I Love Baseball: Players, Managers, Sportswriters, and Fans Talk about Their Love for the Game

by Wayne Stewart

This inspirational keepsake for lovers of the game of baseball will contain quotes, quips, memories, and milestones from 100 years of baseball in America. Organized in sections on the great players, the dynasties, incredible individual performances, and even the experience of going to the ballpark, it will celebrate the sport from many voices and perspectives. Quotes from great baseball writers such as Roger Angell, Red Barber, Bernard Malamud, and George Will are included, as well as excerpts from the farewell speeches of such icons as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. And then there are the celebrities who are devoted to baseball (and in some cases to individual teams), such as Alyssa Milano, Jay-Z, Ben Affleck, Bill Murray, Billy Crystal, Charlie Sheen, Tom Hanks, and Kevin James. As Yogi Berra once said, "Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too."

Genres: Sports, Baseball

232 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2024

About the author

WAYNE STEWART has been a professional sports writer for more than 30 years, and has published hundreds of articles in such publications as USA Today/Baseball Weekly, Baseball Digest, Boy's Life, and Beckett Baseball Card Monthly.

Reviews

[Firetruckmama · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, for which I thank them.

I decided to request “I Love Baseball” by Wayne Stewart in part to my son’s love of the game. I am not a huge baseball fan, but over the years my son played (lived, breathed, and enjoyed) the sport, I grew to at least appreciate the game. I will be in the minority, but I was greatly disappointed when reading this book. From the summary, I thought it would be a bunch of short interviews with people who love the game - from the players - famous and not so well known - to regular fans - to those who spent years connected to the industry (managers, beat writers, announcers, heck even a bat boy or two). Instead, this book seemed to be more a collection of bits of stories - albeit a decently organized collection ranging from quotes to tidbits about games. The other thing is that, understandably, this author focuses mainly on his home town team … situated back East. I don’t know a number of the players names - nor some of the historical information associated with those players. While there is information about games up through 2023, I was surprised in a section about respecting other players, that Justin Verlander mouthing “Wow” when Pablo Sandoval hit his second homer off him in the 2012 WS wasn’t mentioned in the book. I do know that Mr. Stewart did make asides of “sorry if your favorite wasn’t mentioned” when listing things/people, but about half-way through the book, I started skimming as it seemed that my local teams were mentioned in historical context, but not recent ones too often. This book wasn’t for me - and I would not purchase it for my son, even with that amazingly catchy title. I think the book I thought this was going to be would have been more up my alley - this book, while I’m sure a labor of love for the game, feels like a collection of baseball related things. I wanted to like this book, but I’m disappointed that I didn’t.

[Mr. Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you, Globe Puquot Publishing Group, Inc. and Lyons Press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished I Love Baseball: Players, Managers, Sportswriters, and Fans Talk about Their Love for the Game, by Wayne Stewart.

This book will be released on December 3, 2024.

This was a very enjoyable collection of short stories on why we love baseball. In the hands of a lesser author, it is very easy to see how this kind of book would get tiresome very quickly. But, Stewart did a great job in writing it. I am giving it an A on the strength of how enjoyable it was to read.

I do have to point out that I found a single error. According to the book, last season, Elly De La Cruz became the first player to steal three bases in a single plate appearance since Rod Carew did it in 1961. But, Carew didn’t make his MLB debut until 1967. Carew had achieved the feat in 1969. But, that error did not detract from my enjoyment of it and it passed all random factual checks.

I do own this author’s biography of Stan Musial, but have not yet read it. After reading this book, I have added it to my “current list” of books to read. There’s a mere 153 on it, but my history in this area has shown I will get it done before the year is over.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

Mr. Book finished reading this on September 19, 2024.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wayne Stewart has apparently authored a number of books about baseball. I haven’t come across him before now, but reading this book was enough to put a number of his other works on my “want to read” list.

It’s apparent that Wayne Stewart does indeed love baseball. The title of the book doesn’t really give any clue as to what the book is about except baseball. I Love Baseball consists of baseball stories from the amazing to the quirky. Stewart covers some of the amazing statistics of the game and the players who achieved them. He talks about what makes baseball great, from the players to the owners to the fans.

There are a few epic milestones here, but for the most part, Stewart covers more of the quirks of the game. There are stories that have been handed down through the years, and he gets to the heart of them. He romanticizes the antics of Earl Weaver and Whitey Herzog, managers who were quite animated when they argued. It actually made me miss those days. The various places baseball teams have called home come into play here, too, as Stewart details some of the variations in ballparks that we don’t see today. A flagpole in fair territory? Sloping outfield?

To read my full review please go to I Love Baseball by Wayne Stewart – Baseball Stories That Capture the Game’s Heart

[Mike Heenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I Love Baseball is broken up into different sections that outline why different groups, from athletes to fans to commentators, love baseball. This book gives lots of historic examples, although I wish the author had given more examples within modern baseball - most of the anecdotes from before the 1980s.

I've read every book on baseball there is and even I learned some new facts I didn't know. It can read, at times, like a Wikipedia article on baseball, but I think baseball fans will enjoy this nice, easy read.

[Joel Haas]

~1,500 anecdotes and factoids to love about baseball.

This is a group thoughts and information around why baseball is loved. That that are alraedy fans will likely know 40-70% of what is shared. I chose not to rate this book because, frankly, it does not read as a boot. It is just a loosely tied collection of one-sentence-to-two-paragraph missives on what the author loves. Not that that is bad- as a baseball fan I smiled more than once while reading- it just does not feel like a book. It is more like listening to an old-timer ramble about whatever baseball thoughts pop into their mind.

[Sheezelectric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read that will reinforce your love of baseball. Told through an eclectic series of quotes, stories, and facts, this is a fast-paced book that frantically speeds through the best moments of over a hundred years of baseball.

The negatives with this book are that there are a few errors I picked up while reading, which made me less sure of some of the other facts and numbers presented in this book. The other negative is that most of what is talked about in this book is touched on too briefly to really sink in, I feel like this book could have gone into more detail more frequently.

[Susie (DFWSusie)]

"I Love Baseball" is a tribute to America's favorite pastime from the perspective of a journalist who also has a deep love of the sport. It's a celebration of quirky mascots, iconic ballparks, superstar players and unforgettable moments that fans will appreciate.

The quotes from sportswriters, movies, and celebrities add a touch of nostalgia, while the anecdotes and oddities offer a fresh perspective on the game’s rich history. Full of humor and heart, this makes a nice keepsake for any baseball fan looking to relive the magic of the diamond.