It's All About the Players: What I've Learned from Baseball's Best

by Peter Gammons

Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons dives deep into his encounters over the last six decades with the best in the sport, revealing a trove of behind-the-scenes stories about the fascinating and inspiring individuals at the heart of our national pastime. Peter Gammons is the preeminent baseball writer of his generation. Born and raised in New England, Gammons was mentored by the revered basketball coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. Smith told him that being a good listener was not only the key to journalism but to life—and Gammons has long taken that to heart. His early calling card was his Sunday notes column in the Boston Globe, which combined baseball and pop culture to deliver a weekly joyride through the sport. His story from Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is still considered the greatest game story ever written on deadline, and led to his hiring by Sports Illustrated in 1976. He moved to ESPN in 1990, becoming the first sportswriter the network ever put on TV. Nearly every significant figure in the game has shared stories with Gammons. It’s All About the Players reveals what Gammons has learned from those greats about baseball and life. He details the emergence of Latin and Asian players in Major League Baseball and the symbiotic relationships between manager and general managers, catchers and pitchers, and second basemen and shortstops. He recalls his chance childhood meeting with Roger Maris as he was falling in love with baseball. He speaks to the marriage between rock n' roll and baseball, and, yes, tells the story of how Ted Williams claimed he could smell the wood burning on his bat after smoking line drives to the outfield. Now Gammons has put it all down on the page for baseball fans to treasure.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, History

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2026

About the author

Peter Gammons is a sports journalist.

Reviews

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: OLD SCHOOL BASEBALL WRITER… PETER GAMMONS… IMPRESSES SOME… AND DISAPPOINTS SOME…PERHAPS HE SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT IN A WRITER FROM THE BULLPEN!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long time baseball writer Peter Gammons at the age of eighty-one has decided to share his personal life… and long and winding road through his baseball experiences. Without question… Gammons is one of the cream of the crop… when sharing his behind the scenes experiences with both players and executives… but perhaps the methodology… pace… and since he seems to also see himself as a musician… when he looks at himself… in his private mirror of life… his literary symphonic composition in this book… should have had a more steady… chronological… melody… throughout his self-proclaimed anthem. Since he throws in attempts at almost every turn… to demonstrate (show-off)… his writing tools… as far as trying to brazenly jump from the midst of a detail oriented… technical conversation on the inner workings of an individual baseball player… or game… to an at times… corny… missing the target analogy… i.e.…

“WHEN A GAME MEANS SO MUCH, IT’S EASY TO WRITE ABOUT. IN MY BRAIN, A GAME STORY WAS A LONG SONG. IT WAS LIKE BOB DYLAN WRITING A NINE MINUTE SONG.”

One such attempt at an imagined virtuoso performance… with one arm tied behind his back off the high dive… which in my view… not only didn’t win a gold medal… it resulted in a belly flop… and possibly… completely missed the pool…

“RIPKEN FOLLOWED AND CRUSHED ANOTHER HOMER, WHICH SENT THE CROWD INTO A FRENZY, A LA WOODSTOCK.”

The whole essence of the book… is innumerable brief encounters with innumerable former players… and to list a few…Ted William… Carl Yastrzemski… Cal Ripken Jr… Ichiro… Jim Palmer… Frank Robinson… Carlton Fisk... Chase Utley… Pete Rose… Dennis Eckersley… Junior Griffey… Robin Yount… Albert Pujols… Barry Bonds… Don Mattingly,… Luis Tiant… and countless others… spending as much time with some of them… as your corn chip spends in the salsa dip… before you eat it. There are also interludes with executives such as Theo Epstein.

Perhaps the most enlightening… and truly amazing… and if I was able to go back in time… to when I was raising my son…and motivating him as well as training him in the art of baseball… I would make Ichiro one of my main role models… based on what I learned from this book. In perhaps the least brief individual segment… as the author broke literary land speed records in darting from one flashback individual memory to another… was on how Ichiro became one of the greatest players in baseball history. HIS EXCELLENCE WAS NOT BORN… IT WAS MADE!!

“ICHIRO’S FATHER GAVE HIM HIS FIRST GLOVE AT THE AGE OF THREE, TAUGHT HIM TO CLEAN IT AND POLISH IT, AND TOLD HIM IT WASN’T A TOY, BUT A TOOL.

“BORN AND RAISED IN A SMALL TOWN CALLED TOYOYAMA ON THE COAST OF THE SEA OF JAPAN, ICHIRO DID WHATEVER HIS FATHER SAID. HE WAS ONLY FIFTY-SOMETHING POUNDS AT THE AGE OF SEVEN. BUT EVERY DAY THEY HAD THE SAME ROUTINE AT A local PARK: 50 PITCHES THROWN, 50 GROUND BALLS TAKEN, 50 FLY BALLS CAUGHT, AND 500 SWINGS… 250 OFF HIS FATHER, 250 AGAINST A PITCHING MACHINE. THIS WAS 365 DAYS A YEAR. “

“WHEN HE STARTED LITTLE LEAGUE, HE HAD *CONCENTRATION* WRITTEN ON HIS GLOVE, AND BY THE TIME ICHIRO REACHED THE SIXTH GRADE, HE HAD SET HIS LIFE GPS. “MY DREAM IS TO BE A FIRST-CLASS PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER,” HE WROTE IN AN ESSAY AT THE AGE OF TWELVE. “I HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO DO THE NECESSARY PRACTICE TO REACH THAT GOAL. I ONLY HAVE FIVE OR SIX HOURS (**PER YEAR**) TO PLAY WITH MY FRIENDS,”

It’s the few anomaly stories like that… and the brains and dedication that made Chase Utley… be admired… and be the unquestioned leader… regardless of statistics… wherever he played… and the actual goose bumps… and burst of pride that encompassed my very soul… in reading about the absolute integrity… and **THE-STAND-UP-GUY** (THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT MY IDOL… MY DAD… WOULD EVER BESTOW ON A VERY FEW RAREFIED INDIVIDUALS… AND A STATUS… I HAVE TRIED MY ENTIRE LIFETIME TO EARN!) PERSONA OF DENNIS ECKERSLEY!

Those few individuals… are the highlight of this book. Not the segments… where the supposed “old-school” … when the beloved game of baseball was not only… unquestionably our national pastime… but every child dreamed of being a big leaguer… and doing it the right way… but (?Old-School?) Gammons lets down and disappoints old-school guys like me… when he puts guys like steroid-cheat Barry Bonds on a pedestal… and acts like his transgressions were akin to a five-year-old getting caught by his mother taking a cookie without permission before dinner.

Perhaps he has an old… non rhythmic… folk song… from bygone days to gloss over that!

NOTE: MAJOR HISTORICAL MISTAKE BY AUTHOR: HE STATES THAT THE OAKLAND A’S ACQUIRED FUTURE HALL OF FAMER DENNIS ECKERSLEY ON APRIL 3, 1977… ***THAT IS WRONG… DENNIS WAS ACQUIRED BY THE A’S ON APRIL 3, 1987!***

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Gammons is one of the most well-known and respected baseball writers of the past 50 years, so when I learned this book was being released, I knew I had to read it. After finishing it, I was not disappointed.

In It's All About the Players, Gammons fills the pages with stories and insights from his decades covering Major League Baseball. From his early days writing for the Boston Globe to his work as a television reporter for ESPN and MLB Network, he draws on a lifetime of experiences at the center of the game’s biggest moments.

What makes this book especially compelling is the firsthand perspective Gammons brings to each story. He was there for many of baseball’s most memorable events, including Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games-played record, and the earthquake that struck during the 1989 World Series. His unique access and deep relationships within the sport allow him to provide insights that few others can.

I particularly appreciated how Gammons not only highlights the accomplishments of the players he writes about but also explains why they mattered to the game and shares personal stories that help bring them to life. The result is a book that feels both informative and personal.

The book can be enjoyed in a single sitting if it captures your attention, or chapter by chapter for readers with a busier schedule. Either approach works well because each chapter stands on its own while contributing to the larger story of baseball's history.

For any baseball fan, It's All About the Players is a must-read. Gammons offers a level of insight, perspective, and storytelling that only someone who has spent a lifetime covering the sport can provide.

[Ed Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 35 years ago, I found myself at a neighborhood cocktail party and standing in a corner nursing a beer was Peter Gammons. I am a massive baseball fan, so I went over and introduced myself. We spent 3 hours talking about baseball, and I never spoke to another soul all night. I have a friend who also had a lovely conversation with him at an event. The point is, Peter Gammons loves baseball, basically invented the league roundup column and is a great guy. All that comes through in this fantastic book, as Gammons turns 80. The title is perfectly accurate — the entire book is about ballplayers, and Gammons works hard to understand even the most notorious players, such as Barry Bonds. There is some biographical stuff in the book, mostly about his early life and the stroke he suffered years back, as well as his move from print to TV journalism. But the heart of the book is stories about players of the last 50 years or so. Gammons is such a magnificent writer, his descriptions and accounts are riveting and everyone seems to like him and trust him. He has zero bad things to say about anyone, so if you’re looking for a probe into Bond’s PED use or ARod’s various misadventures, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Peter Gammons is a treasure himself and he prefers to celebrate the people who play the game he loves — if this book is the crowning achievement of his incredible career, well, we couldn’t ask for much more.

Grade: A

[Christopher Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be biased as I am related to the author by marriage but if you love baseball you need to read this book.

