The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia: Baseball Stuff You Never Needed to Know and Can Certainly Live Without

by Robert Schnakenberg

This exhilarating account skips the unforgettable athletic achievements, heroic performers, and exhilarating moments that remind fans of everything they love about sports and honest competition and gives the real skinny on baseball's unknown history. Author Robert Schnakenberg takes readers through a decidedly snarky trip through the game's rich history of buffoonery, thuggery, fashion missteps, ballpark promotions gone awry, batboys with metals claws for hands, afros, mustaches, mistresses, overzealous mascots, existence-of-dinosaurs deniers, indelible baseball-themed candy bars, wife-swapping, and hundreds of other unbelievable-but-true aspects of America's national pastime.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Robert Schnakenberg has been called "the Howard Zinn of nerd pop culture." He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Old Man Drinks, Christopher Walken A-to-Z, Secret Lives of Great Authors, and the New York Times bestseller The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray. His work has appeared in Penthouse.

Reviews

[Ed Wagemann · Rating 2 out of 5]

On my second attempt to seek understanding of my childhood obsession with major league baseball I checked out Robert Schankeberg’s The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia. Much of the same ground that was covered in Big Hair and Plastic Grass (the book that was part of my first attempt to understand my chldhood obsession) was covered here as well, and it was covered in a similar quick, snarky, Generation ADD style (ie, a venerable parade of random, multi-tasking soundbite-like attempts to appear expertine by using large, obscure words and hipster-wannabee pop culture references). Schnakenerg at least owns up to his snarkyness from the get-go, as the subtitle suggests. He also lays the information out in an easy to read manner, with plenty of illustration eye candy, including a replication of the Topps “mutton chop sideburns” Carl Yazstremski baseball card that was once famously referenced in a The Simpsons episode. Many of the illustrations included within the pages of The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia illustrates the book’s basic assumption that major league baseball is a common part of the pop culture entertainment industry (which make the “Underground” part of the book’s title seem rather out of place). In that overall context, Schankeberg’s book devotes a large amount of “column space” on whacky fans, popular supervendors, team mascots, odd players (one-armed players and midgets and a female umpire), plus freakish behavior and tabloid scandals (sex, steroids, racism and gambling). All of which made me quickly realize that I wouldn’t be finding any definitive answers to my questions regarding my childhood obsession, but I kept reading none the less because a) Schnakenerg’s book was halfway entertaining and b) I was on the toilet and wasn’t able to reach anything else except for The Sav-On Health Self-Care Advisor—a quick-reference guide for all that ales you—that is perpetually resting in the combination magazine rack/toilet paper roll dispenser that is within arms reach of my bathroom shitter.

So overall, The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia was mildly entertaining and good for a diversion while taking the Browns to the Superbowl, but as the book’s subtitle suggest, it is one that you “can certainly live without”. Therefore this reviewer deems it worthy of 2 Wagemannheads.
NEXT!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy talking baseball history, rules, stats, match-ups, predictions, etc, just like any baseball fan.

But, I absolutely love talking about the Doc Ellis LSD-induced no hitter, or the Pirates' mascot, the Pirate Parrot, dealing coke to all the players in the 1980s, then becoming a stoolie for the FBI by wearing a wire in his costume.

If you enjoy those ridiculous stories too, this is the ideal book. It doesnt' talk about Steve Carlton's 27 win season, it talks about how he things AIDS was cooked up by a government lab to kill minorites.

Mascot misconduct, promotions gone wrong, pitchers swapping wives (and children), racists, stunts, super-vendors, super-fans, and Anna Benson....this is the sort of thing covered here.

Be warned, this may absolutely destroy some of your childhood reverance of your favorite players.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any baseball fan! I found this book in a Tuesday Morning book clearance section a few years ago and gave it to my hubby for Christmas. We made it our 'library' book [in other words in the bathroom]. The more I read the more I enjoyed. It has interesting facts about baseball, players, mascots, owners etc... that you will not find in other baseball books. Very very entertaining!

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and clever idea, but is sold short. About half the entries deal with "supervendors" and team mascots, whereas I was hoping for more crazy stories of players and managers. Still worth the read if you're a baseball fan.

[Daniel A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tries to look like something it isn't. This book is nothing special and the casual fan won't learn anything he cares about. For example, I really don't care about famous peanut vendors. About a third of the book focuses on people like that.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome. Alphabetically arranged list of the most random, odd and interesting facts, stories and people in or related to the game of baseball.

4.0 / 5.0