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Inside Pitch: Insiders Reveal How the Ill-Fated Seattle Pilots Got Played into Bankruptcy in One Year
The year 1969 ushered a new Major League Baseball team into Seattle: the Pilots. After many earlier years of successful minor league ball, the city had high hopes for a similar outcome. With plans for a new ballpark and a temperamental but hot-hitting young player named Lou Piniella in the spring training dugout, Seattle was finally getting their shot in the bigs. But the team lasted only one year before going broke and abruptly moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers. How did that happen?
Jim Bouton’s popular 1970 book, Ball Four, immortalized the Pilots’ colorful cast of clubhouse characters. Inside Pitch goes beyond the gloves and cleats to tell the story of management misfits and administrative mistakes as the team was played into bankruptcy.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the team’s 1970 bankruptcy and move to Milwaukee, Inside Pitch takes baseball fans on a behind-the-scenes look into the brief and quirky history of the Seattle Pilots from the unique perspective of two young team administrators. They share their recollections of the team’s seemingly inevitable collapse and the Herculean efforts to save it by many in the organization. These same young men—who moved to Milwaukee with the team—also reveal some of the administrative hiccups and hilarities during the early days with the Brewers and their new owner, Bud Selig.
Jim Bouton’s popular 1970 book, Ball Four, immortalized the Pilots’ colorful cast of clubhouse characters. Inside Pitch goes beyond the gloves and cleats to tell the story of management misfits and administrative mistakes as the team was played into bankruptcy.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the team’s 1970 bankruptcy and move to Milwaukee, Inside Pitch takes baseball fans on a behind-the-scenes look into the brief and quirky history of the Seattle Pilots from the unique perspective of two young team administrators. They share their recollections of the team’s seemingly inevitable collapse and the Herculean efforts to save it by many in the organization. These same young men—who moved to Milwaukee with the team—also reveal some of the administrative hiccups and hilarities during the early days with the Brewers and their new owner, Bud Selig.
180 pages, Paperback
Published June 5, 2020
23 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Rick Allen
27 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Rick^^Allen.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 4, 2020
When Major League Baseball (MLB) added four teams for the 1969 season, one of those teams was the Seattle Pilots. While the Pilots and their players have already been lionized in the legendary book “Ball Four” by Pilots pitcher Jim Bouton, little has been written or stated about the chaotic season in the team’s administrative offices. That is now changed with this book by journalist Rick Allen documenting the craziness in getting ready for that 1969 season.
The subtitle of this book could be re-titled as “How Not to Run Your Brand New Baseball Team.” Much of the material written by Allen was obtained from interviews with two men who did long days and nights of work in the Pilots’ offices. Bob Schoenbachler, who could best be described as the team’s chief financial officer at the tender age of 21, having already been an accountant for Seattle’s minor league teams the previous two seasons. Jim Kittilsby had already established himself in minor league baseball administration and jumped at the chance to return to his native Pacific Northwest area when Dewey and Max Soriano offered him a job with the Seattle Angels, the same team that offered Schoenbachler his job.
The Soriano brothers were listed as the principle owners of the Seattle franchise when MLB decided to expand by adding four teams in 1969. This threw off the timetable of preparing the area for a MLB team as it was thought the new team would start in 1971 or 1972. Because Kansas City had just lost the Athletics to Oakland and was threatening legal action against MLB, it was decided to give Kansas City a replacement franchise as soon as possible in 1969 and to keep a balanced schedule, the Pilots would have to begin that same season.
This caused all types of headaches for the Soriano brothers and their front office staff, including Kittilsby and Schoenbachler. What follows, through the eyes and memories of these two Pilots staff members, is a crazy season that started off with needing to add seats right up to the opening pitch of first game of the season. Some ticket holders had to sit in bleachers that had just been installed (they could hear hammering from the ticket booth outside Sicks Stadium) and freshly painted.
That Sicks Stadium was inadequate for MLB was just one of a myriad of problems that Kittlesby and Schoenbachler shared that doomed the Pilots from the start. Very few of the revenue streams that fund a team were lacking for the Pilots either due to the timing of their start or the lack of interest. There was also a severe lack of interest from both fans, as attendance fell far below expectations, as well from the business community. When it became clear that another buyer was needed to keep the team in Seattle (from a directive by MLB), no one came forward. The team was declared bankrupt and just before opening day of the 1970 season, the team moved to Milwaukee under a new ownership group headed by future commissioner Bud Selig.
