Cruz de la Cruz

In this selection by John H. Ritter, 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, they make a wager with the 1881 champion Chicago White Stockings. Into this high-stakes climate rides 12-year-old baseball virtuoso Jack Dillon with his newfound friend, Billy the Kid. This sets the stage for a fun-filled, rip-roaring baseball shootout.

In his 3rd book on baseball, John Ritter takes the reader to Dillontown where, through a series of events, the fate of the town rests on the outcome of a baseball game. Tom and a newcomer, Cruz, convince a former Major-League Baseball player to coach the team. The team prepares for the big day by using unorthodox training methods. While the team wins the game, it still takes an unusual set of circumstances to save the town.