Summers at Shea: Tom Seaver Loses His Overcoat and Other Mets Stories

by Ira Berkow

Culled from 50 years’ worth of columns from one of the country’s most popular sportswriters, this work stands as a remarkable collection of opinions that is guaranteed to delight Mets fans of all ages. Former New York Times columnist Ira Berkow captures the spirit of the Mets in this unforgettable collection of opinions, stories, and observations from his long and distinguished career as he interviews and comments on the team. From memories of inaugural franchise manager Casey Stengel and Hall of Famer Tom Seaver to reflections on ace Johan Santana and the superstar David Wright, this collection combines Berkow’s eye for detail with the comedy and drama revealed by the subjects themselves, bringing to life Mets’ personalities from the last half century.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Ira Berkow was a sports columnist and feature writer for THE NEW YORK TIMES for more than 25 years. He won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and was a finalist for the Pulitzer for commentary. He is the author of numerous books, including THE CORPORAL WAS A PITCHER, ROCKIN' STEADY, and SUMMERS IN THE BRONX, the bestsellers MAXWELL STREET: SURVIVAL IN A BAZAAR and RED: A BIOGRAPHY OF RED SMITH, as well as two memoirs, FULL SWING and TO THE HOOP. He was the coauthor and editor of HANK GREENBERG: THE STORY OF MY LIFE, which was a primary source for the award-winning documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a baseball fan and a Mets fan in particular, and this book just doesn't do anything for me. Dull, repetitive, not revealing except for trivial anecdotes, there's nothing to get excited about. It's a series of Berkow's columns, so there's redundancy, but it's very annoying that he or his editor chose columns in which he recycles a phrase to describe a player. The first time, you're like, Oh, that's a pretty good phrase. But by the third time you're asking, When did this guy run out of ideas?

It's cool that Berkow had access to the greats of baseball for decades. He sat with Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges and Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden. And Berkow clearly loved his job and felt lucky to get to do it. But there's not a lot beyond the rather obvious stuff of transcribing Stengel's conversations or some guy talking about how to hit a curveball. And there's nothing notable about the immense changes in society and culture as it was led by and reflected in sports during the 60s through the 90s. It's as if Berkow didn't notice the rise of Black players, then their decline, the rampant use of drugs, the struggles of women to become reporters, the changing of the game itself, and so on. I guess I should credit him for focusing on the gentler, positive aspects of the game, and for leaving the muckraking to others, but I feel like this book is too soft.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Innocuous collection of newspaper columns by a fine writer; nothing very revealing or original. I found the title a little misleading as well, as the book is not exclusively Mets-related journalism. In fact, the final sections, which profile notable baseball personalities and issues, are perhaps the most absorbing in the book. (See pieces on Tom Paciorek and "God Bless America.") I bought this, but don't need to own it.

[William Herbst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book of anecdotes mostly about the Mets but a with chapter of other stories added as filler. All are previously printed columns from Berkow and the quality is uneven.