Kittlesby and Schoenbachler moved with the team to Milwaukee and shared stories of the early days in that city as well, with Schoenbachler staying with the team an additional five years. Their tales of woe for the Pilots franchise ran from sad to funny. Their recap of a popular promotion, Bat Day, was an example of a story that was both funny and sad, as the team did not order enough bats and these two, in addition to their other multiple duties, had to man the gates at the conclusion of the game and determine which families were carrying out too many bats.
That is just one example of the issues plaguing the Pilots during their one year of existence and bringing these issues to light through two men who experienced them makes the book have an air of authenticity to it as well as providing entertainment. While it is a short book it was one of the few books I read in one sitting as whether it was bat day, last minute stadium repairs or incompetent front office staff working with these two gentleman, “Inside Pitch” tells the story about the Seattle Pilots that many people would not have known otherwise.
I wish to thank Mr. Allen for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The subtitle of this book could be re-titled as “How Not to Run Your Brand New Baseball Team.” Much of the material written by Allen was obtained from interviews with two men who did long days and nights of work in the Pilots’ offices. Bob Schoenbachler, who could best be described as the team’s chief financial officer at the tender age of 21, having already been an accountant for Seattle’s minor league teams the previous two seasons. Jim Kittilsby had already established himself in minor league baseball administration and jumped at the chance to return to his native Pacific Northwest area when Dewey and Max Soriano offered him a job with the Seattle Angels, the same team that offered Schoenbachler his job.
The Soriano brothers were listed as the principle owners of the Seattle franchise when MLB decided to expand by adding four teams in 1969. This threw off the timetable of preparing the area for a MLB team as it was thought the new team would start in 1971 or 1972. Because Kansas City had just lost the Athletics to Oakland and was threatening legal action against MLB, it was decided to give Kansas City a replacement franchise as soon as possible in 1969 and to keep a balanced schedule, the Pilots would have to begin that same season.
This caused all types of headaches for the Soriano brothers and their front office staff, including Kittilsby and Schoenbachler. What follows, through the eyes and memories of these two Pilots staff members, is a crazy season that started off with needing to add seats right up to the opening pitch of first game of the season. Some ticket holders had to sit in bleachers that had just been installed (they could hear hammering from the ticket booth outside Sicks Stadium) and freshly painted.
That Sicks Stadium was inadequate for MLB was just one of a myriad of problems that Kittlesby and Schoenbachler shared that doomed the Pilots from the start. Very few of the revenue streams that fund a team were lacking for the Pilots either due to the timing of their start or the lack of interest. There was also a severe lack of interest from both fans, as attendance fell far below expectations, as well from the business community. When it became clear that another buyer was needed to keep the team in Seattle (from a directive by MLB), no one came forward. The team was declared bankrupt and just before opening day of the 1970 season, the team moved to Milwaukee under a new ownership group headed by future commissioner Bud Selig.
Kittlesby and Schoenbachler moved with the team to Milwaukee and shared stories of the early days in that city as well, with Schoenbachler staying with the team an additional five years. Their tales of woe for the Pilots franchise ran from sad to funny. Their recap of a popular promotion, Bat Day, was an example of a story that was both funny and sad, as the team did not order enough bats and these two, in addition to their other multiple duties, had to man the gates at the conclusion of the game and determine which families were carrying out too many bats.
That is just one example of the issues plaguing the Pilots during their one year of existence and bringing these issues to light through two men who experienced them makes the book have an air of authenticity to it as well as providing entertainment. While it is a short book it was one of the few books I read in one sitting as whether it was bat day, last minute stadium repairs or incompetent front office staff working with these two gentleman, “Inside Pitch” tells the story about the Seattle Pilots that many people would not have known otherwise.
