Fun baseball short story Billy really could have been an all time catcher with those stats though the first month

AUDIOBOOK: This is actually a 2-for-1 of short stories by King. Both good. Short and sweet. I think I may have read Blockade Billy in a different collection but still good. Recommend.

This was a break from the Stephen King I expected. I was a little surprised by the style of the story; George "Granny" Grantham is regaling the Master of Horror with a tale about Blockade Billy - Billy Blakely. I listened to this one as an audiobook and the sensation of eavesdropping on a conversation was eerie. In a couple of places in the narrative, Grantham addresses his silent audience as "Mr. King" and even stops, requesting a drink of water. I wouldn't say the story was frightening, but there were elements of the unsettling and eerie in it, however this is a great example of a study in a character voice. I highly recommend it for fans of baseball as the games are almost a character in and of their own right, not just a setting for the characters.

I was a little disappointed in Blockade Billy. I was waiting for the horror/sci-fi twist like Stephen King's usual, but it wasn't there. I did like how it was a story told to Stephen King. I could totally picture a little old man in a nursing home telling the story. Morality was ok as well, but again, no twist like I was looking for. Didn't feel like a usual Stephen King book to me. :(

3.25 ⭐️
I might do a wrestling version of this about Chris Benoit in 20 years time.

2.5 Stars. Mr. King wrote a lovely story about baseball with a huge, horrific ending.