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Baseball Heaven: Up Close and Personal, What It Was Really Like in the Major Leagues
A behind-the-scenes look at baseball history, as told through timeless interviews with major leaguers For fifty years, bestselling author Peter Golenbock has been interviewing some of the most fascinating figures in baseball. Their conversations are a journey back in time to the days of Ruth and Gehrig, Gehringer and Greenberg, Robinson and Reese, and Howard and Mantle, as they reflect on the sport’s greatest moments and biggest issues. In Baseball Heaven, Golenbock brings together for the first time the most historic and captivating of these conversations. The stories range from Elden Auker remembering the day Lou Gehrig told him he was sick to Albert Happy Chandler reflecting on his decision to allow Jackie Robinson into the big leagues, from Ralph Branca discussing the home run he gave up that cost the Dodgers the pennant to Del Webb talking about why he hired Casey Stengel and why he fired him. Baseball Heaven is baseball history at its very best. It pulls back the curtain on the major leagues to reveal inside stories, intimate reminiscences, and the friendships and rivalries that make baseball America’s Game.
317 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2024
About the author
Peter Golenbock
82 books29 followersGolenbock grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and in 1963 graduated St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut. His heroes were Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. One day in the local library he discovered the book, The New York Yankees: An Informal History by Frank Graham ( G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1943) and it made a strong impression on him.''
Golenbock graduated from Dartmouth College in 1967 and the New York University School of Law in 1970.
He was a radio sports talk show host in 1980 on station WOR in New York City. He was the color broadcaster for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball League in 1989-90 and has been a frequent guest on many of the top television and radio talk shows including "Biography on A&E," the "Fifty Greatest Athletes and the Dynasties on ESPN," "Good Morning America," "Larry King Live," "ESPN Classic," and the YES network.
Golenbock lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his two basset hounds, Doris and Fred.
Golenbock graduated from Dartmouth College in 1967 and the New York University School of Law in 1970.
He was a radio sports talk show host in 1980 on station WOR in New York City. He was the color broadcaster for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball League in 1989-90 and has been a frequent guest on many of the top television and radio talk shows including "Biography on A&E," the "Fifty Greatest Athletes and the Dynasties on ESPN," "Good Morning America," "Larry King Live," "ESPN Classic," and the YES network.
Golenbock lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his two basset hounds, Doris and Fred.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 3, 2024
I am SO jealous of Peter Golenbock!
For me, the golden days of baseball were the 1950’s - early 70’s and Golenbock has had some kind of relationship with what seems like all the major players from this era. It’s rare that the publisher blurb does a really good job at outlining the content but this one is spot on. The author scored interviews with many of my favorite players; a time travel, fantasy baseball compendium extravaganza.
This is not a book of staged or canned interviews. Golenbock is passionate about baseball and completely enamored with the players he follows. They share part of their lives with him and open up about difficult topics. I found the discussions about race and news worthy management and other players far more interesting than what I read in the newspaper or saw on television.
A good portion of the interviews is devoted to NY area teams. Well, hey, the Yankees ruled this era but Golenbock also included my favorite team, the Mets and classics about the Dodgers and Giants while they were still in Brooklyn. The article about “The shot heard round the world” and Gary Carter’s two interviews, especially the Billy Buckner insights, were absolute gems.
A perfect gift for anyone who loves The Boys of Summer, is a sports nut, or for someone who you think has everything. There’s a terrific assortment of black and white photographs to be ooo’d and aaah’d over while reminiscing about the glory days of America’s pastime. This book will be loved, cherished and often shared📚
Read & Reviewed from a PW Grab a Galley via Edelweiss, with thanks
For me, the golden days of baseball were the 1950’s - early 70’s and Golenbock has had some kind of relationship with what seems like all the major players from this era. It’s rare that the publisher blurb does a really good job at outlining the content but this one is spot on. The author scored interviews with many of my favorite players; a time travel, fantasy baseball compendium extravaganza.
