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Change Up: How to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better
In the spirit of Moneyball, the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays offers cutting insights on baseball
Buck Martinez has been in and around professional baseball for nearly fifty years as a player, manager and broadcaster. Currently the play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Martinez has witnessed enormous change in the game he loves, as it has morphed from a grassroots pastime to big business. Not all of the change has been for the better, and today’s fans struggle to connect to their on-the-field heroes as loyalty to club and player wavers and free agency constantly changes the face of every team’s roster.
In Change Up, Martinez offers his unique insights into how Major League Baseball might reconnect with its fanbase, how the clubs might train and prepare their players for their time in “The Show,” and how players might approach the sport in a time of sagging fan interest. Martinez isn’t shy with his opinions, whether they be on pitch count, how to develop players through the minor-league system, and even if there should be a minor-league system at all. Always entertaining, ever insightful, Martinez shares brilliant insights and inside pitches about summer’s favourite game.
Buck Martinez has been in and around professional baseball for nearly fifty years as a player, manager and broadcaster. Currently the play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Martinez has witnessed enormous change in the game he loves, as it has morphed from a grassroots pastime to big business. Not all of the change has been for the better, and today’s fans struggle to connect to their on-the-field heroes as loyalty to club and player wavers and free agency constantly changes the face of every team’s roster.
In Change Up, Martinez offers his unique insights into how Major League Baseball might reconnect with its fanbase, how the clubs might train and prepare their players for their time in “The Show,” and how players might approach the sport in a time of sagging fan interest. Martinez isn’t shy with his opinions, whether they be on pitch count, how to develop players through the minor-league system, and even if there should be a minor-league system at all. Always entertaining, ever insightful, Martinez shares brilliant insights and inside pitches about summer’s favourite game.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2016
11 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 16, 2016
This book did get me excited about the start of the baseball season, but it's a weird amalgam of memoir and long-winded complaint. The best stuff is about Buck's life in professional baseball, but it's pretty surface stuff. You never get a real feel for the man, even when he's talking about getting fired as manager or his last time on the field. Coupled with the rambling anecdotes about how things were better when players were abused and taken advantage of, it's a mixed message. Buck has fond memories of being forced to live with his teammates, but there's a reason teams no longer dictate every element of a player's life. Pass, unless you're convinced the game has lost its soul and you'd like to nod vigorously at a book.
May 9, 2016
This could have been a good book, because Buck has lots to say about baseball player development and the state of the game today. It's stuff I agree with; the swing and a miss and radar gun/pitch count mentality is at the heart of many of baseball's problems today. An MVP striking out 184 times a year is ridiculous. Buck reminds readers that the current wave of new age statheads don't have all the answers, in fact Casey Stengel and his ilk knew more about the game than all those people combined.
This book is marred by over-exposition; whoever edited this thing felt the need to insert background on everything Buck mentions. For those familiar with the history of the Blue Jays franchise, it was redundant with too much information. Buck could have gone deeper but the editors probably felt that the target reader didn't want too much depth. Too bad, this comes across as shallow because of that.
This book is marred by over-exposition; whoever edited this thing felt the need to insert background on everything Buck mentions. For those familiar with the history of the Blue Jays franchise, it was redundant with too much information. Buck could have gone deeper but the editors probably felt that the target reader didn't want too much depth. Too bad, this comes across as shallow because of that.
December 16, 2017
Great book! A lot of powerful and convincing insight! Unfortunately, there were a few errors in spelling and grammar, so it was not edited very well.
June 11, 2020
As a Blue Jays fan I enjoy listening to Martinez cover the team on TV. He brings a similar style to this book but gets more opportunity to do what he does best-tell stories about baseball players. Throughout the book Martinez covers many topics including his own career as a baseball player, broadcaster, and manager. He also discusses how the game has changed over the decades and why, in his view, this isn’t always a good thing. I recommend this book for those that like to read about baseball and hear some colourful stories about the game. Just like his TV broadcasts, Martinez delivers.
November 17, 2020
i have always enjoyed Buck Martinez as a broadcaster. he is very knowledgeable about the game of baseball.
I also had the pleasure of watching him play in toronto and even got to meet him once at a game when he was managing the team. He autographed a ball for my kids.
he has some interesting theories about team building and winning baseball.
this book is also a snapshot of his playing career.
very enjoyable if you are a fan of the game.
I also had the pleasure of watching him play in toronto and even got to meet him once at a game when he was managing the team. He autographed a ball for my kids.
he has some interesting theories about team building and winning baseball.
this book is also a snapshot of his playing career.
very enjoyable if you are a fan of the game.
March 28, 2016
"Old man yells at cloud"
March 29, 2020
John “Buck” Martinez could be considered a “baseball lifer”, considering he has been around the game in some manner for six decades. He writes not only about his career as a player, broadcaster and (briefly) manager but also shares his thoughts on the status of the modern game and its strengths and weaknesses.
