Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales From The Diamond

by Jeff Silverman (Editor)

Thirty great essays, profiles, and stories about America's pastime.


Who's on first? / Abbott & Costello --
Wait till next year / Doris Kearns Goodwin --
The web of the game / Roger Angell --
Alibi Ike / Ring Lardner --
Ty Cobb's wild ten-month fight to live / Al Stump --
Hub fans bid kid adieu / John Updike --
Casey at the Congress --
Going to the moon / Bill Barich --
The birth of Joe Hardy / Douglass Wallop --
A Scotchman, a phantom, and a shiny blue jacket / Willie Morris --
On Jackie Robinson / Red Barber --
A Mickey Mantle koan / David James Duncan --
The catch / Arnold Hano --
Old well-well / Zane Grey --
His most prized possession was that '54 Eddie / Ron Shelton --
Keith / Pete Hamill --
Baseball players called her Ma / James T. Farrell --
The pitcher and the plutocrat / P.G. Wodehouse --
One down, 713 to go / Damon Runyon --
Roger Maris / Jimmy Cannon --
Home run fever / Gary Smith --
Woman whiffs Ruth and Gehrig / William E. Brandt --
The silent season of a hero / Gay Talese --
A native son's thoughts / Richard Ben Cramer --
K as in Koufax / Vin Scully --
The rocky road of Pistol Pete / W.C. Heinz --
One vote for Morganna / Red Smith --
Yogi / Roy Blount, Jr. --
The thrill of the grass / W.P. Kinsella --
The green fields of the mind / A. Bartlett Giamatti

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Anthologies

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Stephen Koreivo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fiun and interesting stories and some others I didn't even understand the points at all. With so many great new articles over teh years, and having read great columinst in variuos newspapers for over 40 years, I thought the overall selections could have been better.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this about 3 years ago and just finished. Probably says all you need to know. Some stories were ok, quite a few weren't worth more than a skim read. Pretty mixed quality.

[Tom Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth it just for the John Updike piece on Ted Williams' last game -- much as I love Roger Angell, baseball was in the hands of a master in that one. HATED the Gary Smith piece in which he fawns over the players in the steroid-fueled home run record chase -- many, many of us knew something was afoul, even if we didn't credit steroids. The Ty Cobb piece revealed how twisted his mind was, and was fascinating enough to interest my non-sports loving wife.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any time a book has a title like this, it's going to be up for debate. I'm not sure that I would agree that these are the "greatest" baseball stories ever told. But they are certainly pretty darned good. There are thirty short stories in this book, some fiction, some not. Some of them made me laugh, some of them brought tears to my eyes, and some of them just brought back good memories of a time when baseball was, well, to be honest, more fun. Some of them even made me wish I had been born a decade earlier. Some of the stories made me want to read more biographies on the people who were the subjects, such as "Ty Cobb's Wild, Ten-Month Fight To Live." I loved the tale of the little boy who had people believing he could predict the future ("A Scotchman, A Phantom, and A Shine Blue Jacket"). In one story, "The Catch," the author just happened to be at the game when Willie Mays made that famous catch. And who knew that Zane Grey wrote about baseball?? I sure didn't. "Old Well-Well" certainly brought tears to my eyes.

There are stories about Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Pistol Pete Reiser, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. There's even a story about a 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. One story chronicles the home run chase of 1998, involving Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

To begin the collection, we are treated to a verbatim transcript of one of Abbot and Costello's "Who's On First" performances. As many times as I've heard/seen that, it still gets me giggling almost uncontrollably. Also very humorous is a tale called "Casey At the Congress," in which the inimitable Casey Stengel speaks to a Congressional hearing on the exemption of professional sports from antitrust laws. I would have hated to have been the senator who was questioning Casey. Perhaps the best line is the very last one, in which Micky Mantle says, "My views are just about the same as Casey's."

"Greatest" stories? Probably not necessarily. But it is a great book.

[John Dugan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with a collection of 30 short stories is nice to read because if you don't like some of the stories, you have so many others for you to enjoy. Many of these stories blew my mind, discussing the events and lives of some of the most prominent figures in baseball history, both their triumphs and their falls from stardom. The detail that the individual writers put into every sentence of every story was outstanding, but some of the stories drawled on a little too much and didn't get to the point quickly. There were moments where I felt I was there, witnessing the events spoken of for myself. There were also moments where I was waiting for the next story to make its appearance because the current story wasn't appealing to me. Now, I am a 16 year old kid, so a lot of these stories aren't supposed to really grab my undivided attention and stun me. But for a true baseball fan, this was a solid selection of 30 short stories that highlighted both the events and individuals that have impacted the course of baseball forever.

