the book description & plot seem a bit unconventional -- the combination of sports & music, but the author makes it work. While this probably would be best suited for a young adult audience, I enjoyed it. It's nothing really deep, but it's unique, and a good choice if you want a feel-good book.½

Didn't finish it - I couldn't relate to any of the characters. It's more about music than baseball or softball.

This is an okay sports story for middle grade readers who love sports stories. I wouldn't go so far as to recommend it, but I wouldn't warn kids away from it either.

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.

This book was a very very compelling and inspiring book. This story is about a boy who lives in a small small town, but this town is legendary for its baseball. This small little town holds one of the most legendary ball parks ever, and where Dante Del Gato played. Dante Del Gato was amazing, going 19 for 19 in the Major League playoffs, until he mysteriously dropped out of the World Series. Del Gato still lives here, up in the mountains, where he is alone. Anyways, the old baseball park is is now a prize, for the winner of the of the all-stars, or Tom’s Wildcats. Cruz de la Cruz, a mysterious boy from out of town, joins the team. Tom and him decide they have to get Dante Del Gato as their coach, but no one has talked to him for years. They ride up the mountains, and asks Del Gato if he wants to be their coach, but he says no, but the next day, he shows up, and teaches them. Now, its gameday, and to find out the rest, you must read the book The Boy Who Saved Baseball.½

RGG: Wonderful baseball story. Set in a Latino, southern California rural community.

The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and twelve-year-old Tom Gallagher, an aspiring writer, hopes to lead his team to victory. This realistic fiction chapter book tells the story of his small town’s fate. Twelve-year-old Tom gets more than he bargains for when he asks his good friend, Doc Altenheimer, to reconsider selling his property to the developers who plan to destroy the town and its 100-year-old baseball field. Doc's solution is to have the upcoming baseball game between the town’s rag-tag little league team, the Dillontown Wildcats, and an all-star team from the suburbs decide the issue. Help shows up just in time from a disgraced professional baseball player who can show the Wildcats the secret of hitting and help them win the game. If the Wildcats win, Doc won't sell his land... or will he? This uplifting book for middle school readers has everything- adventure, legend, romance, friendship, horses, science, a surprise ending and, of course, baseball.½

Has an interesting touch of religion but focuses on the internal struggle of the main character. Great for those students that like baseball. Also a grate time period book.

The future of a small town in rural California is at stake.The land includes a good part of Dillontown and its baseball field Lucky Strike Park. After young Tom Gallagher visits the rancher, Doc proposes that his decision will be determined by a baseball game between the locals and the good summer camp team. If the locals, the Dillontown Wildcats, beat the summer camp team, Doc will not sell his land to the developers. They get help from a mysterious boy and a computer simulated game. This book is very imaginative.

"In the very big inning...The gruff and tumble founders of Dillontown, California, were a scrappy bunch. From fistfighting misfits and cattle rustlers to gold-digging drunkards and cardsharp hustlers. And that's just the women. The men were all that, plus they smelled bad." It's 1881, and Jack Dillon, age 12 is determined to play baseball for his uncle, Long John Dillon and the Dillontown Nine... the best baseball team in the West. Long John has challenged the owner of the Chicago White Stockings baseball team to a match in Dillontown, with the prize of $10,000 in gold to the winner -- and the title of Champion Baseball Club of America. On the way out west, Jack meets and befriends "Bill Henry" -- aka the outlaw Billy The Kid, who also has potential as a ballplayer. Together, they bring an arsenal of new tricks and ideas to the Dillontown Nine, including Jack's newfangled suicide squeeze play and "HEW-TA": "Hit 'em where they ain't!" A rollicking old-west story of baseball, outlaws, inlaws, honor, and cheating, this is one of the most fun historical fiction-sports combinations I've seen yet. If you haven't read The Boy Who Saved Baseball, read it after this one, as this is a long-ago-and-far-away kind of prequel to that one. 6th grade and up.

Very good it is a book about the old west with a baseball twist.

This book is about a boy, Tom Gallagher, who attempts to save his town from greedy developers and their historical baseball field. The only way for the town and field to be saved is for the towns youth baseball team to win the big game. Tom then meets a boy name Cruz de la Cruz who teaches the team some ways to improve their game while giving them hope and new confidence. They then enlist the help of Mr. Delgato, a baseball legend, who lives in the town to coach their team. In the end the team wins the big game and the town is saved!

This chapter book is about a boy named Tom Gallagher, who tries to save his town and it's famous baseball league from shutting down. The only way to save the fate of the baseball league is to play in a big baseball game. Tom meets a boy named Cruz de la Cruz who teaches him some ways to win the game and gives the team new hope and confidence. The game is a success and the baseball league is saved for the town all thanks to Tom's help.
Content Summary: Baseball, hope, courage, friendship, and sports.

Website: http://www.johnhritter.com/

content summary: friendships, baseball, small town, responsibility, change

i didnt like this book

The boy who saved baseball was a typical sports book and was very predictable.

This might be the first sports story I've ever read, and I'm glad to say that I liked it=) This is the story about a small town in Southern California, close to the Mexican border, where a bunch of land developers want to buy all land and make strip malls and new houses. It might sound good to some people, but for the people who live there they like it just the way its been for hundreds of years, rich with history and life. The person who pretty much decides what will happen decides to let the fate of the town rest on a baseball game between the town team of kids and the team in the next city over. A great underdog story with fun, believable characters and a lot of heart.

The Boy Who saved Baseball is exactly what the title states. The boy must go through many opions of people who think that the town of Dilliontown must get rid of the basebball field especially his friendly neighboor . Tom meets a friend along the way who trys to help him save the town by practicing for a game they must win that determines the fate of the baseball field. The old man dies and leaves his wil to the young boy who saves baseball. Good Lit Circle use. Awesome fun boook for baseball lovers ! Cruz de la Cruz Del Gato tom's compainions in baseball

A great narrative/math book for students to read in literature cirlces