The book does have a few flaws – some of the sentences could have used a grammatical make over and Martinez does jump from topic to topic at times. He does keep the chapters on his playing career together but the other portions do seem to skip around. It makes the book at times a bit of a challenge to read, but does not detract from the points he makes and the unbridled joy he has for the game.
It is clear from Martinez’s words that he believes today’s players spend more time working on the flashier aspects of the game such as home runs and pitch speed and less time on not only fundamentals, but also time together as a team. That is mentioned so often that I was picturing a younger reader wanting to write “#OKBoomer” to Martinez for his “old fashioned” views. While nothing he states is incorrect, the reader may come away with the belief that the long time Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster doesn’t like the current status of the game.
That would be an incorrect assumption on the part of the reader. While it is clear that Martinez has the time-honored belief of pitching and defense is required for winning baseball, he acknowledges early that the analytics used by modern personnel are essential as well. He shows his willingness to accept change when he writes about his career. He was one of the players who learned the game in the baseball academy run by the Kansas City Royals in the 1970’s. While there, he felt that he learned the game the proper way and it shows when he talks about his time in the major leagues with the Royals as probably his best time in the major leagues.
While he was disappointed to leave the Royals, he does write with fondness while remembering his playing days two other clubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Blue Jays. Martinez writes several pages about the importance of team chemistry (including mentioning it for the current Blue Jays team at the time of publication) and he credits his time in Milwaukee for providing the education in showing how important that is to the success of a team. As for his time with the Blue Jays, he is grateful to the organization for not only finishing his career with a winning team for them to also allow him to work for the organization for many years, including a short stint as manager which wasn’t very successful and a job that he now admits he was not ready to take.
More than his career recollections, this book is best when Martinez talks about his vision of the game and what the game has and what it needs from its past. The reader may not agree with all of Martinez’s points, but one cannot argue that he doesn’t love the game and a reader who shares that same enthusiasm should pick up this book.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The book does have a few flaws – some of the sentences could have used a grammatical make over and Martinez does jump from topic to topic at times. He does keep the chapters on his playing career together but the other portions do seem to skip around. It makes the book at times a bit of a challenge to read, but does not detract from the points he makes and the unbridled joy he has for the game.
It is clear from Martinez’s words that he believes today’s players spend more time working on the flashier aspects of the game such as home runs and pitch speed and less time on not only fundamentals, but also time together as a team. That is mentioned so often that I was picturing a younger reader wanting to write “#OKBoomer” to Martinez for his “old fashioned” views. While nothing he states is incorrect, the reader may come away with the belief that the long time Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster doesn’t like the current status of the game.
That would be an incorrect assumption on the part of the reader. While it is clear that Martinez has the time-honored belief of pitching and defense is required for winning baseball, he acknowledges early that the analytics used by modern personnel are essential as well. He shows his willingness to accept change when he writes about his career. He was one of the players who learned the game in the baseball academy run by the Kansas City Royals in the 1970’s. While there, he felt that he learned the game the proper way and it shows when he talks about his time in the major leagues with the Royals as probably his best time in the major leagues.
While he was disappointed to leave the Royals, he does write with fondness while remembering his playing days two other clubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Blue Jays. Martinez writes several pages about the importance of team chemistry (including mentioning it for the current Blue Jays team at the time of publication) and he credits his time in Milwaukee for providing the education in showing how important that is to the success of a team. As for his time with the Blue Jays, he is grateful to the organization for not only finishing his career with a winning team for them to also allow him to work for the organization for many years, including a short stint as manager which wasn’t very successful and a job that he now admits he was not ready to take.
More than his career recollections, this book is best when Martinez talks about his vision of the game and what the game has and what it needs from its past. The reader may not agree with all of Martinez’s points, but one cannot argue that he doesn’t love the game and a reader who shares that same enthusiasm should pick up this book.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
July 29, 2017
This book is the baseball version of "when I was your age, we walked to school uphill- both ways!" I know there are a lot of Buck detractors, but I've always enjoyed his broadcasts because of his obvious reverence for the game. This book, unfortunately, does him no favours. The editing is non-existent and desperately needed, as Martinez is not a natural wordsmith.
His actual thesis for the "change" that today's Major League Baseball needs, is to go back to the way that they did it in his day. That rather uninspired raison d'être aside, the clumsy name dropping, endless repetition of the same tired "old boys club" glory stories, made it difficult to get through this book even as a Buck fan and a Jays superfan. I like stats, I like re-tellings of vivid and transcendent baseball memories, and I like learning the history behind the most storied clubs in the league, but this book is so absent of innovation and verve in the storytelling that I find the title ironically comical. Ultimately, I feel that the real takeaways from this work could have filled a fraction of the pages and still been adequately told. Change Up is also suffering from an identity crisis. Is it an American history of the game? Is it Buck Martinez's memoir? Or is it just a chance to tell his side of the story about some underwhelming career moves? Whatever it aimed to be, for me it was a slow ball in the dirt.