[Ken Bickley · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, let's face it - "greatest" is quite a claim. But most of these are very good stories, and we would never find unanimous agreement on the "greatest". (Apparently Lyons Press has a large number of these books on different subjects.) I particularly liked the articles on players of past generations; after all, I AM from a past generation. "Who's On First" (one of Abbott & Costello's radio scripts) and "Casey At the Congress" are hilarious; and Richard Ben Cramer's piece on Cal Ripken's streak is touching. "The Rocky Road of Pistol Pete" by W. C. Heinz gives a full account of the many injuries that ended Pete Reiser's career before it ever truly started. And Bart Giamatti's musings on the game itself illustrate once again that he was too intelligent and sensitive to be shoehorned into the job of commissioner - the job that took his life. (Maybe, after all, Bud Lite is the right man for the job.) The book has something for every baseball fan. I highly recommend it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few duds, but mostly great stories. Recommended for any baseball fan.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told is a mixed collection of fiction, nonfiction, and in-between pieces inspired by America’s game. The subtitle, “Tales from the Diamond”, makes it sound as though these are stories about amazing plays, games, etc, which is not quite the case. Instead, we get a truly eclectic array of pieces: Doris Kearns’ Goodwins’ musings about growing up a fan of baseball, bonding over her father over radio scores; an excerpt from a novel in which a Senators fan sells his soul to the devil so Washington can beat the Yankees in the pennant race; one author’s attempt to interview a veteran of the Old Days as they watch a Yale-St.John’s match together; Al Schmuck’s libelous if entertaining stories about Ty Cobb, etc, which are printed without mentioning that Schmuck has acquired such a reputation as a sleaze journalist that some newspapers wouldn’t even print him. (However, that particular piece did mention the ‘Cobb cocktail’, which is Southern Comfort mixed with honey and hot water. Perhaps on opening day I shall toast the Peach in his own style!) I began by listening to the Audible version, which had its limits; I like the narrator well enough, but because of the constant variety of material and the not-always-obvious demarcations between chapters, the delivery could become confusing at times, so I ended up switching to actually reading it, which was a vastly more enjoyable experience despite the fact that for me there is an explicit connection between baseball and listening, hence the even divide in my Audible library between “John Scalzi titles” and “baseball books”. There are also some stories where the audio approach is terrible at delivering the content, like the “Who’s on First” Sketch – the energy and hilarity of that sketch is ruined when someone is announcing “ABBOT:” and “COSTELLO” every two seconds. There were a lot of surprises in this volume: I’d never heard of Jackie Mitchell, for instance, a teenage girl who struck both the Babe and Lou Gehrig out in succession, and I had no idea the western writer Zane Grey wrote baseball stories. Turns out he wasn’t just a one-trick pony. Also, Russians? They play baseball. There’s a team in Moscow known as the Green Sox! What’s next, Russians with mothers and apple pie? The sheer variety of pieces in this book commends it as a read, because not only do we get this odd blend of fiction and nonfiction, but it also doesn’t fixate on the major leagues: sure, there’s a great piece on Ted Williams’ last at-bat, but there are also the stories that demonstrate how captivating baseball was even at the local level, where Mississippi towns play ball against one another and dream of going to the big city of…..Jackson. Several of the pieces delve into what baseball did for its fans beyond the visceral enjoyment of the game, like one reporter’s wrestling with himself over Jackie Robinson forcing him to think about his own prejudices, or “A Scotchman, a Phantom, and a Shiny Blue Jacket” showing us how baseball reportage not only allowed a young writer to develop his writing skills as a boy, but his obsessive knowledge of the game and its trivia was his ticket into respectability among the grown-up men. Definitely recommended for a basefall fan, so long as you know going in that’s not just “The Greatest Plays in Baseball” or somesuch. Its title is an oversell, sure, but it’s fun nontheless.

[Michael Delaware · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeff Silverman wrote an excellent collection of stories. As expected this collection includes stories of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees. There is the Roger Maris home run streak, which beat Babe Ruth's record, and also when Mark McGwire past that in the race with Sammy Sosa and Kenny Griffin Jr.
Perhaps the most moving story was when Branch Rickey had a meeting with Red Barber, the Brooklyn Dodger's long time announcer and told him of his plans to break the color barrier three years before he brought up Jackie Robinson. The background explained in this is tremendously moving, and work reading the entire collection for.
What I found missing from this collection which would have made it more complete would have been the stories of Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and the World Series that was interrupted by an earthquake in 1989 at Candlestick Park, among others.
Perhaps there will be a second installment to include these, and the maybe some of the worst to first turn around teams like the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves in the early 90's, or the World Series that most people forgot which was played just weeks after 9/11 where the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Yankees.
All in all, it is an engaging collection of stories and worth reading.

[Rodger Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd say 3.5, if available, though as with any anthology some of the entries are better than the average score and some are worse. There are some 5 star entries here, including several classic pieces that I have read before. I read Hano's book on "The Catch" (and the entire game) within the last few years and Cramer's DiMaggio bio was also relatively recent. Those are strong entries. Vin Scully was an outstanding broadcaster and putting his spoken words in textual form was surprisingly effective. Roger Angell's books were quite entertaining at the time I read them (now many years ago) and it's always fun to revisit his trip with Joe Wood to see Frank Viola and Ron Darling pitch against one another in college.

