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Writing Baseball
Man on Spikes
Selected as one of baseball literature's Golden Dozen by Roger Kahn, Man on Spikes is an uncompromisingly realistic novel about a baseball player who struggles through sixteen years of personal crises and professional ordeals before finally appearing in a major league game. In a preface to this new edition, Eliot Asinof reveals the longsuffering ballplayer and friend upon which the novel is based.
298 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 1, 2023
Man on Spikes is set in the 1940’s and follows a baseball player’s journey throughout 16 years of his life. The story goes through ups and downs of the main character’s battle through the minor leagues and his passion for baseball.
Every chapter is set around a different character in the main character’s life and how their relationships impact him (coaches, teammates, family, etc.). While I appreciated the different viewpoints of all the characters with this specific writing style, I personally would have liked more thoughts and feelings from the main character himself.
Novels surrounding baseball always intrigue me and as a fan this was a good read.
Every chapter is set around a different character in the main character’s life and how their relationships impact him (coaches, teammates, family, etc.). While I appreciated the different viewpoints of all the characters with this specific writing style, I personally would have liked more thoughts and feelings from the main character himself.
Novels surrounding baseball always intrigue me and as a fan this was a good read.
February 16, 2015
Famous as the author of Eight Men Out (the basis of the 1988 movie about the "Black Sox" scandal of 1919), Eliot Asinof first established himself as a sports fiction writer with his book, "Man on Spikes," in 1955. Based on a friend and fellow high school ballplayer, the novel tells the hard-luck story of career minor leaguer Mike Kutney, the son of a German immigrant miner who is offered the chance to play baseball professionally. One big problem: the scout who signs him was originally told to hire a home run hitter, but was carried away by Kutney's flashy defense and determination. The biggest problem: Kutney wears glasses.
Told from the point of view of people around Kutney — family, friends, teammates, managers, even the Commissioner of baseball himself — Man on Spikes was overshadowed by Bernard Malamud's "The Natural," published just two years earlier. However, rather than a straight-up "baseball story," Man on Spikes takes uncompromising look at what happens behind the scenes. The rivalries, the bitterness, the grit, the racism, and, above all, the injustice of the infamous "reserve clause" that shackled players to teams for life are all laid bare.
Much of the description of minor league life may seem out of date: the book describes US society from just prior to World War II, ending just after the coming of Jackie Robinson and racial integration. But the drama gives a vivid picture of baseball history and insight into the tensions between baseball owners and players that lead to strikes in 1981 and 1994. Only in the final chapter, as he steps onto a major league field at least, does the protagonist have a voice, and this voice, like his major league career, is all too short.
Told from the point of view of people around Kutney — family, friends, teammates, managers, even the Commissioner of baseball himself — Man on Spikes was overshadowed by Bernard Malamud's "The Natural," published just two years earlier. However, rather than a straight-up "baseball story," Man on Spikes takes uncompromising look at what happens behind the scenes. The rivalries, the bitterness, the grit, the racism, and, above all, the injustice of the infamous "reserve clause" that shackled players to teams for life are all laid bare.
Much of the description of minor league life may seem out of date: the book describes US society from just prior to World War II, ending just after the coming of Jackie Robinson and racial integration. But the drama gives a vivid picture of baseball history and insight into the tensions between baseball owners and players that lead to strikes in 1981 and 1994. Only in the final chapter, as he steps onto a major league field at least, does the protagonist have a voice, and this voice, like his major league career, is all too short.
November 13, 2020
Mike Kutner (based loosely on a friend of the author) is a young man who has never wanted anything more than to play baseball at the Major League level. When a professional scout spots Kutner playing high-school ball, it appears that Kutner's dreams are destined to come true. But, after joining the professional ranks, Kutner finds that greedy owners care about money more than about winning, jaded managers, that politics dictates which players are promoted and that the all-consuming quest to reach the Big Leagues comes at a cost.
The novel has a unique narrative structure. Each chapter advances the story through the perspective of a supporting character, as reflected in the chapter titles (e.g., "The Manager," "The Mother," "The Reporter"). Kutner himself is less fleshed-out than these supporting characters; he is an empty vessel whose own feelings are only dimly considered. Thus, Asinof causes the reader to empathize with Kutner, pulled to and fro by the others in his life and viewed by his team as a mere asset.
There is a grimness to the story, which echoes (both literally and metaphorically) the famous poem Casey at the Bat. Asinof's novel is not one in which overcoming adversity, however great, leads to bliss. But, it is an honest look at life in professional baseball of yesteryear. Asinof, as a minor-leaguer himself, is well-equipped to tell the tale. And while many things have changed since 1955 (the original publication date), many things have not. It is interesting to read that even then, there was a tension between "toolsy" players who hit for power and those who were better at the subtle skills of stealing bases, hitting behind runners, and executing squeeze bunts. Now, as then, the path to the highest levels of baseball (or anything else) is difficult. Most who try do not succeed, and even those who may not question whether the kill was worth the hunt.
Marvin Miller, who, as Executive Director of the Major League Player's Association, was instrumental in increasing player salaries, contributed a foreword to Asinof's book. Miller views Asinof's novel as a revealing look at the abuse would-be players suffer at the hands of owners, but that narrow perspective undervalues the novel. Asinof's story is not just about the unfulfilled promises Kutner receives; it is also about the costs of searching for greatness. While the writing is occasionally old-fashioned and often tinged with sadness, it is a book that those who love the game will find engrossing.
The novel has a unique narrative structure. Each chapter advances the story through the perspective of a supporting character, as reflected in the chapter titles (e.g., "The Manager," "The Mother," "The Reporter"). Kutner himself is less fleshed-out than these supporting characters; he is an empty vessel whose own feelings are only dimly considered. Thus, Asinof causes the reader to empathize with Kutner, pulled to and fro by the others in his life and viewed by his team as a mere asset.
There is a grimness to the story, which echoes (both literally and metaphorically) the famous poem Casey at the Bat. Asinof's novel is not one in which overcoming adversity, however great, leads to bliss. But, it is an honest look at life in professional baseball of yesteryear. Asinof, as a minor-leaguer himself, is well-equipped to tell the tale. And while many things have changed since 1955 (the original publication date), many things have not. It is interesting to read that even then, there was a tension between "toolsy" players who hit for power and those who were better at the subtle skills of stealing bases, hitting behind runners, and executing squeeze bunts. Now, as then, the path to the highest levels of baseball (or anything else) is difficult. Most who try do not succeed, and even those who may not question whether the kill was worth the hunt.
Marvin Miller, who, as Executive Director of the Major League Player's Association, was instrumental in increasing player salaries, contributed a foreword to Asinof's book. Miller views Asinof's novel as a revealing look at the abuse would-be players suffer at the hands of owners, but that narrow perspective undervalues the novel. Asinof's story is not just about the unfulfilled promises Kutner receives; it is also about the costs of searching for greatness. While the writing is occasionally old-fashioned and often tinged with sadness, it is a book that those who love the game will find engrossing.
July 31, 2021
There are definitely parts of this book that will stick with me. With that said I think telling Mike’s story through so many other point of views made the story feel more detached and I had trouble really getting into his mindset. I think the ending would have paid off more if the book had fewer narrators. I also didn’t love how the wife was portrayed.
July 9, 2024
This is a great read for a baseball fan. Asinof anticipates so many aspects of the modern game in his 1955 novel, but he also does a pretty remarkable job of showing the unfairnesses that were on display at the time as well. I read 'Shoeless Joe' as a kid and remember not loving it. This feels like the better version of what that book should have been.
May 20, 2017
A forgotten classic. Well recommended.
July 8, 2023
Gritty and sad, reminiscent of Arthur Miller and Sinclair Lewis
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews