The Boy Who Saved Baseball

Tom Gallagher, a 12-year-old baseball player, walks next door one morning to convince Doc Altenheimer not to sell his 300-plus acres to developers. The sale would mean that the local 100-year-old baseball park will become a lake. Extremely introverted, Tom searches for the right things to say, realizing he should have spoken up sooner.

Tom reads the sports pages to Doc, who can’t read the box scores due to failing eyesight. Eventually, Doc begins to talk about his plan to sell to the developers, hoping it will bring new life to Dillontown. Distressed to hear this, Tom says the existing ballfield, which Tom’s grandfather built, is as good as the new up-to-date training facility down the road. The players from the new training facility, the Vikings, always soundly defeat the Dillontown Wildcats. Tom says that if they really wanted to, they could beat the new team because the Dillontown kids have heart.

That evening, more than 500 people—the entire community—gather to hear Doc’s decision about whether he will sell to the developers. A very professional presentation about what would happen to the community if it were sold shows houses, shopping areas, a golf course, and another baseball facility.

Doc announces that he had decided to sell the land until he was approached by a young man who reminded him that what they have is very important. Doc says Dillontown is a baseball community and always has been. Thus, any decision about the town must also be a baseball decision. He continues, “And since I also believe that baseball is God’s game, then I’ll put the fate of this town in His hands” (11). Doc has decided to allow Tom and the Wildcat team to determine his choice. If the Wildcats win the baseball game against the Vikings, then the plan to develop the land will be shelved. If the Vikings beat the Dillontown kids again, the redevelopment will start immediately.

On the first day of baseball camp, Tom does not want to get out of bed. It is the day following the big meeting, and he realizes there is no way his team can beat the Lakeside Vikings. Additionally, several people have dropped out of the Wildcats’ training camp, leaving them with just a handful of players, many of whom are not very athletic. Tom’s best friend, Frankie, tries to get him excited. He and Tom go back and forth about what he wants to do: Should he just not show up, or should he go through with the game?

Tom takes the baseball equipment to the ballpark. The remaining players, both boys and girls, show up. There are a total of nine players. When his father, Jerry, starts to make a speech, Tom’s thoughts drift away. Jerry asks him how many other possible players there might be. Looking at his roster, Tom says this is everyone. As they discuss the fact that they don’t have any chance just with nine players—particularly with these nine players—Tom thinks it might be the best thing if he just quit the team, leaving only eight players and resulting in a forfeit.

They see a lone rider riding toward them down the mountain toward the field on a white speckled horse. It is Cruz de la Cruz, a 12-year-old boy with a bedroll and saddlebags, wearing a cowboy hat and boots. There is a baseball bat in the scabbard of his saddle. He rides up to the group and asks, “Is this the world-famous Dillontown Wildcats Baseball Camp?” (24).

The rider on a horse introduces himself as Cruz de la Cruz from Paloma. He says he has ridden his horse, Screwball, 50 miles through the mountains over two days so he could come and play on the team. He had heard about Dillontown and its wonderful baseball history and wanted to be on that field in particular. Though Cruz is incredibly enthusiastic and creates a lot of curiosity, the other players look at the field as they listen to him. They realize it has fallen into disrepair. When they explain to Cruz that they will be playing a game to determine the fate of the ballpark and the town, he responds, “‘We’re playing for the future of this ballpark?’ He brought his hand down and made a fist. ‘Ay, Dios. Then we’re on a mission from God (27).’”

They establish the camp in the backyard of Tom’s house, setting up all of the amenities they will need during the week. As lunch approaches, Cruz takes his horse out of the barn, and the other players curiously gather, trying to find out more about him. They do not believe he would willingly come and play for Dillontown. They quiz him about it and discover he would like to play major league baseball at some point. He says that there is one person in the town with a big secret whom he wants to talk to: Dante Del Gato.

The other players on the team begin to tell Cruz that they will never be able to see or speak to Dante Del Gato. Maria warns Cruz, “…you can’t go see him. He lives in a fortress and he’s got guard dogs all around the place” (33).

Jerry tells the team to prepare the field for play. They use carpets to smooth the base paths and carry away the junk, weeds, big clods of dirt, and rocks. When they finish, Jerry tells them there’s time for one drill. He explains he wants to teach them how to hit home runs. After debating whether it is better to have a heavier bat or a faster bat speed, they discuss scientific evidence that bat speed with a lighter bat will result in more home runs than a heavy bat. As they try out bats of different weights, they hear a drumming sound in the distance that grows closer.

Coming over the hilltop, marching toward the baseball field is a rag-tag band made up of townspeople chanting and playing all kinds of strange instruments. They announce to the players that they are there to support them and let them know how important this game is: It decides the future of the whole community. The band members brought food, and they set up cookers to prepare an appealing meal.

As practice continues, the food becomes so tempting that the players stop and go to the food: “‘I gotta eat!’ said Wil, leaning on his bat and staring toward the pile of meat” (44). As they eat, Daisy Ramirez sits beside Jerry and tells him they want to find somebody to take his place as the team’s coach. She says there is a consensus that he does not have the baseball knowledge to bring in a winner, and there is too much riding on the game. Graydog, the local attorney, points out that Jerry favors redeveloping the town, which might interfere with his willingness to lead the team to victory. Jerry says he is willing for someone else who knows more about baseball to lead the team, but until that person appears, he is the coach and will prepare the team for the big game. As the rest of the players move toward the field, Cruz turns to Tom and asks him to show him where Del Gato lives that night.