[Bookreporter.com Biography & Memoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

You often hear about baseball lifers, people who almost always start off as players and spend their entire adult careers in the game. But there are others who should be included as well: broadcasters like Vin Scully, Red Barber and the just-retired Howie Rose, the radio voice of the New York Mets for almost 40 years.

Then there are the writers, such as Thomas Boswell and Shirley Povich, both of whom spent their entire careers with the Washington Post, and Wendell Smith, who covered Black baseball for decades and helped Jackie Robinson navigate the challenges when he broke the color line in 1947. And, of course, The New Yorker’s legendary Roger Angell, who wrote so eloquently about the national pastime almost all the way until his death at the age of 101.

Another gentleman who falls into this category is Peter Gammons, the iconic journalist for the Boston Globe. Gammons, who received the Baseball Writers' Association of America Award for Career Excellence in 2004, almost lost everything when he suffered a brain aneurysm two years later. There were fears that he would lose a lifetime of memories due to the injury. But thankfully for him and baseball fans everywhere, he pulled off a miracle.

That would have been a terrible loss for those who love to read about their favorite game. Perhaps that’s why Gammons chose to publish IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PLAYERS, as a thank-you for his recovery and to tell the stories of some of the amazing men --- both on the field and in the front office --- he met over his years covering the game.

Gammons does an awesome job, and not just as in great (which it is). When you’ve had as long a career as he has, and met as many wonderful people, it’s an awe-inspiring task to pick which of the thousands of stories to share. Some are more predictable: Cal Ripken Jr., who broke Lou Gehrig’s “iron man” record by playing in 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles; Carl Yastrzemski, who spent his entire 23-year career with the Boston Red Sox; and Ichiro Suzuki, who already had made his fame in Japan before deciding to take his talents to the Major Leagues.

There also are more recent contemporary figures like Bryce Harper, who made the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was just 16 years old and was hailed as the next best thing in baseball.

But it’s actually not all about the players. Gammons has enjoyed relationships (he never just seems to be writing about a subject) with some of the greatest behind-the-scenes folks who do much of the work in putting teams together. Among them are Theo Epstein, the general manager of both the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, who had gone without World Series appearances for decades before he took their respective helms. Not to mention the scouts who travel all over the world to find hidden gems like Albert Pujols, the future Hall of Famer who saw more than 400 players selected in the 1999 draft.

Gammons also has been influential with many of his younger media colleagues. According to the Hall of Fame’s website, “Writing with skill and flair in a style filled with allusions to cultural icons from Robert Frost to Warren Zevon, his effortless transition from print reporter to TV analyst helped open the door for many baseball writers at various electronic media outlets across the continent. While later generations grew to know him best as an electronic journalist, the hallmark of Gammons' career remained his service as a print reporter.”

Jayson Stark, one of the best baseball scribes of the last couple of decades, wrote an appropriately emotional afterword, praising Gammons for all of his accomplishments, as well as being a mentor for those who followed him.

They say you should never meet your heroes. They will only disappoint you when they turn out to be human. I would take that chance with Peter Gammons.

Reviewed by Ron Kaplan

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

For many years, Peter Gammons was the most trusted voice in baseball journalism. Whether through his Boston newspaper columns, his groundbreaking work on ESPN that helped launch Baseball Tonight, or his reporting from countless World Series, he built a career on knowing players—really knowing them—and his new book fully embraces the belief in its title: the game is all about the players.

The writing here is as sharp, warm, and observant as it was during his newspaper days. Gammons gives equal care to every level of the sport: college kids grinding through summer ball on Cape Cod, a former Marlins first rounder whose career was derailed by addiction but who rebuilt his life into sobriety and business success, and icons like Tony Gwynn—whose wife Alicia essentially became MLB’s first video coordinator by filming his swing long before video study was commonplace. Gammons’ ability to move seamlessly between these worlds is what makes his storytelling so enduring.

He does write a little—emphasis on little—about himself. There’s the aneurysm that nearly killed him, mentioned without melodrama. There’s Joe DiMaggio finally speaking to him only because Ted Williams insisted. And there’s the moment he watched the Red Sox, his childhood team, win the 2004 World Series and immediately thought of his father. These personal stories are few, but they’re as thoughtful and grounded as the player profiles that surround them.

Other chapters on Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds, and Cal Ripken blend familiar history with fresh angles only a baseball lifer could uncover. Think you know the full story of the famous Bonds–Jim Leyland argument? Think again. Think Ichiro couldn’t hit home runs? Gammons has a chapter that will make you reconsider. His reporting adds nuance to players whose legacies often get flattened by highlight reels or public narratives.

Any baseball fan who has enjoyed Gammons’ voice—on the page, on television, or simply as part of the game’s fabric—will find something to savor here. With so many players, seasons, and personalities represented, every reader should encounter at least one moment that sparks the memory: yeah, I remember that.

I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...

[Jesse · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Bought at Green Apple.

