Baseball Book Reports
Mr. LurkerD (who unlike me really does only lurk here) and I have been reading baseball books like hotcakes this offseason, which has really helped us through the baseball-free tundra. Some of them have been really excellent, all have been worth reading. Here are my capsulated book reports for you, AN.
If you've read any of these, what did you think of them? Agree or disagree with my assessment? What was your favorite part? Least favorite? Have you read some other baseball books recently worth mentioning? Tell us all about them...
Here are mine:
The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics, by Alan Schwarz, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004
Really great read. A definite correction to anyone that thinks that the concept currently known as Moneyball is the first inception of using statistics in new and creative ways to influence the economics of running a baseball team. This book is a history of statistics in baseball with tons of information about how different statistics developed, who embraced them in various ways, who fought them in various ways, and how they've affected the game from its beginnings through the present era. Great stories.
Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball, by John Helyar, Villard Books, 1994
Really incredible book. This is a deep history of baseball as a business, with a strong emphasis on the business aspects between the players and the owners. Goes from the beginning of the game through before the 1994 strike. It's a long, detailed book that obviously took a ton of research coupled with a ton of access to write. Impressive from start to finish with both the facts and the analysis of how the game's business has evolved over all its years. Terrific resource and a wonderful read.
Juicing The Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball, by Howard Bryant, Viking, 2005
Good book. Starts with the 1994 strike and goes right through the Canseco book coming out last year and the ugly congressional hearings that followed. Good basic information on steroids and their affect on bodies, coupled with good stories from all different viewpoints on how baseball has (and hasn't) handled the steroid situation. Some great side stories also woven in. Definitely worth reading.
Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark, Plus Part Two, by Jim Bouton, The Lyons Press, 2005
Good old Jim Bouton. This book, which he ended up having to self-publish, tells the crazy story of Jim & co. attempting to do something that seems to be a no-brainer, and getting totally crushed in the process. It's a bizarre story, well told, and this newer edition of the book has the Round Two update of what happened after the book was originally published, which turns out about as messed up as what happened the first time around. The story is both hilarious and pathetic, all at once. Good read.
and fiction even:
Summerland: A Novel, by Michael Chabon, Miramax, 2002
Totally different book - this is a fantasy novel for kids (i.e. 10-12 year olds). That said, my entire family, at all of our various ages, really loved it. The main characters are kids of that age, and these are baseball playing kids of course. Baseball is woven through the whole story both as a metaphor and as an important part of the adventure story the book tells. Really great fantasy story by a writer whose other, very different, books I've also liked.
0 recs |
32 comments
Comments
Wheres the Canseco book?
by niallmack on Feb 21, 2006 11:48 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Fiction
ABSOLUTE must read for baseball/life fans.
by AlwaysSweatin on Feb 21, 2006 12:12 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Looks great
I will definitely plan more success with the Duncan book, thanks.
by lurkerD on Feb 21, 2006 2:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
October 1964
by kkdaz on Feb 21, 2006 1:25 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Amen to
by lurkerD on Feb 21, 2006 2:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I was just about...
And in an effort to make this worth your time, there's always "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon." Okay, or not. I can't remember the name of the one baseball fiction book I read and Amazon is not helping.
by Nimvee on Feb 21, 2006 2:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
here's what I've read this offseason, in order
Addie Joss -King of the Pitchers by S. Longert SABR press (1998) Decent bio of the great early AL pitcher, who is best known for the "all star" game which was held for the benefit of his widow after he died of tubercular meningitis in the tenth year of his career.
Satchel Paige's America by Arthur K. Miller (U of Alabama Press- 2005). This is a great little book. Mr. Miller hung out with the flamboyant Paige in the seventies, mostly in bars. The descriptions of Paige as a retired great are absolutely wonderful, the baseball reminiscences fascinating, if somewhat tainted by the haze of booze, ego, and the general orneriness of the title character.
A Clever Base-Ballist... The Life and Times of John Montgomery Ward by Bryan di Salvatore (Pantheon, 1999) Utterly fascinating and well-researched bio of John Montgomery Ward, who won 164 games before his arm went dead, then switched to shortstop and ended up with over 2100 hits. Oh yeah, he was also married to one of the most popular actresses of the time, founded the Brotherhood of Players and the Players league, was a hugely successful lawyer and President and part owner of the Boston Braves. My own interest in the book was further stimulated by the stuff on Ward's youth, because he grew up in Central Pennsylvania, where I'm from.