This is not a book of staged or canned interviews. Golenbock is passionate about baseball and completely enamored with the players he follows. They share part of their lives with him and open up about difficult topics. I found the discussions about race and news worthy management and other players far more interesting than what I read in the newspaper or saw on television.
A good portion of the interviews is devoted to NY area teams. Well, hey, the Yankees ruled this era but Golenbock also included my favorite team, the Mets and classics about the Dodgers and Giants while they were still in Brooklyn. The article about “The shot heard round the world” and Gary Carter’s two interviews, especially the Billy Buckner insights, were absolute gems.
A perfect gift for anyone who loves The Boys of Summer, is a sports nut, or for someone who you think has everything. There’s a terrific assortment of black and white photographs to be ooo’d and aaah’d over while reminiscing about the glory days of America’s pastime. This book will be loved, cherished and often shared📚
Read & Reviewed from a PW Grab a Galley via Edelweiss, with thanks
January 11, 2025
Disappointing. I guess I got through it, but I wanted to quit several times--kept hoping the next chapter would be better. First of all, the whole thing is just a repackaging of old interviews. Second, few of the people in this were likable--not the author nor the interviewees. The whining, entitlement, narcissism, grievance--maybe that's what ex-players, owners, officials are really like, but it wasn't pleasurable to read. Maybe more context or editing would've helped, or fact-checking (there was a little but not enough). And of course the New York bias--anything related to NYC baseball teams was important here. There were of course some interesting pearls, and it's good to hear some of these people in their own voice. But I'm glad I'm done with this.
March 5, 2024
Peter Golenbock’s Baseball Heaven is his second compilation of player interviews he has gathered throughout his career, following 2022’s Whispers of the Gods. Golenbock features interviews with former playing legends such as Gary Carter, Elston Howard, Johnny Pesky, and the enigmatic Dock Ellis, as well as some peripheral figures.
My first foray into Golenbock’s work was a book I picked up in high school which was incidentally his first work and the piece that made many of the interviews in this book necessary: Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. I’ve also read a few of his other books, notably Bronx Zoo with Sparky Lyle. However, most of that is neither here nor there, since if you’re coming into this book expecting the prose of Mr. Golenbock, you won’t find a lot of it.
Most of the interviews, save the Dock Ellis interviews, are simple transcripts of questions and answers. For the most part, Mr. Golenbock keeps his distance and does not offer commentary other than perhaps a clarifying question or shedding light on a comment another person made. In one way, this makes the interviewees come alive even though several have been dead for decades.
Of course, this lack of commentary is especially fascinating when Golenbock finds the men in power and lets the reader decide. Most books of this sort - including Golenbock’s first volume - stick to players and managers. Golenbock brings in the influencers. Happy Chandler, the second commissioner of baseball and the one who put an end to the color barrier, comes off as bitter about not being in the Hall of Fame and a tad pompous (trying to take credit for Kentucky basketball and arguing that Nixon got a raw deal only a handful of years after Watergate). Del Webb, the former Yankees owner who apparently never met a curse word he couldn’t fit into a sentence, brags about building a concentration camp for Japanese-Americans, calling it one of his greatest accomplishments, discusses how he thought J. Edgar Hoover should have been the commissioner of baseball, and how he held it against Casey Stengel that he was bitter about being fired. It’s…something. It’s a fascinating read but it’s definitely…something.
On an entirely different note, one chapter is an interview with Donald Hall, the late poet who was a prominent talking head in Ken Burns’ Baseball. Hall discusses his love of the Brooklyn Dodgers and his childhood as a fan, which is a refreshing palate cleanser from the Del Webb bits.
As a package, this is the sort of book, you can read a chapter here, a chapter there, skip around and what-not. I think we all try to find those books where we can read in chunks in between our other books and Baseball Heaven certainly qualifies as that.
My first foray into Golenbock’s work was a book I picked up in high school which was incidentally his first work and the piece that made many of the interviews in this book necessary: Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. I’ve also read a few of his other books, notably Bronx Zoo with Sparky Lyle. However, most of that is neither here nor there, since if you’re coming into this book expecting the prose of Mr. Golenbock, you won’t find a lot of it.