Some of the new pieces (or perhaps just forgotten pieces) that I enjoyed included the Pete Hamill story on Keith Hernandez and the Roy Blount, Jr. SI article on Yogi Berra.

On the other end of the spectrum, I read Ring Lardner a long time ago and it never really connected with me. Douglass Wallop's story was fun but I'm not sure enough of it it survived the editing process. Read the longer text. I'm tempted to say the same about Al Stump's Cobb piece, but I have not read Stump (I saw the movie Cobb about their time together).

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've been reading my reviews for any length of time, I'm sure it's become fairly obvious that I am someone who has strong feelings about particular things, yes? Baseball is one of those things. (Also, it's spring which means baseball is hugely on my brain.) Listening to this collection reminded me of the days when my family would watch the game with a muted tv and a stereo tuned to Skip Caray; we wanted to listen to his commentary while still viewing the game. This allowed us to partake in a kind of lightning-flash time travel: we could hear Skip report a play and then, three to seven seconds later, watch it happen.
The book includes stories of Joe DiMaggio's surprising (to me at least) hostility towards the sexualization of his legendary wife; detailed accounts of the three times Pete Reiser snuck out of the hospital to continue playing ball; and, of course, the tale of Jackie Mitchell, the woman who pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig—back to back. It's a niche title, but just look at it as a microhistory lesson about a delicious slice of Americana. Or a study in nostalgia.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I thoroughly enjoyed this read. There is a diverse range of baseball stories in here, from fictionalized accounts to award-winning journalism to personal recollections. I can’t say I enjoyed them all equally, some were intriguing, others humorous, and a couple were boring. Baseball may not have the same cultural power as it once had in this country, but for me it’s still the best and this book reminded me in many occasions why. Some of favorites: Darling vs. Viola, Cal Ripken, Soviet baseball, Eddie Matthews, Ted Williams, a great story about listening to baseball on the radio in Mississippi.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I share the opinion of many of the other reviewers - too few gems among many average to mediocre stories that did not enthrall me. Some seemed to lack a point. There were a few great pieces of literature in there, like John Updike's account of Ted Williams' career and his last game, or Red Barber's own self-reflection on learning about the coming racial integration of baseball in the 40's, or Gay Talese's description of Joe DiMaggio's life post-playing days. There were a few other good ones as well, but far too many not-so-interesting stories.

[Art Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies are fun books to read, taking time every few nights to read one or two before bed. Sports short stories are among my favorites, partly because I'm a big fan but also because they take you back to a specific time and feel.

This book is a mixed bag but some are very good. The Cobb story in particular will stick with me for a while, and I really enjoyed the Smokey Joe Wood one. Relaxing stories for summer nights, written by some of the greatest sports writers of the 20th century.

[Linda M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for baseball fans. I enjoyed the majority of the stories. A very few, I skimmed. My favorite stories were "Ty Cobb's Wild Ten-Month", "A Scotchman, A Phantom, and A Shiny Blue Jacket" (I laughed throughout the entire story), "Baseball Players Called Her Ma", "Casey At The Congress", and "A Native Son's Thoughts". I wish there had been a story about Joe Jackson. I live in Spartanburg, S.C. near where he was born & died.

[Shaun Bossio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most anthologies, this one is both hit and miss. I'm going to use baseball puns, ugh. There are some homeruns, but most are strikeouts. The pieces on Cobb, DiMaggio, Williams and Berra are the strongest by far. A lot of the other stuff seemed like filler to me, and though I understand the purpose, the title of this book is hyperbolic to say the least.

[Steve Wegman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2004 collection of stories from the whole range of 20th century baseball: Ty Cobb, Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Cal Ripken, Willie Mays’ catch, forgotten greats like Pete Reiser. Lots of interesting stories about interesting people and interesting baseball events by great writers. Only downside: way too much New York & Boston focus.

[Dan Nix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given this book when I was 8, this was ironically my first introduction to the literary geniuses John Updike and Willie Morris. Most of the stories in this book pale in comparison to these two's pieces however. Worth it for the two.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent anthology of some great brief memoirs, biographical profiles, short stories, and miscellanea.

[Jon Garrard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the stories were interesting. Decent read.

[Phil Hardin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of the 30 stories there were only about five that I truly enjoyed.

[Kevin Harber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories are deserving of being called great, but most are not. A definite mixed bag.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish

[Agnes DiPietrantonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really great writing by folks that I never suspected were sports writers before becoming "serious" writers. A fun read

[Felisa Cárdenas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for every baseball fan. If anyone questions how someone could love the fame, give them this book with a collection of writings that re-live and reignite the love and passion of the game.

[Sam Delson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of classic baseball essays, marred only by sloppy proofreading that left it with a surprising number of typos.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very wonderful short stories and essays about baseball.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Formulaic. The intros were ok. The Ty Cobb story was so wrong. There were maybe 5 chapters that were ok. (especially at the end).

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd say 2, maybe 3, of the greatest baseball stories ever told are within these pages.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true joy to read!