Lefty Grove: American Original by Jim Kaplan (SABR press 2000) Very good bio of the A's best pitcher ever (though he's in a goddam RedSox uniform on the cover). Robert Moses Groves was indeed a bit of a so-and-so, and this book was fun and informative reading.
Matty... An American Hero by Ray Robinson (Oxford Press 1993) A decent Christy Mathewson bio. What a standup guy Christy Mathewson was; like Joss, everybody liked him. Now I really like him, too. Great stuff on Muggsy in this one; now I want to read a John McGraw bio.
Walter Johnson... Baseball's Big Train by Henry Thomas (U of Neb Press 1995). OUTSTANDING bio., incredibly researched. HIGHLY recommended.
A note on the Helyar book you listed (which I read a couple of years ago). I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but like you, I couldn't put it down. It's a great book, but I'll bet the author was really bummed when the strike happened. It sort of reminds me of the timing problem with the issue of Aces, Mychael Urban's book, only instead of coming out a year too late, his book came out a year too early.
by Brian in 317 on Feb 21, 2006 1:49 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Oh boy!
About the Helyar book, I absolutely agree on the timing. I bet the author was bummed, and I know I was bummed - I definitely needed another chapter! I read the Juicing the Game book directly afterwards, which helped. Even though it's a very different style book, with different focus, it did pick up right where the Helyar book left off timeline-wise.
by lurkerD on Feb 21, 2006 2:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
and thanks for nod on the Dock Ellis book
by Brian in 317 on Feb 21, 2006 5:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, impressive list.
by OaktownPower on Feb 21, 2006 6:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not sure why pitchers were my focus
BTW, nice recommendation on the Koufax book- maybe he'll be my pitcher.
by Brian in 317 on Feb 21, 2006 7:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Earlier thread
by andeux on Feb 21, 2006 3:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Oh my gosh
Here I work up to my very seldom diary event, and I missed an almost identical thread that recently! I could defensively defend myself by pointing out that this was recent reads, and that one's favorite books, and my goodness, how can you imply they are similar?
Sigh. Well. So.
Thanks for pointing out the other thread ever so gently. Now I can print it out and take it to the library and read some more great baseball books...
by lurkerD on Feb 21, 2006 3:26 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
and if I may reiterate ...
(Any other Coover fans out there? Bueller?)
by monkeyball on Feb 21, 2006 4:30 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
it's one of my faves..
by giambizombie on Feb 21, 2006 7:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
have you read any other Coover?
by monkeyball on Feb 22, 2006 9:35 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Ancient thread
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/1/12/172447/200#readmore
by ArakSOT on Feb 21, 2006 5:06 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
can anyone recommend
Thanks!
by batgirl on Feb 21, 2006 3:52 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
The best I've come across
And for autobiography, you can't miss Buck O'Neil's "I Was Right On Time." It's a tad fluffy, but it's so suffused with love of the game and love of mankind that it's a treasure. That is to say -- the man himself is a treasure, and his voice in the book sounds exactly as it does when he's speaking in Ken Burns' documentary (which is where I first heard of and became enthralled by him).
I have a couple more that I haven't gotten to yet...biographies of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, but since most of my books are in storage, I can't remember their titles. :-/
by sarajune13 on Feb 21, 2006 5:15 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
many thanks!
by batgirl on Feb 21, 2006 5:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Tad Fluffy
by monkeyball on Feb 21, 2006 5:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
it's not strictly on Negro Leagues,
by elcroata on Feb 22, 2006 7:09 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Some largely unheralded faves...
Baseballissimo: A Canadian travels to Italy and finds a league that was started during WWII and has turned one particular region of the country baseball crazy ever since. Hilarious.
"It's a dying quail."
"A what?"
"Umm... Pollo morte?"
"The chicken is dead?"
"Well, it's hard to translate..."
"Hey everyone! The chicken is dead!"
Prophet of the Sandlots: Journeys with a Major League Scout: A fantastic little story about one of the gods of scouting, with an ending that will leave you fighting back the tears. I picked this up for $2 in the bargain bin and loved every second.
by Ozzz on Feb 21, 2006 3:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Recently read
by OaktownPower on Feb 21, 2006 6:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Speaking of Leavy
by sarajune13 on Feb 21, 2006 9:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Liscence to Deal
by novaoakland on Feb 21, 2006 9:09 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Bob Costas' Book
Here's a summary of what he says:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/5312/39270
by spoiltvictorianchild on Feb 21, 2006 11:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Luckiest Man
by oaklandcrazy on Feb 22, 2006 9:27 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

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