Blockade Billy by Stephen King

This is a really short novella about baseball set in 1957. I know that Stephen King is a big baseball fan. I enjoy baseball also and was intrigued by the title and the book’s cover. The elderly third base coach for the fictional New Jersey Titans tells this story to King. The team’s catchers are injured and a rookie, William Blakely, is called up from their farm system. No one has ever heard of him and if you check the baseball record books you won’t find any mention of him. Even though he is an unknown, he is a great batter and a tough, solid catcher. He therefore becomes very popular with the home fans—who hold up signs—“Road Closed By Order of Blockade Billy.” Did I mention he also has some quirky aspects to his personality and is slightly mysterious? This book is by Stephen King, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there has to be a bizarre twist. King is very knowledgeable about baseball, its lingo, and he also sprinkles in several real players’ names to make it more realistic. There is some vulgar language that is common in the sports world. I must confess, this is the only Stephen King book I’ve ever read, and I did enjoy it. I would recommend it especially to men and teen boys who like baseball.