Put It In the Book!: A Half-Century of Mets Mania

by Howie Rose, Phil Pepe, Marv Albert (Foreword)

In Put It In the Book , New York Mets broadcaster and lifelong fan Howie Rose takes fans behind the microphone, into the locker rooms, and through the last 50 years of Mets baseball. Millions of fans have listened to Rose’s trademark calls over the years, and now, with his patented honesty and humor, he gives a firsthand account of the Amazins’—from the greatness of Tom Seaver to Johan Santana’s recent no-no. In addition to a personalized look at the rich history of the of the team, this work also features Rose’s thoughts and opinions on the current Mets team and roster and his thoughts on the future of the club.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s not to love about this book? The combination of Howie’s life story plus his Mets stories were highly enjoyable. A must read for any Mets fan.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I have lived about a half-century as a Mets fan, this book was great fun. It doesn’t hurt that Howie grew up in my neighborhood, so I was familiar with the school he went to and some of the restaurants he likes to eat at. But most of all, his personal encounters with some of the great Mets players, from his years as a boy going to Shea Stadium to his recent experiences covering the team, make for a terrific read.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a die hard Red Sox fan, but Howie Rose is one of my favorite play by play announcers. This book shares his experiences as a Met fan; Yes, but more importantly, his love of the game. (Hockey too. Go Bruins!) An entertaining read to be sure.

[Douglas Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heartfelt fun book to read. It is clear Howie is abig sports fan and has a talent to be a sportscaster.

[Mike Reuther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, especially for Mets fans.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up listening to Howie Rose hosting Mets Extra before and after New York Mets games on WFAN, and I’ve enjoyed listening to him call games on television and radio in the years since.

I had been looking forward to reading Put It In the Book!: A Half-Century of Mets Mania since it came out at the beginning of last baseball season, but I’d held off buying a copy in hopes of meeting Rose and getting an autographed version at a book signing. That didn’t quite work out, but I got my autographed book anyway when a friend gave it to me for Christmas.

While I enjoyed Put It In the Book!, I have to admit that it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. If you’ve listened to Howie Rose enough to want to read this book, you’ve probably heard most of his stories before.

There is a certain charm to reading about how Rose used to practice his play-by-play skills by calling games into a tape recorder from his seat in the upper deck. And it would have been odd not to include Rose’s memories of the 1969 and 1973 playoffs. But many of us could finish those stories for him at this point.

On the other hand, I enjoyed reading about the influence Marv Albert had on getting Rose’s career started. And there were other stories that I hadn’t heard before, about players from Pete Rose to Rickey Henderson and Todd Pratt and those in between.

There is relatively little focus on the current and recent teams - David Wright gets a few pages, Terry Collins gets a few paragraphs, Johan Santana‘s no-hitter and Game #161 performance in 2008 are talked about and Jose Reyes is quickly mentioned, but that’s about it. Certainly understandable, since Rose still has to work with the current team, but unfortunate.

If you’re a long-time Mets fan, I’m not sure that I’d recommend Put It In the Book! to you. But if you’re interested in what it’s like to be a sports broadcaster, Put It In the Book! would be a good addition to your library.

[Christopher Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a Mets fan, you have no doubt copied Howie Rose's "PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!" call at the moment of Amazins victory and so the pull to read a book written by him about our beloved but downtrodden team is pretty strong. Unfortunately the book comes up a little a short. Some negative reviews of this book have knocked the fact that it is short on inside dirt but I think to expect some like that would be unrealistic given that he is an active broadcaster and that is at least indirectly employed by the team. My problem is that most of book is devoted to his memories Mets before he was an announcer. It's not as if these "where I was" tales of 69, 73, 86 aren't interesting but familiar as by and large they are the same stories they any Met fan who lived through those eras have. "Put it in the book" is not without it moments though as there are interesting parts about his relationship with Marv Albert and various Mets managers over the years as well as descriptions of big moments that happen when Mr. Rose WAS behind the mic such as the 99 and 00 Mets runs, Johann Santana's no hitter, and of course Stephane Matteau. Not great but a quick enough read to kill time on a plane or train trip without feeling cheated.

[Scott Breslove · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably more like 2.5 stars. This book had a little of everything, especially good for the novice Mets fan. Unfortunately for me, I'm more of an experienced Mets fan. I didn't need the little history lessons, I've read them in books about Mets history, or experienced them myself. I enjoyed the personal history of Mr. Rose, and especially enjoyed the little nuggets of insider information. Those are what I hoped this book would be all about. I guess even the lists of Mr. Roses favorites (players, stadiums, etc) were ok, but didn't really do much for me. And the extreme Marv Albert love, well I understand he did a lot for Mr. Rose, but it seemed to come across more than a little weird.

All in all, probably a great book for a Mets newbie, not so much for a Mets veteran.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was already prepared, after reading reviews, for this to also be about Howie Rose, who is an announcer for the Mets. It's fun to hear his reminiscences about the team. I think it's strongest in the earlier years.

What I don't like about the book is that announcers are vanilla. They don't want to offend anyone, and their version of accountability gets them in enough trouble already. It's a clean straight narrative, that has little flair.

I read this kind of book because it's light, not challenging and I am a Mets fan. I did find Howie's life mildly interesting and he didn't put himself into the narrative too much for me to put the book down for long.

[Robert Greenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howie Rose was clearly born for the job he currently holds and is quite aware of how lucky he is. The book conveys his enthusiasm, passion, and respect for baseball and hockey. While his personal recollections of key games and players are the meat of the book, I wish he devoted a little more time to the mechanics of his job. How he works with another commentator int eh radio booth, thoughts on the partners he's had through the years, and more n the differences between TV and radio. All in all, a very enjoyable book although I wanted to learn more about him and his work.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't a lot about the Mets in this book that I didn't already know, but that's okay. As someone who bleeds blue & orange it's just nice these days finding someone else who gets it. I don't really care about hockey, or Marv Albert, and no offense to the author I didn't read this book wanting a biography. But it had just enough about my team to make it a quick enjoyable read.

[Rick Backofen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good baseball book for Met fans from a Met fan!

Really enjoyed reading Howie Rose's perspective of my favorite (for better or worse!) baseball team. I've watched him broadcast Met games for many years but never knew how he felt my pain.

[Anthony Della rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book with tons of information about broadcasting and the beginning of the NY mets. Howie is great at giving you tons of behind the scenes information about some of his favorite players and moments in Mets history.

[Pasquale · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the Mets, chances are you love Howie Rose. If you love Howie Rose, you'll really like this book.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time I heard Gary Carter compared to Paul McCartney and Keith Hernandez to John Lennon, but Howie "put it in the book."

[Joey Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing really extraordinary here. I am a huge Mets fan, but this book although it has lots of behind-the-scenes stories, just didn't grab me.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight from Mets raddio PBP man Howie Rose who also decribes his growing up ..loving his Mets !!