The girls and boys go to their tents for the night. Cruz quickly convinces the boys to move outside and sleep underneath the stars. They arrange their sleeping bags in a circle with their heads to the inside like the spokes of a wheel. They talk about what it is like to take a trail ride under the stars and how Cruz’s mother trusts him to make long rides by himself. Cruz asks them to explain the curse on the community and what it has to do with them. The boys tell about an old prospector, Black Jack, and how he made several cryptic prognostications that all seem to have come true. Tom recites the last prophecy, implying a double cross and warning that Dillontown will cease to exist unless someone reveals an important man’s secret.

Cruz announces that he and Tom will go and find Del Gato and ask him to coach them. Tom expresses surprise at hearing this, but suddenly María says, “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day” (57). The boys realize that, in the darkness, the three girls moved their sleeping bags about 20 feet away from the boys. Tom feels empowered by the thought that María believes this is something that he and Cruz should do, and he sees her in a new light.

Cruz wakes Tom in the early morning hours. They saddle their horses and ride up the mountain. Along the way, they discuss what to do if they see Dante. Cruz informs him that, once they get there, Tom must do the talking. They talk about Dillontown, sharing that it is probably doomed. As they ride, they see places where ancient Indigenous Americans settled and left their marks on the rocks and in the vegetation. They say Tom’s little town will soon go the way of the Indigenous settlements.

As their conversation shifts to baseball, Cruz worries that t-ball will kill baseball because it robs children of the ability to see a moving target and hit it. Cruz says, “I realized that Dante Del Gato had discovered the secret of hitting” (64). Once he figured it out, hitting a fastball became as easy for him as hitting a ball on a tee.

When they arrive at Dante’s house, they find that—just as reputed—a high stucco wall surrounds the compound with iron bars on top and a latched iron gate with no doorbell or intercom. They walk all the way around, trying to find a way to get in, discovering only some rebar and empty aluminum cans. With the cans, Cruz makes a grappling hook. He uses the rope from his saddle to throw the hook into an oak tree. With Tom’s help, he climbs up the side of the stucco wall and gets to the top. As he scales the wall, a big hunk of the wall collapses inward into Del Gato’s backyard: “Like a surfing vaquero, Cruz rode a huge chunk of Spanish stucco straight into the wild unknown” (76). Two dogs begin to bark inside the compound.

The two dogs, Trina and Taco, bark at Cruz as he stands on the collapsed wall inside Dante’s compound. Tom fights the urge to get on his horse and ride away. He does not want to leave Cruz alone, so he stands at the entrance to the wall.

Dante comes out with a shotgun. He looks scruffy and older than his picture on Tom’s favorite baseball card and the poster in his room. Dante points the gun at them and asks who they are and why they’re there. Cruz explains that he didn’t mean to break down the wall. He promises he will rebuild the stucco wall, that he has done it before. Dante examines the grappling hook that Cruz made and asks if he did it himself. Cruz introduces both boys. Dante lowers the shotgun: “‘Come up to the house,’ he growled. ‘I’ll give you five minutes’” (80).

As they walk toward Dante’s white stucco mansion, they see fruit trees and vegetables growing, and ducks and chickens in the yard. Tom and Cruz realize what a wonderful, unique place they have found. Dante sits them at a picnic table while he goes in the house and brings them each a cup of coffee. He asks why they have come up to see him. Tom cannot bring himself to speak, so Cruz leaps in and quickly spells out the whole story about the developers, Doc, and the ballgame that can save the town from being redeveloped and the Lucky Strike baseball field from going underwater.

When Dante hears the story, he reveals a good degree of knowledge about the town. He also has little regard for the mayor, whom he calls crooked. He knows Helen is Tom’s mother, and he knows Tom’s dad: “So you’re Helen’s boy. […] How’s she doing? […] And your old man? How’s he getting along?” (82). Dante listens carefully and then abruptly picks up a chicken that has been annoying the boys and wrings its neck. He says he doesn’t really care about the town and tells the boys it is time for them to go out the same way they came in. Cruz asks him what his secret was because he believes Dante found the way to hit any pitched baseball, and he wants to know if he is close to understanding it.

As the boys ride back for the beginning of baseball practice, they discuss meeting Dante. Tom feels they are lucky because Dante would have been a fearsome coach if he had taken up their offer.

When they get to the field, it is time to practice. They break up into teams for a new practice session that Tom’s parents are running. The players realize that they’ve got some real hitting problems. Only Cruz is good at the plate. They hear that one of the best pitchers in the area will play for the Vikings. The townspeople from the previous day show back up to cheer them, singing and pounding drums. Doc comes out to watch what’s going on.

As they practice, an old pickup truck rolls down toward the field: “When he saw the driver, Tom’s poor stomach flopped like a chicken on a tabletop. It was the crazy man, Dante Del Gato” (90). Dante parks and walks toward the field. Helen greets him. Dante tells her he has come to see if they need his help.