Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

Starred Review Ritter delivers a baseball tale of legendary dimension, featuring several larger-than-life characters and a team of ordinary young folk tackling a seemingly insurmountable challenge in defense of a worthy cause. After old Doc Altenheimer promises not to sell his acres to developers if the local, ragtag summer camp can field a team that beats the nearby exurb's all-stars, along comes young Cruz de la Cruz, with a bat slung into a rifle holster on his saddle and a self-designed computer game that simulates the delivery of any pitch. Knowing they'll need more than that to be ready, 12-year-old benchwarmer Tom enlists gruff loner Dante del Gato, a renowned Major Leaguer who suddenly quit the game, as trainer. While local boosters turn the tumbledown practice field into a rolling fiesta, and eager reporters gather to watch, Tom and his fellow Wildcats find themselves playing better than they ever thought they could--good thing, too, as Cruz, his work done, disappears on game day, propelling Tom into the lineup for last-inning heroics. Developing both cast and multiple plotlines in suitably wild and woolbacious prose, Ritter dishes up another stellar read--topped off by a convincing Web site, http://www.cruz-on.com, apparently fabricated for the book, that adds verisimilitude.

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

In Ritter's enthralling third baseball tale (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Choosing Up Sides; <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Over the Wall), developers want to come into quaint Dillontown, nestled among a California mountain range, to plow up the historic baseball field in order to make way for a new diamond—and houses and strip malls as well. When 12-year-old Tom Gallagher goes to visit Doc, the old man who owns the land, he raises an issue that gets the man to thinking: "Is it new facilities that would help this town the most, or a new <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">spirit?" So Doc decides to let a single game of baseball determine how his land will be used. Tom finds himself working to get a small, poorly trained group of players ready for the big day. Some unlikely help arrives in the form of Cruz de la Cruz, a mysterious boy who literally rides into town (on horseback) to gear up for the pivotal game and to seek out Dante Del Gato, the legendary San Diego outfielder who supposedly possesses the "Secret of Hitting" (19 hits in as many games). Tom's fear of letting down his community mirrors the tale of Del Gato, who abandoned his team just before the World Series and lives like a hermit in the nearby hills. Ritter paints Dillontown as equal parts Mayberry R.F.D. and Twin Peaks (a homeless rapper/poet who talks into a broken cell phone, a beauty salon with the motto "We'll Chop Your Mop 'Til You Say Stop"). The author takes the cosmic view of a local story: Tom not only strives to save a patch of land but the soul of his hometown. Baseball fans will appreciate the lore, but the prose is also at times stunning ("A boy needs to read the earth.... A boy kept distant from the earth is a boy dissatisfied"), in a book filled with memorable moments. Ages 9-13. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

An elderly doctor planning to sell his land for future development decides to hinge the deal on whether Tom's baseball team can beat a rival in a big game. Tom and his teammates, fighting to keep the town the way it is, recruit a reclusive former all-star for their coach and attempt to learn the secrets of hitting. This novel celebrates friendship, community spirit, and the mythology of the great American pastime.

Kirkus Reviews

A team of young ballplayers, who have the will but not necessarily the talent, can save the town's legendary baseball field from developers by winning one crucial game. Tom, a sensitive youngster who wants to be a writer, loves his town, the surrounding countryside, and that special ballpark. He records the ensuing events in his journal and, in a nice twist, ends by writing the opening paragraph. The mysterious, wise Cruz de Cruz, the stranger riding in from nowhere, is the catalyst, a la Spinelli's Maniac McGee , for the changes that affect the entire town. Dante Del Gato, a reclusive former ballplayer who appears to have found the secret of perfect hitting, agrees to help. Throw in some physics, ecology, astronomy, and extraordinary, eccentric coaching and guess who wins the big game. This is more than a baseball story; each character has a distinct personality with interests, strengths, and weaknesses that are accepted and admired. A fast-paced, sweet-natured tale for more than just fans. (Fiction. 10-13)

School Library Journal (Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

Gr 5-8-This novel goes beyond the usual baseball story by introducing the deeper issue of big developers encroaching upon nature and small-town life in rural California. Doc Altenheimer, an 87-year-old apple rancher, seems to be ready to sell his 320 acres of prime real estate that makes up a good part of Dillontown and its baseball field. He surprises young Tom and the rest of the residents by proposing that the decision should ride on a baseball game between the locals and the well-equipped summer-camp team down the road. Despite the odds against Dillontown, a surprise ending is in store. Characters are colorful and intriguing. There is the villainous mayor who believes there will be great prosperity if new roads and expensive houses are built. A mysterious boy, Cruz de la Cruz, arrives on horseback claiming to know the secret of hitting, and brings hope and spirit back to the residents. He and Tom seek out an old baseball legend, Dante Del Gato, a recluse who walked away from the majors many years before, and convince him to be their coach. Ritter's descriptive passages will have readers feeling they are actually at the ballpark tasting the swirling dust amid the authentic Mexican food cooked by the supportive townspeople. Spanish phrases blend in unobtrusively throughout the saga. This tale is peppered with both optimism and dilemmas; it has plenty of play-by-play action, lots of humor, and a triumphant ending.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.