Most of the interviews, save the Dock Ellis interviews, are simple transcripts of questions and answers. For the most part, Mr. Golenbock keeps his distance and does not offer commentary other than perhaps a clarifying question or shedding light on a comment another person made. In one way, this makes the interviewees come alive even though several have been dead for decades.
Of course, this lack of commentary is especially fascinating when Golenbock finds the men in power and lets the reader decide. Most books of this sort - including Golenbock’s first volume - stick to players and managers. Golenbock brings in the influencers. Happy Chandler, the second commissioner of baseball and the one who put an end to the color barrier, comes off as bitter about not being in the Hall of Fame and a tad pompous (trying to take credit for Kentucky basketball and arguing that Nixon got a raw deal only a handful of years after Watergate). Del Webb, the former Yankees owner who apparently never met a curse word he couldn’t fit into a sentence, brags about building a concentration camp for Japanese-Americans, calling it one of his greatest accomplishments, discusses how he thought J. Edgar Hoover should have been the commissioner of baseball, and how he held it against Casey Stengel that he was bitter about being fired. It’s…something. It’s a fascinating read but it’s definitely…something.
On an entirely different note, one chapter is an interview with Donald Hall, the late poet who was a prominent talking head in Ken Burns’ Baseball. Hall discusses his love of the Brooklyn Dodgers and his childhood as a fan, which is a refreshing palate cleanser from the Del Webb bits.
As a package, this is the sort of book, you can read a chapter here, a chapter there, skip around and what-not. I think we all try to find those books where we can read in chunks in between our other books and Baseball Heaven certainly qualifies as that.
April 26, 2026
Book review ️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Overall thoughts - I picked this book up on a whim because of the topic. As a baseball fanatic, I am always on the lookout for interesting real-life stories that bring back the nostalgia. Baseball Heaven is a series of interviews the author conducted over the years with a variety of baseball personalities.
Plot - Non-fiction with a plot? Yes. It follows the various characters in an arc about how the game has changed from the 1930’s to the 1980’s.
What I Liked - Most of the athlete interviews were great. Especially the early ones.
What I didn’t Like – I didn’t care for the executive interviews. What goes on in the business side of things is not what I read baseball books for.
Characters (Only the chapters I really cared for) - Elden Auker - a little known yet star pitcher from the 30’s and 40’s. The chapters with him were excellent, entertaining and insightful.
Johnny Pesky- a shortstop for the Red Sox in the Ted Williams era. Very good, although a little too much on Williams and not enough on Pesky himself.
Ralph Branca - An underrated pitcher with Brooklyn whose reputation was sullied by one home run, “the shot heard ‘round the world”, he gave up.
Elston Howard- the heir to Yogi Berra with the Yankees. Talked a lot about the early days of integration. Another underrated player in the shadows of others.
Gary Carter – This was a sadder last chapter. It highlighted how a player who loved the game, gave it his all, and despite playing through injuries, was sometimes looked upon with derision by teammates and owners because of his success.
Note – Bobby Thomson, Hot Rod Kanehl and Dock Ellis were ok, but not as engaging as the others. I skipped the executive interviews. Not interested and not why I picked up the book.
Conclusion – For true baseball fans, the ones who feel the past is as entertaining as the present and know that the athletes of old were talented, this is a must read. If not for the extensive chapters on the executives and business side of the game, this would be a five-star read.
Overall thoughts - I picked this book up on a whim because of the topic. As a baseball fanatic, I am always on the lookout for interesting real-life stories that bring back the nostalgia. Baseball Heaven is a series of interviews the author conducted over the years with a variety of baseball personalities.
Plot - Non-fiction with a plot? Yes. It follows the various characters in an arc about how the game has changed from the 1930’s to the 1980’s.
What I Liked - Most of the athlete interviews were great. Especially the early ones.
What I didn’t Like – I didn’t care for the executive interviews. What goes on in the business side of things is not what I read baseball books for.
Characters (Only the chapters I really cared for) - Elden Auker - a little known yet star pitcher from the 30’s and 40’s. The chapters with him were excellent, entertaining and insightful.
