The Desperado Who Stole Baseball

By: John Ritter

Narrated by: Robert Ramirez

A rough-and-tumble band of batsmen from a California boomtown insist they're the country's best baseball team. To back up their boast, the Dillontown Nine make the 1881 champion Chicago White Stockings an offer they can't refuse - a wager so bold it may completely transform life in their gold mining settlement.

Into this explosive, high-stakes climate rides 12-year-old baseball virtuoso Jack Dillon. His dream of joining Dillontown's celebrated team has carried him and his trusty baseball bat across deserts and mountains. And as he enters the town with his newfound friend - legendary outlaw Billy the Kid - the stage is set for a rip-roaring, fun-filled, "wild and woolbacious" baseball showdown.

An ALA Jr. Literary Guild selection, this enthralling gem by John H. Ritter is a prequel to The Boy Who Saved Baseball, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Robert Ramirez's magnificent narration enhances Ritter's tongue-in-cheek humor and his Mark Twain-like storytelling.

©2009 John H. Ritter (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"[A] wildly entertaining yarn." ( Booklist)