His actual thesis for the "change" that today's Major League Baseball needs, is to go back to the way that they did it in his day. That rather uninspired raison d'être aside, the clumsy name dropping, endless repetition of the same tired "old boys club" glory stories, made it difficult to get through this book even as a Buck fan and a Jays superfan. I like stats, I like re-tellings of vivid and transcendent baseball memories, and I like learning the history behind the most storied clubs in the league, but this book is so absent of innovation and verve in the storytelling that I find the title ironically comical. Ultimately, I feel that the real takeaways from this work could have filled a fraction of the pages and still been adequately told. Change Up is also suffering from an identity crisis. Is it an American history of the game? Is it Buck Martinez's memoir? Or is it just a chance to tell his side of the story about some underwhelming career moves? Whatever it aimed to be, for me it was a slow ball in the dirt.
January 1, 2020
Having gotten into the sport two years ago and starting to read at the beginning of this year I thought, "why not get a book related to baseball?"I ended up getting three including this one and I really enjoyed this one. I love some of the idea's Martinez has on how to make a winning team and while he says that the new way of finding talent (pretty much the "moneyball" way) is effective, using some of the old ways (strategies that past managers have used in the past) is also necessary in creating the best team.
June 22, 2019
A Mediocre Baseball Book
Buck Martinez conveys his love of the game of baseball from his childhood days in California through his years in professional baseball. His description of his very early years was endearing - then he went on to the organization of pro ball which was too long and too boring. Big League Baseball is no longer the national pastime - Football is. However baseball's steep decline was not addressed by the author despite the title of the book.
Buck Martinez conveys his love of the game of baseball from his childhood days in California through his years in professional baseball. His description of his very early years was endearing - then he went on to the organization of pro ball which was too long and too boring. Big League Baseball is no longer the national pastime - Football is. However baseball's steep decline was not addressed by the author despite the title of the book.
August 4, 2020
Although it seems to be more of a baseball autobiography rather than a commentary on the current situation in baseball, Buck does make some interesting conclusions about what has made certain teams successful. A glimpse into his short tenure as the manager of the Blue Jays was really too brief and he alluded to some events that seemed to have more meaning than he gave them credit. Nonetheless, Change Up is entertaining and easy and compared to his previous book, Martinez has grown as a writer.
April 18, 2019
I love Buck as a broadcaster, but this book comes off as bitter and a bit arrogant. There are some interesting stories and insights, but most of it is washed over with a constant pining for days gone by. This book is basically the anti-Moneyball but also tries to be a memoir, so the book comes off as a bit meandering.
January 31, 2021
A how to “fix” baseball written by a career backup
A player I remember from when I was a kid as the backup catcher for the blue jays, gives us his ideas as to what is wrong with baseball and how to fix it... a very non-analytic look at the game one that preaches teamwork and character being more important than skills
A player I remember from when I was a kid as the backup catcher for the blue jays, gives us his ideas as to what is wrong with baseball and how to fix it... a very non-analytic look at the game one that preaches teamwork and character being more important than skills
October 20, 2024
With the Jays dismal season over, it was great to spend some extra time with Buck. Insightful and lots of fun anecdotes. I learned a lot.
January 16, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. I'm a fan of Buck's, enjoy his broadcasts, liked him as a manager. But this book was sort of a nostalgic Ball Four without the convincing impact. I appreciated it in moments but was hoping for more Blue Jays content and maybe a different and current look at the game. It wasn't horrible, but since it took me 9 months to plod through I wouldn't call it a page turner.
February 6, 2017
A fun read ... for me.
Buck, the author, pulled a little "bait and switch." (I guess all ball players are big on misdirection!). He sold me on the book being his ideas on "How to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better." What I got inside the cover was first him scratching the surface of that topic. Then he touched on:
1. Branch Rickey;
2. A few baseball dynasties;
3. His own autobiography;
4. Formation of the Toronto Blue Jays;
5. A manual on how to start a franchise;
6. Any number of other topics.
All the while, liberally sprinkling in some interesting anecdotes. (Doesn't every good book on baseball do that?)
The other quibble I have is how quickly Buck changes levels. One moment he is talking about how KC got an expansion team, the next moment he explains how taking a player via the Rule 5 Draft works, a bit later he is talking about what pitch to throw on a 3-2 count in a particular situation of a game. The writing goes up and down a bit like a yoyo.
All that is okay if you are a big fan of Buck's and the Jays, like I am. But, it probably should have been a few books, instead of just one ... each book going into greater depth.
