Stephen King's Blockade Billy

Blockade Billy

Plot: An old man in a retirement home, George "Granny" Grantham, is telling the story to Stephen King. Granny tells of a season in the 1950's when he was the third base coach for the now defunct MLB team, the New Jersey Titans. When the team loses both of their catchers days before the start of the season, they are forced to request a minor league player as a last minute replacement. The replacement turns out to be a young man named William "Billy" Blakely. Although Billy seems to be feeble minded and highly susceptible to suggestion, he turns out to be a phenomenal player. He becomes especially well known for his incredible stopping power at home plate, earning him the nickname "Blockade Billy" amongst fans. He quickly becomes endeared to the team, especially to star pitcher Danny Dusen, a usually arrogant, self centered man who adopts Billy as his good luck charm. Granny, however, becomes suspicious of Billy when a player who was badly injured during a tag out accuses him of intentionally hurting him.

My Review and Thoughts:

One of my favorite authors from my childhood. A King of woven stories and a pure unrelenting imagination that never really fails in creating true originality in stories. One thing Stephen King injects in his stories is his love for baseball from the modern classic by him The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon to the mention of the Boston Red Sox', which is King’s favorite team. His passion for the sport always shows.

This book is 132 pages long and contains two stories. Stephen King’s mark is all over both. His word play and his sense of humor and the taste of the strange reeks from both. Blockade Billy is an interesting baseball tale that seems to capture the excitement of a sports radio broadcaster displaying the game in thoughtful detail.

With Stephen King behind the story the mystery is there waiting to be solved and the reader wonders just what is up with Billy and his ways. A short little story of baseball love and a darker hidden mystery of one persons dark side and hidden past. Not a great story to remember but just one to blow some time with, reading the descriptive nature and King’s priceless touch.

The second story is called Morality. It’s a good and bad attitude type of setting. An old preacher on his death bed offers his nurse 200 thousand dollars to commit a sin in his favor. He has always wanted to indulge his darker side. The story is about the choice to commit a crime that your willing to do for money. Its about the turmoil that happens afterwards and the mind that tends to play tricks on you.

The whole book, which is two short stories is a fun read and just a quick trip into the imagination of Stephen King in the simpler setting’s of story telling. If you have nothing better to do or read then give it ago and if you don’t, your not missing much.