I wish to thank Mr. Allen for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
June 11, 2020
A Disappointment
A couple of months ago an ad popped up on my Facebook feed for this book. I normally ignore such ads but this one got my attention as I had read Ball Four years ago and wanted to know more about the Seattle Pilots. So I was happy that a book providing a history of the club as well as their early years as the Milwaukee Brewers appealed to me. I bought the book last week on Kindle and eagerly started it.
On the plus side, I learned more about the administrative side of baseball circa late 60s/early 70s—what needs to be done behind the scenes to run a baseball organization on a day to day to basis. And the stories about opening day and bat day were interesting.
Unfortunately the book fails as history. Inside Pitch is really an affectionate dual biography of two men who worked in administrative capacities for the Seattle Pilots and early Milwaukee Brewers and became lifelong friends. They both would make good primary sources for a real history of the Pilots and Brewers, but for me they weren’t compelling biographical subjects.
In addition the book is full of repetition. We are told several times that due to Charlie Finley moving his Kansas City franchise to Oakland (curiously the author never calls them the Kansas City A’s) the MLB start date of the Pilots was moved up to 1969 before they would have an adequate stadium. Other things we are told over and over again include the name of Babe Ruth’s one and only roommate during his playing career, how the Pilots let Lou Piniella escape to the Royals, and how the accountant had never seen an MLB game until he got a job in Baseball administration.
The book goes off into weird unrelated tangents such as relaying how after seeing a California Angels game the accountant met the owner Gene Autry, who had a drinking problem, then afterwards attended a show at a Hollywood supper club. The headline was supposed to be Edie Adams, but instead Jimmy Durante performed in her place and Durante had introduced a couple of standards that would be on the Sleepless in Seattle film soundtrack when it came out in the 1990s. What does that have to do with the Seattle Pilots’ story besides a shared location?!
In addition, the book mentions that in the fall of 1969 a group of businessmen in Dallas expressed interest in acquiring the Pilots, but in the next sentence the group is now from Houston. Did anyone seriously copyedit this book?
Instead of focusing on the administrators and their life stories up to the time they started working in Professional Baseball, I wished the author had focused on the milieu of Major League Baseball in the 1960s—why did the leagues expand in the 60s? Besides having the backing of business community and deep pockets, why did the Kansas City Royals thrive compared to the Pilots? How did the two National League expansion teams, the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres (who are described as an established club!) compare with the Pilots? Besides Jim Bouton and a couple of other guys mentioned just once or twice, who played for the Pilots? The book describes the General Manager as erratic and paranoid, but other than describing how he behaved day to day at the office, what decisions did he make that help doom the Pilots, both on the field and off? Not much is revealed on that front.
There’s a good book to be written about the Seattle Pilots and its transition and ultimate success as the Milwaukee Brewers. But Inside Pitch isn’t it. At best there is some information in here that could contribute to a real historical account of the franchise(s). Otherwise, it’s a genial, if meandering and highly repetitive account of working in the upper levels of administration of a struggling baseball club in the late 60s and early 70s.
A couple of months ago an ad popped up on my Facebook feed for this book. I normally ignore such ads but this one got my attention as I had read Ball Four years ago and wanted to know more about the Seattle Pilots. So I was happy that a book providing a history of the club as well as their early years as the Milwaukee Brewers appealed to me. I bought the book last week on Kindle and eagerly started it.
On the plus side, I learned more about the administrative side of baseball circa late 60s/early 70s—what needs to be done behind the scenes to run a baseball organization on a day to day to basis. And the stories about opening day and bat day were interesting.
Unfortunately the book fails as history. Inside Pitch is really an affectionate dual biography of two men who worked in administrative capacities for the Seattle Pilots and early Milwaukee Brewers and became lifelong friends. They both would make good primary sources for a real history of the Pilots and Brewers, but for me they weren’t compelling biographical subjects.
In addition the book is full of repetition. We are told several times that due to Charlie Finley moving his Kansas City franchise to Oakland (curiously the author never calls them the Kansas City A’s) the MLB start date of the Pilots was moved up to 1969 before they would have an adequate stadium. Other things we are told over and over again include the name of Babe Ruth’s one and only roommate during his playing career, how the Pilots let Lou Piniella escape to the Royals, and how the accountant had never seen an MLB game until he got a job in Baseball administration.