A generous and loving book that could have used more focus and editing. It's a mega-notebook dump of Gammons's entire career, a partial autobiography as well as retrospective of how appreciatively he's covered so many players and managers and build relations with them that give him better stories and quotations. It's unremittingly nice and generous, a parade of fathers playing catch with sons, sometimes even literally, as when he gets Carl and Mike Yastrzemski to walk out to The Wall (apparently the thing players call it, rather than the Green Monster) together. He's got perhaps the sports world's largest Rolodex, so he can get Ted Williams and Wade Boggs and Don Mattingly together to talk hitting, or Williams and Joe DiMaggio. He's been on buses with Frank Robinson and on the bench and at game 6 of the '75 Series, where he wrote an indelible lead. But there's not enough of that highest-quality prose here, and some of the connections work wonderfully (these are lord knows how many disparate little pieces stitched together), and others should have been cut--there's one about "geniuses" that starts with Greg Maddux being mad at himself because he said he'd get a batter to pop out foul and instead the batter popped out just fair and then devolves into a list of players who, say, throw one pitch really well. The concentrated sweetness is nice to read, and in bulk it makes your teeth hurt.

Also, there are some astonishingly lame proofing errors, including getting Giants owner Horace Stoneham's name wrong, mentioning famous slick-fielding first baseman "Eric" Goldschmidt, and having Shohei Ohtani strike out 15 A's on 15 pitches, which I admit would be a lot easier to accomplish if you could get one-pitch Ks. I can hardly begrudge him this victory lap, but I wish it were either more consistently as lyrical as his game 6 lede or a little edgier.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have two very simple questions for you in this review. Do you love baseball? Do you know Peter Gammons as one of the best baseball writers of all time? If the answer is yes to both, then clearly It's All About the Players is for you (as it was for me).

Gammons does essentially a speed run of his entire career and all of the stories he's heard of or been a part of. It needs to be a speed run since he has essentially been covering baseball since his early 20s. For baseball fans of a certain age (us elder millennials) Gammons was a mainstay on ESPN and required watching. This feels like an enjoyable stitching together of everything he's learned through stories about players.

The impetus for the book is a health scare Gammons had years ago when he nearly lost his memory. My one critique is that I found myself wanting a bit more of that in the narrative. Gammons keeps the focus on the players (duh, that's the title), but I couldn't help thinking Gammons is still not giving himself the credit he deserves. Either way, if you are a baseball fan, this is for you. If you are not, I bet you know at least one in your life. Be a hero and get them this as a gift.

(This book was provided as a review copy by Grand Central Publishing.)

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a diehard Red Sox fan, and someone who lives in New England, I have admired Peter Gammons since the 1970's. He uses the same engaging, insightful approach to the stories in this memoir as he did in his Boston Globe career and his ESPN work. The players, managers, and other baseball characters come alive. I was also interested in the fact that Gammons is a musician and a blues aficionado. I met him at a Susan Tedeschi concert at the Xfinity Center in Massachusets- he was very friendly and very much one with the audience.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of the book is an excellent summary of what the book is all about. Written by one of the most decorated writers of baseball, it breaks down events and players during the author’s lifetime. There is a bit more on the Red Sox, which is to be expected as that is Gammon’s team. Well worth the read for anyone who is a fan of baseball and more current baseball history.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

[Don Gorman · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

(3 3/4). Yes, this is a really well written collection of stories. But, and it is a big but, if you are not a baseball fan do not bother. Gammons is legendary in the sportswriting world, and he deserves those accolades. His style is very easy to swallow and he finds very human angles to pursue and always seems to do the research needed to come up with nuggets that make his stories stand apart. A few almost life lessons but mostly interesting things about mostly star players. Good stuff.

[Kaleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about Peter and being a sportswriter through the years. For those who live/breathe baseball, you can’t go wrong with this. The chapters are filled with stories about some of the most recognizable players in the history of baseball. There were some tales that I knew about but there were much more that were new information to digest. I could’ve had more chapters but then I’d be greedy.

[Ryan Mac · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

When I was younger, I loved baseball. I watched lots of games, collected baseball cards, and bought weekly baseball newspapers. One of my strongest memories of this time was trying to catch any segment on Baseball Tonight with Peter Gammons. I loved the way that he talked about baseball. I haven't paid much attention to baseball for many years but Peter Gammons made me interested again anyway. This book covers a bunch of stories across his long career and it was a joy to read.

[William H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great book if you're a Red Sox fan. Otherwise, can be a boring read when author goes off on a non-baseball tangent. In his book, as in his life, everyone is lauded and praised with very few criticisms.

[Keegan Phillips · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

If you enjoy baseball, this is a must read. Gammons is one of the best writers in the sport and a great person to boot. Some of the anecdotes were tremendous enough to read a couple of times, although a few left a little to be desired