56 pages • 1 hour read
John H. RitterThe Boy Who Saved Baseball
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Language and Word Choice in Middle Grade Literature
Ritter demonstrates the awareness that he is writing for middle grade readers not only in the delicate manner in which he deals with Dante’s confession of his struggle with alcohol and the sudden death of Doc but also in the way he manages to convey strong emotions and quick responses clearly without the use of vulgar language by young people or adults. He transforms recognizable adult expressions into humorous quips. For example, when the attorney Graydog wants to emphasize that the goal of the Wildcats is not to do well in the Big Game but rather to win it, he exclaims, “Fighting chance, my asthma! […] We want them to win” (45).
When Dante, a Catholic, finds two 12-year-old boys have broken down the wall around his compound, he asks them, “What in the Hail Mary were you trying to do?” (79). Rather than cursing a man he detests, Dante creatively says, “The mayor? That double-crossing sack of cow’s cud. He’s crooked as a snake in a rake” (83). The young people prove equally adept at avoiding vulgar expressions and replacing them with sharp responses, as when Clifford describes the high quality of their most recent batting practice: “You saw us today. We smashed the chips-and-dip out of the ball” (165).
The Character Archetype of the Mysterious Savior
One of the literary devices commonly used in novels about sports is the unexpected appearance of an individual who possesses unique knowledge or skills and imparts them to the story’s protagonist, who otherwise would have failed without them. Well-known examples include the ghost of Joe Jackson in the book Shoeless Joe and the movie Field of Dreams, as well as the mysterious caddy Bagger Vance in the novel and motion picture, The Legend of Bagger Vance.
In Ritter’s narrative, the mysterious savior is Cruz, who appears just in time to begin baseball training camp with the mystified Wildcats. Like the savior figures in other novels, Cruz has insights, natural abilities, and an emotional appeal that hooks the other characters from the beginning. In every situation, Cruz knows what to say and do without overstating or understating his case. The savior knows when to challenge, when to assure, and when to ask for the few bits of assistance that the protagonist can provide, thus empowering the main character. In Cruz’s case, the savior also knows when to fade into the background by fulfilling his prophetic comment that he hates goodbyes by simply disappearing when it is time for Tom and the Wildcats to stand up for themselves without his help.
Sports books are not the only genre that features the mysterious savior. Ritter acknowledges this in a reference to a 1950s and 60s radio and TV western that featured a gunslinger who showed up to save the day once a week, Have Gun—Will Travel. The title referred to the business card of Palidin, a retired soldier who had the gift of showing up the moment he was needed. Ritter plays off this when Cruz shows up at the Wildcats’ camp and produces a business card inscribed, “Have Fun, Will Travel” (31).
