Baseball Hall of Shame™: The Best Of Blooperstown

by Bruce Nash, Allan Zullo

The classic Hall of Shame series returns from Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo in a kooky collection of all-true bloopers and outrageously funny moments from more than 100 years of baseball history that just aren't found anywhere else. It's been a generation since the last edition, and the wait was well worth it, as the authors have stored up amazing new discoveries and mind-boggling modern moments in a laugh-filled journey that reminds us, "It's okay to screw up-- look at these big-leaguers who did!"

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, Humor

296 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2012

Reviews

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with stories of all the most unusual and strange occurrences in baseball's history. From unusual plays, wacky errors, and just wacky players to weird injuries and debuts, this book covers them all. Segments are half page to a couple of pages, making it easy to read in small chunks. All of the stories are amusing and interesting. Even if you are like me and read a lot of baseball history and have heard most of the stories in here, its still a nice time waster.

Highly recommended, again just a fun read.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid addition to the Baseball Hall of Shame family, and perfect for people who have followed the series since the beginning, or brand new fans. It's great to pick up and put down at your leisure, as the stories are short enough to hold your attention, but not so long that they hold you hostage. It was great to revisit some of my old favorites, while still being introduced to the new Hall of Shame inductees. This is a must-have for any sports nut, or even the casual fan that enjoys learning about the lighter side of baseball.

[Mike Courson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 27 of 2023
A friend tucked this under my windshield wiper and I like baseball so why not? Lots of zaniness, some of it interesting, but just not my style of writing. Just a little too flippant to the point of being annoying most times.

Undoubtedly some interesting stories. As I was reading through the worst fans bit, I was disappointed not to see 10-cent beer night. Ha, that was properly shelved later in the book under bad promotions. It's an all-time great sports stories so credit to the authors for giving it a little bit more space, including a full-page photo.

I also liked some of the stories involving new players making debuts and getting hosed. The odds of those things are pretty phenomenal. Enjoyed seeing some of the names I grew up with. Usually did not enjoy anything pre-1930 as it's just so different from what we think of today. But even a few of those were interesting.

Not sure how else the writers could have done it. It's supposed to be a light, flippant book. I chalk it up to just my preference on reading stuff like that but my 2/5 aptly describes my meh, it was okay. I struggled a bit to finish.

[Ryan Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, easy read for baseball fans. Funny stories that will make you laugh

[Brian Aubert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Re-read from childhood. Not as captivating as I remember.

[Carol Blakeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read!

[Dani Shuping · Rating 3 out of 5]

The “Baseball Hall of Shame” series is one of my all time favorite series. It’s just got that perfect blend of trivia and funny stories that makes it an entertaining read on a rainy day. So I was excited to see this new volume come out, the first one in over twenty years, just to see what new stories they added.

And while it’s still a good read I felt a bit disappointed in it. For one it wasn’t all new stories, which yes if I read the product description carefully it kind of hints at that, but it isn’t overtly obvious. But even more important to me is they also just seemed to leave out stories that I think modern fans of baseball would love, such as Bobby Cox breaking the record for getting thrown out of the most games. And where was the Robin Ventura/Nolan Ryan match? I think I just expected a bit more from this book and it just didn’t quite deliver like the other books do. It still has its funny moments though, such as Ken Griffey, Jr. putting the cow in Lou Piniella’s office and “The Mad Russian” who asked his wife to sit in the stands and yell insults at him so he played better.

Overall it’s still a good book to the series and a good way to introduce new fans to the rest of the series. 3 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by NetGalley

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many funny pranks and mishaps in this book that I'd never heard of before reading this book! Most of the time, when I finish a book I pass it on to others. I'm gonna keep this one for its treasure chest of behind-the-scenes info, which I'll be drawing on again and again.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought it for $1.99 as a Kindle Daily Deal. Nothing earth-shattering here. Some of the stories I had heard before, some I hadn't. It was published in 2011 so it's a little outdated now. Fun read, but nothing I would have paid full money for.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a baseball fan for 30 years and had never heard of some of these stories until now. It's a great read and is fun to share with family and friends too.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can open this book to any page and find a hilarious, entertaining and TRUE baseball story. I wish I could have been there to see some of these funny events in person.

[Venicegirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of stories you can definitely use to stifle family or friends and even your enemies. I highly recommend it to anyone young or old, baseball fan or not. Great book period.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book a lot... I learned quite a bit about baseball and I enjoyed the authors’ sense of humor. Great gift item and coffee table book!

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad's a huge baseball fan and I bought this for his birthday -- he loved it!

[Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book with truly hilarious stories. It's an easy read and is entertaining the entire way through!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, very informative.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fun sports trivia, though culled from many of their older books. The formatting of the e- book was rather sporadic in consistency, but it is an interesting read if you're a baseball fan.