Johnny Pesky- a shortstop for the Red Sox in the Ted Williams era. Very good, although a little too much on Williams and not enough on Pesky himself.
Ralph Branca - An underrated pitcher with Brooklyn whose reputation was sullied by one home run, “the shot heard ‘round the world”, he gave up.
Elston Howard- the heir to Yogi Berra with the Yankees. Talked a lot about the early days of integration. Another underrated player in the shadows of others.
Gary Carter – This was a sadder last chapter. It highlighted how a player who loved the game, gave it his all, and despite playing through injuries, was sometimes looked upon with derision by teammates and owners because of his success.
Note – Bobby Thomson, Hot Rod Kanehl and Dock Ellis were ok, but not as engaging as the others. I skipped the executive interviews. Not interested and not why I picked up the book.
Conclusion – For true baseball fans, the ones who feel the past is as entertaining as the present and know that the athletes of old were talented, this is a must read. If not for the extensive chapters on the executives and business side of the game, this would be a five-star read.
February 22, 2025
Baseball Heaven is a well-deserved victory lap for Peter Golenbock, currently in his 6th decade as a top-shelf baseball writer. A greatest-hits collection, this is excerpts of interviews with the dead: ten ballplayers (and one author), compiled by Golenbock in the course of researching and writing his earlier baseball histories (books on the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, St. Louis teams, and the Senior League), while Golenbock also gives his his own biographical details. Some interviews are presented verbatim as Q&As, others seem condensed or edited from longer discussions. The interviews are presented warts and all. Yankees owner Del Webb makes horrific statements about his role in building concentration camps in the American desert for Japanese-American citizens during WWII (he literally calls them that), commissioner Happy Chandler argues that Richard Nixon got railroaded, and Dock Ellis holds back nothing about the depths of his substance use. One fun thing to do while reading is to compare player anecdotes about very specific games against the historical record. Ralph Branca of the Dodgers and Rod Kanehl of the Mets have incredible recall for details; almost every anecdote is factually correct or only slightly different from the record. But Ellis tells a story about breaking Reggie Jackson's face and Elden Auker proudly recalls fanning Babe Ruth his first time out. In both instances, those stories are literally the opposite of what happened. Webb and Elston Howard have polar opposite views of Casey Stengel's genius (I'm with Elston). Gary Carter is disappointingly catty about his Mets teammates, while Johnny Pesky and Bobby Thomson help you remember why we baseball fans are so invested in this sport and its players all these decades later.
January 21, 2024
A collection of interviews done over the years by Golenbock with baseball insiders, including owners, general managers and even a poet about their experiences with the game and some of its biggest personalities. Introductions and endnotes put the interviews in context both in the history of the game as well as when the interviews were done and put them in the bigger picture. Sometimes a little confusing as the interviews give the subjects perceptions of events years ago and bounce around a little but such is the nature of interleaves. Lots of good stories, particularly regarding baseball in the 50's and 60's as baseball was integrating and changing and the black players were subject to many difficult situations. Showing both the good an bad that happened over the years with some of the big names of the game over the years I enjoyed this book of interviews. Worth it for me just for the interview with Gary Carter, one of my favorites players, and his reflections of his time in the game. I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher. I would rate this book 3.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.
March 12, 2024
For those of you not in the know, Peter Golenbock is the Studs Terkel of baseball. He's written a ton of books over the years, quite a few of them in this interview style. The premise of this is that he's cherry picked interviews with players from the 30's to the 90's. all of them now deceased. Most of the interviews are from other books or were excised from his books before release for various reasons. Most of the players are from the New York area and he hits them all, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and finally the Mets with Gary Carter. It's an excellent book and gives you a lot of insight into players of each era. I think some of my favorites were the Brooklyn Dodgers and hearing about players who played with Jackie Robinson. This really is a must read for any baseball nut like myself.
October 2, 2023
In this important book Peter Golenbock has proved himself to be baseball's version of Studs Terkel as he has managed to persuade baseball greats from the last century to open up and provide their own detailed and unexpurgated accounts of their careers and the major incidents which they viewed and were part of.
