The Desperado who Stole Baseball by John H. Ritter reviewed by Michael L.

The Desperado who Stole Baseball

Have you ever read a book that really caught your eye? Some might say Heat by Dave Lupica because of the suspense and storyline. The best books I have ever read have realistic characters, storyline that I could relate to, and have a great setting. The book The Desperado who Stole Baseball by John H. Ritter contains all these characteristics.
There were many characters that served a great role in making this book one of the best books ever. First, Jack was the main character. He had charisma, heart, and a sense of humor. He traveled all the way from “St. Louie” to a little town in California called Dillontown. He lives his life off of baseball. Next, Billy “The Kid” Henry is a wily Desperado who has been hunted around the U.S.A. for being convicted as a murderer. Finally, Long John Dillon, the founder of Dillontown, is a great ballplayer / manager. He plays and manages the Dillontown Nine, a group of ballplayers who are either criminals or people who couldn’t make it to the big leagues because of financial problems. John Dillon was a run away slave from St. Louie.
The setting is a fairly new town in California founded by Long John Dillon called Dillontown. Dillontown is a town of about 100 people or so and all the people live, eat, and breathe baseball. All the saloons are named after baseball strategies or plays. It is kind of a hostile environment because of its rowdy citizens. It is smack dab in the middle of the desert. During the book the year is the late 1800’s. Although many slaves were still owned, any escapees could come and settle here as their home without being treated badly.
The Desperado who Stole Baseball has many different problems that relate to the same storyline. The plot however is all one topic: Baseball. Jack is trying to find the little town of Dillontown to finally meet his long lost uncle, John Dillon. Jack has a very wide imagination and thinks he has thought up some great situation plays for the Dillontown Nine that is famous for being good at baseball. On his adventure to Dillontown, he meets Billy Henry who didn’t introduce himself as Billy “The Kid” at first. The two newly found friends arrived in Dillontown just in time to audition for the two newly opened spots on the baseball team’s line-up. The team has a huge tournament to find out who the actual best team in America really is. Will Jack and Bill help the Nine, or will Billy be caught and thrown in prison?
If I had a choice I would make all the classrooms in America read this book. I highly recommend this book to any person who likes baseball and suspense or just likes to read a good book. This book contains thrill, suspense, humor, and even some history. All these qualities make this a great book.