The book goes off into weird unrelated tangents such as relaying how after seeing a California Angels game the accountant met the owner Gene Autry, who had a drinking problem, then afterwards attended a show at a Hollywood supper club. The headline was supposed to be Edie Adams, but instead Jimmy Durante performed in her place and Durante had introduced a couple of standards that would be on the Sleepless in Seattle film soundtrack when it came out in the 1990s. What does that have to do with the Seattle Pilots’ story besides a shared location?!
In addition, the book mentions that in the fall of 1969 a group of businessmen in Dallas expressed interest in acquiring the Pilots, but in the next sentence the group is now from Houston. Did anyone seriously copyedit this book?
Instead of focusing on the administrators and their life stories up to the time they started working in Professional Baseball, I wished the author had focused on the milieu of Major League Baseball in the 1960s—why did the leagues expand in the 60s? Besides having the backing of business community and deep pockets, why did the Kansas City Royals thrive compared to the Pilots? How did the two National League expansion teams, the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres (who are described as an established club!) compare with the Pilots? Besides Jim Bouton and a couple of other guys mentioned just once or twice, who played for the Pilots? The book describes the General Manager as erratic and paranoid, but other than describing how he behaved day to day at the office, what decisions did he make that help doom the Pilots, both on the field and off? Not much is revealed on that front.
There’s a good book to be written about the Seattle Pilots and its transition and ultimate success as the Milwaukee Brewers. But Inside Pitch isn’t it. At best there is some information in here that could contribute to a real historical account of the franchise(s). Otherwise, it’s a genial, if meandering and highly repetitive account of working in the upper levels of administration of a struggling baseball club in the late 60s and early 70s.
May 27, 2020
Learned some things about the problems the Pilots had to contend with. Book was probably twice as long as it needed to be. And very repetitive. For example, did you know that Jimmy Reese was Babe Ruth’s roommate? Lol
March 1, 2021
This book had a lot of potential that it sadly did not live up to. There are both strengths and weaknesses with this tome which I will address below:
Strengths: This book is a biography of Bob Schoenbachler and Jim Kittilsby, who both worked in the front office of the Seattle Pilots and Milwaukee Brewers during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Their voices resonate loud and clear through this work, and considering their positions, they are important voices indeed. There is more substance than a mere wikipedia entry, and we do see some colorful episodes with other bigger named players in the game. We also get a small glimpse at Bud Selig before he became the Commissioner of Baseball, and learn about his passion for baseball history and his other attempts at getting or keeping major league baseball in Milwaukee.
The supplemental research was above average. As a historian reading historical works, I always look at how well researched the subject is. While the Schoenbachler and Kittilsby interviews are the primary source materials (which is good), the remaining secondary source materials are somewhat weak. A few newspaper or encyclopedia entries here and there but spotty otherwise.
Weaknesses: The writing was poor. There were too many "words" that were "set off" in "quotation marks" that did not need to be, and the sentence structures were clumsy. There was too much repetition in the book (by page 99, we are familiar with the fact that Schoenbachler was 19 years old with no job four years earlier and had worked as the comptroller for two start up professional baseball teams). The editors needed to be fired because they didn't do their job well enough.
Also - there was very little to do with the actual playing of baseball. This is more of a neutral point. The subtitle is "Insiders Reveal How the Ill-Fated Seattle Pilots Got Played into Bankruptcy in One Year" so at least Allen stayed true to the title. Sadly, a little too true. After reading the book, I still had to look up the rosters of the 1969 Seattle Pilots and 1970 Milwaukee Brewers. The only two players I recognized from reading the work were Miguel Fuentes and Gorman Thomas (I remember watching Thomas play during his Brewers career in the 1970s and 80s), and, of course, Lou Pinella after his trade to Kansas City.
Overall, this is one of those books that I don't mind having on the bookshelf. It was an okay read. Don't rush out to the bookstores to buy this, but don't be afraid to pick it up if you see it on the shelf. This book is really a missed opportunity to tell a really great story. With more research, an aim of telling the entire story and not just the view points of two men who worked in the front office, and tighter writing/editing, this book could have hit a grand slam. Instead, we'll just have to settle for a base hit.
