What do you think?
Rate this book
The 26th Man: One Minor League Pitcher's Pursuit of a Dream
The average major league player currently earns more than half a million dollars a season. But, only 25 players make the big team's roster. The 26th Man details the season-long journey of Steve Fireovid of the Triple A Indianapolis Indians, as he deals with the realities and the heartbreak of playing a kid's games well into his thirties.
- GenresBaseballSportsNonfiction
236 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
37 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 16, 2020
The 26th Man was certainly not the best baseball book that I have ever read but it was not the worst either. Steve Fireovid comes across as very honest and genuine but sometimes the book gets a bit dry, mainly because Steve really lets viewers into the day-to-day life of a minor league baseball player and the reality is not that glamorous in real-life or in print. An easy read though that all with a fascination about minor baseball should pick-up.
September 5, 2020
A hidden baseball gem. A unique baseball journal of a high level minor league pitcher with diminishing opportunities to return to MLB. A very matter of fact book avoiding the sentimentally of the Bull Durham minor leagues. A nice companion to ‘A False Spring’ with a perspective from the opposite end of a minor league career. Not for the light baseball fan looking for a ‘feel good’ or humorous read, but a terrific book for fans wanting a unique view of an obscure part of the game.
January 6, 2016
Between 1981 and 1992, Steve Fireovid pitched for five major league teams in parts of six season. And in none of them did he have more than 10 appearances.
The rest of the time, Fireovid pitched in the minor leagues, spending a lot of time at AAA-level ball not unlike a pitching version of Bull Durham's Crash Davis. He kept a journal of his 1990 season with the Montreal Expos' AAA affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, and with the help of co-author Mark Winegardner turned it into the 1991 book The 26th Man. The title refers to the major league roster limit of 25 players -- the 26th man is the one not quite good enough to catch on and stick permanently but too good to just give up and go home.
That image fuels much of Fireovid's journal as he realizes the end of whatever career he may have in baseball is approaching. Indeed, he only pitched one more game in "The Show," as players refer to the big league teams, a 1992 win for the Texas Rangers.
The most interesting parts of 26th Man are the insider looks at what kinds of decisions teams make about the players they promote and the ones they let go. Talent tells, but so do many more undefineable qualities. And as with any endeavor that involves human beings, sometimes choices that seem smart and get made for all the right reasons turn out badly, and the universal sport of second-guessing commences. Would any of the teams for which he played have been better off bringing up Fireovid instead of someone else they did promote? Maybe, but there's no way of knowing, so maybe not, as well. Despite that underlying echo of melancholy, there's a lot of fun in reading his story and often wry observations on what it's like to get paid to play a game.
Original available here.
The rest of the time, Fireovid pitched in the minor leagues, spending a lot of time at AAA-level ball not unlike a pitching version of Bull Durham's Crash Davis. He kept a journal of his 1990 season with the Montreal Expos' AAA affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, and with the help of co-author Mark Winegardner turned it into the 1991 book The 26th Man. The title refers to the major league roster limit of 25 players -- the 26th man is the one not quite good enough to catch on and stick permanently but too good to just give up and go home.
That image fuels much of Fireovid's journal as he realizes the end of whatever career he may have in baseball is approaching. Indeed, he only pitched one more game in "The Show," as players refer to the big league teams, a 1992 win for the Texas Rangers.
The most interesting parts of 26th Man are the insider looks at what kinds of decisions teams make about the players they promote and the ones they let go. Talent tells, but so do many more undefineable qualities. And as with any endeavor that involves human beings, sometimes choices that seem smart and get made for all the right reasons turn out badly, and the universal sport of second-guessing commences. Would any of the teams for which he played have been better off bringing up Fireovid instead of someone else they did promote? Maybe, but there's no way of knowing, so maybe not, as well. Despite that underlying echo of melancholy, there's a lot of fun in reading his story and often wry observations on what it's like to get paid to play a game.
Original available here.
June 23, 2010
minor leagues
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews