The publisher's description on the book's front inside cover reads:
    He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first—and only—player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history.
    Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse.
The book was published by Cemetery Dance on April 20, 2024 as a trade hardcover, timed to coincide with the opening of the 2010 MLB season. It has cover art by Glen Orbik and interior artwork by Alex McVey. First copies of the book will include William Blakely's baseball card. Brian Freeman's Lonely Road Books will be releasing a deluxe signed edition of Blockade Billy in the summer of 2010. On May 25, 2010, Simon & Schuster released the novella as an audiobook, as well as a trade edition hardcover, featuring a bonus short story, "Morality" (originally published in the July 2009 issue of Esquire).