The author has been at the forefront of baseball history and writing for the past 50 years and he knows just how to ask the right question and then melt away to the sidelines and allow the interviewee the time and space to answer at length.
I learned so much about the Boys of Summer and so many other Hall of Famers.
A massively educational and entraining read.
Highly recommended to all students of the game.
The author has been at the forefront of baseball history and writing for the past 50 years and he knows just how to ask the right question and then melt away to the sidelines and allow the interviewee the time and space to answer at length.
I learned so much about the Boys of Summer and so many other Hall of Famers.
A massively educational and entraining read.
Highly recommended to all students of the game.
August 5, 2024
Like many books of this nature, some chapters and characters were more interesting and readable than others. The final two subjects, Dock Ellis and Gary Carter, are such a stark contrast. Ellis comes across as not a good guy, as much as you'd like to pull for a guy that had a rough upbringing. Carter was a charmer, but I honestly think it comes across as genuine. A couple times he did the "woe is me," like when he thought he should have won NL MVP in 1986. But he was a likable character and I thought he was a good choice for the final subject, considering all the negative vibes from Dock Ellis as the previous subject.
May 31, 2025
If you have ever listened to "The Lost Ballparks" podcast, this book has a similar feel to it. Golenbock has a litany of interesting baseball books (my favorite is "Amazin'") and this is another fine edition of baseball history from the interviews he has done with people that were both important to the game and have also passed away. These interviews provide interesting insight into the realities Jackie Robinson faced, the true greatness of some of the game's best stars, and the miraculous moments that make the game special.
April 15, 2024
Golenbock provides some fascinating interviews that he has done over his long career as a sportswriter to share the 'behind the scenes' stories of what baseball was really like from the 30's through the end of the century.
There are some very eye-opening interviews included and they touch on some of the best moments in the history of baseball... to some of the most controversial and worst moments.
A fantastic read for any baseball fan.
There are some very eye-opening interviews included and they touch on some of the best moments in the history of baseball... to some of the most controversial and worst moments.
A fantastic read for any baseball fan.
August 17, 2024
Not a bad book until you get to the Dock Ellis chapters. What a complete idiot. I got so tired of reading about what a badass he “thought” of himself. I had enough of his ranting. It added absolutely nothing to this book and what it was supposed to be about. At least the Gary Carter chapter was a nice positive look at baseball. Can not recommend this book at all.
January 11, 2025
Personal Baseball Tales
One of the best baseball books that I’ve ever read because it tells the ups and downs of baseball from first hand experiences. It’s amazing how players were treated and the struggles owners and managers have went through. It great to hear behind the scenes happenings!
One of the best baseball books that I’ve ever read because it tells the ups and downs of baseball from first hand experiences. It’s amazing how players were treated and the struggles owners and managers have went through. It great to hear behind the scenes happenings!
March 28, 2024
Just in time for opening day, this book looks back at many players from yesteryear of America's game. Baseball is a sport that looks back and forward at the same time and is always fun. It is well worth the read.
June 13, 2024
4/5 audiobook. read by the author should’ve hired an actor. Very, very interesting baseball history. Wood read other publications by this author, but would skip an audiobook. Insightful stories of baseball from my youth.
August 25, 2024
Always interested in hearing behind the scenes sports stories but written in a straightforward interview style makes it less engaging. Dock Ellis certainly comes off as a piece of work but Gary Carter had some interesting things to say. The parts are greater than the whole.
April 4, 2025
Golenbeck covers four or five decades of the MLB through interviews with players ranging from Bobby Thomson to Dock Ellis to Gary Carter. Some of the players / interviews were more entertaining than others.
June 14, 2024
I've read a ton of Baseball books but until this one, I had never heard of Elden Auker. His three chapters were full of surprises (to me) and were thus the most interesting of the collection.
September 2, 2024
This one was great. I had not heard 95% of the stories.
September 26, 2024
Good reading----but probably only for baseball fanatics=like me.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews