Stephen King has written an interesting little book in Blockade Billy, combining his two aesthetic passions - baseball and suspense writing. The result is one that might appeal to people who love baseball more than his usual material, but there's enough in Blockade Billy to please, and maybe even surprise, his long-time readers. And even if it doesn't, the book's only 112 pages long. It'll be over quicker than a boring ball game. 

The story of Blockade Billy is told by George Grantham, who coached third base for the New Jersey Titans. A series of bizarre mishaps to the team's catcher and his backup leaves them desperate for someone "who can catch Hank Masters' fastball and Danny Dusen's curve without falling on his keister". That someone turns out to be William Blakely, a young kid from Davenport, Iowa. He's a nice enough kid, but something about him strikes George as strange - the feeling that young William Blakely isn't all there, the curious way young William Blakely has of repeating almost everything you say to him, the curious way he talks to his mitt. The kid can catch, though, and his creative way of tagging baserunners wins him fans - and an irate opposing manager, who feels sure that Blakely had something to do with the batter's sliced Achilles' tendon.

But Billy's popularity grows, and his catching prowess becomes such that fans come up with a name for him: "Blockade Billy". Soon, signs start appearing all across stadiums, saying "Road Closed By Order Of Blockade Billy". Blakely's hitting ability sets him on a path to the record books - or it would, if that season wasn't struck from the books. None of it goes to his head, though, and George Grantham begins to wonder what exactly goes on in Blockade Billy's head as he talks to himself, repeats whatever is said to him, and body-checks baserunners. As Billy's mojo rises, the Titans' fortunes fall, leading everyone to wonder if Blockade Billy "sucks luck" from those around him. The truth is much, much worse.

Stephen King has made no secret of his love for baseball, co-authoring Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle The Historic 2004 Season (with Stewart O'Nan), and frequently incorporating baseball analogies and references into his own novels and short stories. Blockade Billy is the first story where baseball takes center stage (or center field, if you will).

What makes Blockade Billy special  is King's adoration of the deep history and culture of old-school, classic baseball. He describes the moment when George Grantham takes William Blakely to see the field on Opening Day, before the storm:

"the silent, empty stands where over fifty thousand people would be sitting that afternoon, the bunting already hung on the railing and fluttering in the little morning breeze, the foul poles painted fresh Jersey Blue, the groundskeepers just starting to water."

And you can picture it, too - the quiet, the cold morning air, that sense of the world holding its breath, waiting, imagining, dreaming, hoping, believing. King brings the nervous anticipation (and cautious optimism) home so well, even to a baseball rookie such as myself, that it's easy to look past the terminology and name-dropping that the more established baseball fans will latch on to.

So I have to wonder if King wrote Blockade Billy as primarily a sports fiction novel for readers unfamiliar with his usual work, and threw some suspense in to hook his normal market. The resolution of the story - the true identity of Blockade Billy - is moderately disappointing. There's no detour into the supernatural (which was my guess), and his secret is not exactly what I'd call terrifying (or even horrifying). It certainly is shocking, though, and to be fair, maybe I've been spoiled by King's other successes. Maybe King didn't want to overwhelm new readers with post-apocalyptic nightmares or telekinetic menstrual girls. If that was his thought process, I can't hold it against him. He's proven his chops time and time again, and I think he's entitled to a little indulgence at this stage in his life. Besides, even if the destination was underwhelming, the journey was very entertaining - not just establishing the mystery of Blockade Billy, but also opening that window into the world baseball in a time gone by.

Should you read Blockade Billy? If you're a Stephen King fan, I'd recommend it. This isn't The Stand or Dreamcatcher, but it is a good story told in an honest, intriguing - and dare I say, loving - fashion. If you're a baseball fan, this book will probably sing to you as well. King writes from the heart, the heart of someone who loves the game of baseball - and with how talented a writer he is, he doesn't need the supernatural or the paranormal to weave a good story.