Strengths: This book is a biography of Bob Schoenbachler and Jim Kittilsby, who both worked in the front office of the Seattle Pilots and Milwaukee Brewers during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Their voices resonate loud and clear through this work, and considering their positions, they are important voices indeed. There is more substance than a mere wikipedia entry, and we do see some colorful episodes with other bigger named players in the game. We also get a small glimpse at Bud Selig before he became the Commissioner of Baseball, and learn about his passion for baseball history and his other attempts at getting or keeping major league baseball in Milwaukee.
The supplemental research was above average. As a historian reading historical works, I always look at how well researched the subject is. While the Schoenbachler and Kittilsby interviews are the primary source materials (which is good), the remaining secondary source materials are somewhat weak. A few newspaper or encyclopedia entries here and there but spotty otherwise.
Weaknesses: The writing was poor. There were too many "words" that were "set off" in "quotation marks" that did not need to be, and the sentence structures were clumsy. There was too much repetition in the book (by page 99, we are familiar with the fact that Schoenbachler was 19 years old with no job four years earlier and had worked as the comptroller for two start up professional baseball teams). The editors needed to be fired because they didn't do their job well enough.
Also - there was very little to do with the actual playing of baseball. This is more of a neutral point. The subtitle is "Insiders Reveal How the Ill-Fated Seattle Pilots Got Played into Bankruptcy in One Year" so at least Allen stayed true to the title. Sadly, a little too true. After reading the book, I still had to look up the rosters of the 1969 Seattle Pilots and 1970 Milwaukee Brewers. The only two players I recognized from reading the work were Miguel Fuentes and Gorman Thomas (I remember watching Thomas play during his Brewers career in the 1970s and 80s), and, of course, Lou Pinella after his trade to Kansas City.
Overall, this is one of those books that I don't mind having on the bookshelf. It was an okay read. Don't rush out to the bookstores to buy this, but don't be afraid to pick it up if you see it on the shelf. This book is really a missed opportunity to tell a really great story. With more research, an aim of telling the entire story and not just the view points of two men who worked in the front office, and tighter writing/editing, this book could have hit a grand slam. Instead, we'll just have to settle for a base hit.
July 8, 2020
Being a 55 year-old baseball and sports fan, somewhat fascinated by team’s that go defunct, the one-year wonder, the Seattle Pilots, were always a mystery to me.
Rick Allen’s Inside Pitch uses the personal story-telling of two almost accidential young big league front-office men to tell a often funny, but ultimately sad tale of Pilots and their Ill-fated doomed MLB legacy. It becomes no wonder why the team’s inaugural was also its last.
Reimbursing fans for paint on their fannies for the not-completed Opening Day seats, No TV revenue deal (locked out by MLB), and a big Bat Day crowd that even cost the team money were the anecdotal stories personally told made me understand how it
was no wonder the Pilots crashed after just one-season, and how the inside jobs in business of MLB had the deck stacked against the Seattle premature upstart.
I liked the way Rick Allen uses “Certified Bob” and Jim Kittilsby to tell the story. Almost felt like we were talking over drinks — though that style does lend itself to some tangents (which adds some context?) and repetitiveness. Also, this IS NOT Bouton’s Ball Four — though I think it will encourage me to pick-up my classic childhood read again — as there is not much baseball in the book. For example, despite the great stories of the front-office chaos for the team’s home opener vs the Chicago White Sox — with just painted seats and a scoreboard that wasn’t finished the night before — there was no mention that the Pilots actually won the game.
Inside Pitch does give a quick, entertaining, read through biographical story-telling with true tales of lore that would be hard to be believed — from what it was like to run the first and last year Pilots to move East instead or West at the end of Spring Training — in today’s MLB.
Worth the read. Let’s Go Pilots!
Rick Allen’s Inside Pitch uses the personal story-telling of two almost accidential young big league front-office men to tell a often funny, but ultimately sad tale of Pilots and their Ill-fated doomed MLB legacy. It becomes no wonder why the team’s inaugural was also its last.
Reimbursing fans for paint on their fannies for the not-completed Opening Day seats, No TV revenue deal (locked out by MLB), and a big Bat Day crowd that even cost the team money were the anecdotal stories personally told made me understand how it
was no wonder the Pilots crashed after just one-season, and how the inside jobs in business of MLB had the deck stacked against the Seattle premature upstart.
I liked the way Rick Allen uses “Certified Bob” and Jim Kittilsby to tell the story. Almost felt like we were talking over drinks — though that style does lend itself to some tangents (which adds some context?) and repetitiveness. Also, this IS NOT Bouton’s Ball Four — though I think it will encourage me to pick-up my classic childhood read again — as there is not much baseball in the book. For example, despite the great stories of the front-office chaos for the team’s home opener vs the Chicago White Sox — with just painted seats and a scoreboard that wasn’t finished the night before — there was no mention that the Pilots actually won the game.
Inside Pitch does give a quick, entertaining, read through biographical story-telling with true tales of lore that would be hard to be believed — from what it was like to run the first and last year Pilots to move East instead or West at the end of Spring Training — in today’s MLB.
Worth the read. Let’s Go Pilots!
June 11, 2020
This is the story of the Seattle Pilots, a one year Major League Baseball team that only played the 1969 season. Would be sold and moved to Milwaukee just in time for the 1970 season as the Brewers.
What makes this book interesting is the behind the scene business story as the financial problems unfolded. Ill prepared to actually begin before there was a sturdy foundation to build on, but early missteps by early staff hires.
What I didn't completely know was how big Charley O's movement of the A's from Kansas City to Oakland impacted Seattle's ill prepared first season and ultimate demise in Seattle. Central to the story are quotes by the numbers but throughout.
This book follows along as the team moves to Milwaukee and contrasts the Brewers early years.
There is some repetition but not enough to bother this reader.
From my perspective I got a clearer picture of events concerning the 1969 expansion of baseball. I grew up following minor league baseball while growing up in Seattle with the Rainers or San Diego with the Padres as members of the AAA Pacific Coast League. As a kid I saw the move of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and became a Dodger can as my local team. In 65 the family moved to central California and close to the other west coast team the San Francisco Giants. I was happy to see my other home town Seattle get a MLB franchise but had no idea how that other new local team in Oakland really impacted things in Seattle.
What makes this book interesting is the behind the scene business story as the financial problems unfolded. Ill prepared to actually begin before there was a sturdy foundation to build on, but early missteps by early staff hires.
What I didn't completely know was how big Charley O's movement of the A's from Kansas City to Oakland impacted Seattle's ill prepared first season and ultimate demise in Seattle. Central to the story are quotes by the numbers but throughout.
This book follows along as the team moves to Milwaukee and contrasts the Brewers early years.
There is some repetition but not enough to bother this reader.
From my perspective I got a clearer picture of events concerning the 1969 expansion of baseball. I grew up following minor league baseball while growing up in Seattle with the Rainers or San Diego with the Padres as members of the AAA Pacific Coast League. As a kid I saw the move of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and became a Dodger can as my local team. In 65 the family moved to central California and close to the other west coast team the San Francisco Giants. I was happy to see my other home town Seattle get a MLB franchise but had no idea how that other new local team in Oakland really impacted things in Seattle.
July 3, 2020
Due to lack of baseball this year because of Covid19, I got my baseball fix by re-reading my 40 year old copy of Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" which I had read back in college. While reading that book I learned of "Inside Pitch" which I then read after finishing "Ball Four". Since "Ball Four" was fresh in my memory, "Inside Pitch" paralleled Boutons book on that fateful season/time frame for the Pilots. What a memory! What a story for this baseball fan! I love to learn how things work. It's not just the players that make baseball happen. At one point the Pilots almost didn't have enough baseballs to supply for games due to lack of funds. Who would've thought of that as a possibility? Personally there were some connections that I could relate to, plus the facts that lead the Pilots to become the Brewers were very intriguing and interesting-the legal wrangling that played out so 9 guys could play a kids game! If you love baseball, want a nice history lesson and get an idea of what it takes to operate a team, read this book! And tell them Charles O Finley sent ya!
July 31, 2025
"A hilarious, eye-opening backstage pass to baseball’s weirdest meltdown!"
Inside Pitch is the kind of sports book that doesn’t just tell you what happened. it lets you feel the chaos, the comedy, and the absurdity of it all. Rick Allen pulls back the curtain on the short-lived Seattle Pilots and delivers a behind-the-scenes story that’s equal parts informative and laugh-out-loud funny.
This isn’t your typical baseball book. It’s not just stats and game summaries, it’s about the suits, the scrambled decisions, and the bizarre reality of running a team that was doomed from the start. The writing is sharp, fast-paced, and filled with personality. I especially loved how Rick captured the missteps with honesty but never bitterness, it’s clear he has real affection for the team and the people in it, even when they were flying by the seat of their pants.
If you love baseball, underdog stories, or just want a hilarious crash course in sports mismanagement, Inside Pitch is your next read. Honestly, someone needs to turn this into a Netflix series ASAP.
Inside Pitch is the kind of sports book that doesn’t just tell you what happened. it lets you feel the chaos, the comedy, and the absurdity of it all. Rick Allen pulls back the curtain on the short-lived Seattle Pilots and delivers a behind-the-scenes story that’s equal parts informative and laugh-out-loud funny.
This isn’t your typical baseball book. It’s not just stats and game summaries, it’s about the suits, the scrambled decisions, and the bizarre reality of running a team that was doomed from the start. The writing is sharp, fast-paced, and filled with personality. I especially loved how Rick captured the missteps with honesty but never bitterness, it’s clear he has real affection for the team and the people in it, even when they were flying by the seat of their pants.
If you love baseball, underdog stories, or just want a hilarious crash course in sports mismanagement, Inside Pitch is your next read. Honestly, someone needs to turn this into a Netflix series ASAP.
June 17, 2020
First, I will say I had a very hard time putting this book down. Fascinating, behind-the-scenes, can't believe it happened that way kind of story. Second, this comment comes from a 60+ year-old woman who has had less than a gnat's interest in baseball her whole life. Inside Pitch was a recommended read from a friend and I'm so delighted I dove in, head first into the first chapter to see if something - no, let's say anything - would ever make me interested in baseball. Rick Allen has done a fantastic job of research, probing into stories, fact-finding, and relating substantive material to explain this historical snafu that caused artifacts still relating to MLB business operations today. Definitely a must-read that will have you telling your friends little-known facts gleaned from Rick's dive into this subject matter.
June 9, 2020
This book is an inside look at the ownership and administration of the ill-fated Seattle Pilots. After one year, the Pilots were bankrupt and Bud Selig was able to buy the team and move it to Milwaukee just before the 1970 season.
While this book focuses on the challenges faced by the owners, Daniel and Max Soriano, it also brings to light the fact that expansion was supposed to take place a few years later. Kansas City was pressuring MLB to expand now, not later. The new Seattle owners had little time to prepare to open the season. Rushed hires and a stadium inadequate for major league baseball doomed the team.
This book is a very quick read and provided enough insight to make it worthwhile. A good book, not a great book, but if you are a baseball fan, it is good reading.
While this book focuses on the challenges faced by the owners, Daniel and Max Soriano, it also brings to light the fact that expansion was supposed to take place a few years later. Kansas City was pressuring MLB to expand now, not later. The new Seattle owners had little time to prepare to open the season. Rushed hires and a stadium inadequate for major league baseball doomed the team.
This book is a very quick read and provided enough insight to make it worthwhile. A good book, not a great book, but if you are a baseball fan, it is good reading.
June 15, 2020
I read this book with great interest as I was only 13 when the Pilots took to the field Seattle, but I do remember the excitement of having a major-league team in town. I read with great interest about the two young men, who stumbled into top administrative posts with the team, recount the history of that fateful year, 1969, and the extraordinary efforts made to keep the team in town. This book is a great read for anyone interested in knowing more about the high-stakes game behind the dugout, of what it takes from team owners and administrators to actually keep a team on the field. Sadly, it didn't work out in Seattle, for the Pilots to be our city's longstanding MLB team. After reading this book, I now know exactly why.
October 14, 2020
For a Major League Baseball fan, the 1969 Seattle Pilots represent the ultimate curiosity. They existed for only one season before going bankrupt and relocating to Milwaukee, where they are now known as the Brewers.
A number of books have been written on the subject, each dealing with different aspects of the story. Inside Pitch examines the front office/financial aspect of a team that was largely set up for failure from the very beginning.
If you like baseball, and if you find the Pilots case as interesting as I do, it's a good read. If you're unfamiliar and looking for a starting point, I would recommend first reading Kenneth Hogan's "The 1969 Seattle Pilots" or Jim Bouton's famous (infamous?) "Ball Four," then circle back to this if you are so inclined.
A number of books have been written on the subject, each dealing with different aspects of the story. Inside Pitch examines the front office/financial aspect of a team that was largely set up for failure from the very beginning.
If you like baseball, and if you find the Pilots case as interesting as I do, it's a good read. If you're unfamiliar and looking for a starting point, I would recommend first reading Kenneth Hogan's "The 1969 Seattle Pilots" or Jim Bouton's famous (infamous?) "Ball Four," then circle back to this if you are so inclined.
June 2, 2020
It's a fascinating take of mismanagement. There are two young, unsung heroes named Bob Schoenbachler and Jim Kittilsby who saved the American League from serious embarrassment. The author also details how Bud Selig and friends swooped in to move the club to Milwaukee, eventually righting things. There is some name dropping from time to time (Tom Kelly and Bob Lemon, for example, have cameo roles) but the majority of the story is a take of how to not to run business. It's a fun, relatively quick read -- perfect for a summer day sitting on a deck while waiting for sports to return to action.
June 16, 2020
If you love baseball and need a fix while waiting for its return, you need look no further than Inside Pitch. Rick Allen does a masterful job of bringing the Soriano brothers’ dream to life on the printed page. That dream was developing a Major League Baseball team in Seattle. A close look at the zany lineup in the front office will keep you laughing in amazement. It will also explain the Pilots’ short life in Seattle. With first person accounts of the madness of young, inexperienced front office staff to cameos by baseball royalty, it is hard to put down.
October 14, 2020
Seattle Pilot's Background Info
I rated a 3 star because it's well written, interesting, and includes behind-the-scenes stories of the fabled but ill-fated 1969 Seattle Pilot major league baseball team. This book is more about the business side of the team rather than player personalities or game antecedents. However it is important information for true baseball fans and affeciandos of the near mystical Seattle Pilots.
I rated a 3 star because it's well written, interesting, and includes behind-the-scenes stories of the fabled but ill-fated 1969 Seattle Pilot major league baseball team. This book is more about the business side of the team rather than player personalities or game antecedents. However it is important information for true baseball fans and affeciandos of the near mystical Seattle Pilots.
October 27, 2020
An okay behind the scenes look at the Seattle Pilots. Unfortunately, the author wants the reader to become attached to two young executives, but does not offer enough depth for either to really get the reader invested. Overall, it leaves the reader feeling that they are just skimming the surface and that there is a lack of depth to this story. An okay read but not one to move the earth for.
August 1, 2020
Nice concise "oral" history of the downfall of the Seattle Pilots, and the extended wackiness in the Milwaukee Brewers. This is a must-read for PNW baseball fans. A true comedy of errors, missteps, financial screw-ups, and more.
August 27, 2025
Inside Pitch is a fascinating deep dive into the rise and rapid fall of the Seattle Pilots. Packed with behind the scenes stories, insider details, and colorful anecdotes, it reveals the missteps that doomed the team in just one year. A must read for baseball fans and sports history buffs!
June 20, 2020
Great to see a different side of things when it comes to the office side of things for a professional baseball team in that time period.
July 4, 2020
The inside story that we hadn’t heard yet.....why the Pilots franchise didn’t make it past one season. Thank you Rick for pursuing your lead!
July 10, 2020
Awesome read! I learned a lot about the Seattle Pilots one season that I was not aware of. Thank you Rick Allen for a great book!
September 7, 2020
Great read
Fantastic read. As a life long Milwaukee Brewers fan , it was fascinating to learn the true history of the team I love.
Fantastic read. As a life long Milwaukee Brewers fan , it was fascinating to learn the true history of the team I love.
September 8, 2020
Great read on the front office for the Seattle Pilots during their lone season in 1969. It leads into the Pilots moved to Milwaukee and their 1970 season.
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