So, why did I give it 5 stars instead of the 3.8 it deserves? As I said above, It was a "fun read ... for me" and, like all ball players, I appreciate a little misdirection!
Go Jays Go.
Buck, the author, pulled a little "bait and switch." (I guess all ball players are big on misdirection!). He sold me on the book being his ideas on "How to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better." What I got inside the cover was first him scratching the surface of that topic. Then he touched on:
1. Branch Rickey;
2. A few baseball dynasties;
3. His own autobiography;
4. Formation of the Toronto Blue Jays;
5. A manual on how to start a franchise;
6. Any number of other topics.
All the while, liberally sprinkling in some interesting anecdotes. (Doesn't every good book on baseball do that?)
The other quibble I have is how quickly Buck changes levels. One moment he is talking about how KC got an expansion team, the next moment he explains how taking a player via the Rule 5 Draft works, a bit later he is talking about what pitch to throw on a 3-2 count in a particular situation of a game. The writing goes up and down a bit like a yoyo.
All that is okay if you are a big fan of Buck's and the Jays, like I am. But, it probably should have been a few books, instead of just one ... each book going into greater depth.
So, why did I give it 5 stars instead of the 3.8 it deserves? As I said above, It was a "fun read ... for me" and, like all ball players, I appreciate a little misdirection!
Go Jays Go.
December 28, 2016
When it comes to sports books, I enjoy reading ones about baseball. The true stories about individuals in the game and the game itself.
I think Buck Martinez is one of the best announcers in the game today. He is very insightful and knowledgeable about the game of baseball that when I saw he had written a book about it, Change Up, I had to give it a read.
In this book, Martinez is very honest about his own skills and abilities, admitting to mistakes he has made in the past. There are some very humorous moments in the book which are needed in a study of the game such as this. My favourite stories was how he made the transition from player to broadcaster. I won't spoil it for you, but it was so good that I came into the living room and read the part to Teena.
I found many surprises, as did he, in how players are managed in these modern times. Seems that team managers have to answer to player agents as much as they have to manage the players, even regarding things like changing the batting order.
Change Up is an eye opener for any baseball fan. It was a good off season read and really a good read for any time of the year.
I think Buck Martinez is one of the best announcers in the game today. He is very insightful and knowledgeable about the game of baseball that when I saw he had written a book about it, Change Up, I had to give it a read.
In this book, Martinez is very honest about his own skills and abilities, admitting to mistakes he has made in the past. There are some very humorous moments in the book which are needed in a study of the game such as this. My favourite stories was how he made the transition from player to broadcaster. I won't spoil it for you, but it was so good that I came into the living room and read the part to Teena.
I found many surprises, as did he, in how players are managed in these modern times. Seems that team managers have to answer to player agents as much as they have to manage the players, even regarding things like changing the batting order.
Change Up is an eye opener for any baseball fan. It was a good off season read and really a good read for any time of the year.
June 7, 2016
What a letdown! As a huge Jays fan, I really enjoy Bucks broadcasting, and thought I'd enjoy his book... I was very wrong. About 60 pages in I had to stop. It's basically Buck complaining that high salaries are ruining baseball (while saying that the players deserve them), that players aren't taught old school baseball, and that advanced stats are ruining everything...... While using stories about old time players noticing trends like a certain pitcher always using a Slider when 3-2. Advanced stats showing this would be bad though....?
All I could picture was Buck sitting one a porch telling kids to get off his lawn.
All I could picture was Buck sitting one a porch telling kids to get off his lawn.
June 22, 2016
I enjoyed most if this book. I share the same thoughts as Buck does but-they will never go back to the old ways. The professional athletes of today would never tolerate the discipline that athletes of yesteryear had. They don't have to. They make more in half a season than most players of old made in their careers so to suggest that they need to go back to the old ways just won't fly today. I miss the old days too but, yesterdays gone and we can't get them back. Players control the sport these days and they will never relinquish that control again.
April 14, 2016
I love books. I love baseball. I love Buck Martinez. I guess I don't love when you put them all together...a bit of a difficult book to read...a lot of "things ain't what they used to be" with little inspiration for the game. Sorry Buck, I'll have to stick to listening to you calling the games every night.
August 27, 2016
Another book from The voice of The Toronto Blue Jays. Buck knows baseball, and he writes well. This is a brilliant book, where he pulls no punches. Baseball fans will enjoy this book, some may disagree with his assessments, but he backs everything up. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
June 8, 2023
A trip down memory lane with Buck. Anyone into the 70's and 80's MLB will enjoy his anecdotes.
May 1, 2017
A fabulous book that made me feel like a insider along his journey thru the sport. Only sport book period made me cry at one singular point. Taught me a lot about the game and what we need to embrace in new and keep from the past.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews