The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 Mph

by Shawn Green, Gordon McAlpine (Contributor)

Shawn Green€™s career statistics can be found on the backs of baseball cards in shoe boxes across 328 home runs, 1,071 RBIs, .282 career batting average, All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger. . . . But numbers tell only part of the story.His path to success was as grounded in philosophical study as in ballpark wisdom. Striving to find stillness within the rip-roaring scene of Major League Baseball€”from screaming fans to national scandals€” Green learned to approach the sport with a clear mind. In the tradition of Phil Jackson€™s Sacred Hoops,Green shares the secrets to remaining focused both on and off the field, shedding light on a signature approach to living by using his remarkable baseball experiences to exemplify how one can find full awareness, presence, and, ultimately, fulfillment in any endeavor. Following his development from inconsistent rookie to established All-Star to aging veteran,The Way of Baseball illustrates the spiritual pract

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Biography, Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Shawn Greens career statistics can be found on the backs of baseball cards in shoe boxes across America: 328 home runs, 1,071 RBIs, .282 career batting average, All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger. . . . But numbers tell only part of the story.His path to success was as grounded in philosophical study as in ballpark wisdom. Striving to find stillness within the rip-roaring scene of Major League Baseballfrom screaming fans to national scandals Green learned to approach the sport with a clear mind. In the tradition of Phil Jacksons Sacred Hoops,Green shares the secrets to remaining focused both on and off the field, shedding light on a signature approach to living by using his remarkable baseball experiences to exemplify how one can find full awareness, presence, and, ultimately, fulfillment in any endeavor. Following his development from inconsistent rookie to established All-Star to aging veteran,The Way of Baseball illustrates the spiritual practices that enabled him to bring stillness into the flow of life. Requiring mastery of perspective and continual management of ego, the game of baseball afforded Green the opportunity to explore his potential as more than just a ballplayer. A treasure of practical wisdom and an intimate look at what it really means to let go, The Way of Baseball illuminates the creative possibilities within us all."

Reviews

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shawn Green was an interesting player and a much more understandable persona now after reading this book.

The inclusion of a meditative philosophy in baseball would seem to go against the grain but baseball seems to be perfect for it's application.
Green comes off as very self-satisfied which is off putting, but his conclusions and approach are sound and interesting.

This book doesn't present anything new to people familiar with eastern philosophies but it's application to baseball is interesting. This book will only appeal to a small cross-section of people.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give credit to Green for writing a nontraditional book about his baseball career. Green does not focus too much on the actual on field events of his career, but rather on his method of preparation to play. Green uses the book to share how meditation helped him become a better hitter. There is a lot in the book about Green hitting a ball off of a tee over and over and over and over.

The problems with the book are:
1) Green (helped by Gordon MacAlpine) still try to shoehorn some baseball anecdotes in, although they seem a little forced
2) At times, Green comes off a bit too full of himself. There are lengthy passages from a journal he kept and they seem a bit too polished. There is also the transcription of a dream in which Green speaks with Ted Williams.

When Green played, he was liked, but never loved. He always seemed a bit remote. But that was his way. His book would have benefited from hewing more closely to being all about meditation or all about baseball instead of a forced mixture of the two.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read, especially when you've been a life-long fan of the game. "The Art of War" it's not, but Shawn Green is probably more accessible that Sun Tzu to the contemporary audience.

Much of what Green (and Gordon McAlpine) presents isn't so much a "process" of achieving oneness with the world, rather a "journey" with recollections of where life's signposts were alternately missed completely and seen in stark relief.

TWoB is constructed very well. It begins with the personal high point of his career, then takes us back chronologically through his first seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays where his Tanner batting tee changes his perception (think Wilson from "CastAway," but with less personality) and helps him become a power hitter in the league despite being "skinny."

(Honestly, I spent portions of the book wondering if what he writes about wasn't some kind of elaborate cover meant to disguise any dabbling in PEDs during those middle years of his career. From Internet searches I did, I could only find one reference of a coach in the league calling him out for being on something, but there didn't seem to be anything that indicated he was being investigated with the likes of Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro, etc)

Green went through streeeaks of good and bad, so while I'm not necessarily predisposed to discounting these recollections as rose-colored, it seems that the exercises he went through in order to shut out the noise and simply be may not have had as drastic of an effect as he claims. Other players have found their groove, then alternately rode the pine when they lost it. I suppose I would have to read the first-person written accounts of their careers to be able to compare.

He went through a pretty sour year and a half in his Dodger days consecutively (as well as a disappointing first season with them). I find it a bit difficult to believe that after allegedly finding success with this "finding stillness" in his last years in Toronto, that he couldn't find it again for long stretches. I'm more inclined to believe that the league was simply adjusting to him and taking him more seriously (and possibly just taking the team he was on at the time - Toronto vs. Los Angeles - more seriously).

While life often seems to provide balance, especially for those who seek it, I don't think Green is providing anything solid for self-improvement. However, using his words as a reflection on what processes you have (or don't) could serve as a good sounding board on where you stand.

[Adam Vibert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know almost nothing about baseball, but read this to see if there was anything I could learn from a mental/preparation perspective to help me in my own sporting pursuits.

One of the main takeaways for me were Shawn's views on 'being present' and not dwelling on the past, future and what competitors and other people are saying.

Being a baseball novice, there were players and baseball specific terms mentioned throughout the book that I'd never heard of. Whilst you can still get through the book as a baseball novice, I think you would get more out of it if you're a fan.

[James Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This feels like an essential book, one that I should keep with me and read and reread as long as I play. This helped me answer the question of how big leaguers are able to maintain their process day in and day out over 162 without getting bored. I’m not a hitter but there’s plenty for pitchers to take from this book. An added bonus is that he becomes an easy to root for character in his own book which makes the stories more fun.

[a_goks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge baseball fan, and specifically a Blue Jays fan so it was cool to read this book by Shawn Green, former Jays outfielder. I loved getting the inside scoop into how a team operates and all the nuances of the relationships. It was wonderful to learn about Shawn’s amazing career long friendship with Carlos Delgado - also a former Jays star! And it was neat to read about the start of their career together with the Jays and the end of it with the Mets.

As his career evolved, Shawn found opportunities to be more mindful with his approach to the game. It was lovely to read about his tactics and how he adapted.

Shawn’s family was also very important to him. His love his daughters and wife really shone through!

[Jeff Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at baseball

It was pretty good. I enjoyed a lot of the “being in the moment” things and the stories about the struggles which you don’t hear very often. I liked his writing and the book flowed. I’d recommend it. I will say some parts read like a “I’m so good at being selfless, I’m better than others” but I think that’s just something I read into it. Actually I was surprised at how honest he was about disagreeing with coaching staffs so I’m sure that wasn’t his intent.

[Anders Nielsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and beautiful book about the struggles of everyday life told through a baseball players career, about the hard work, about using stillness in a positive way and about how ego can get in the way. I've never seen Shawn play and don't follow or understand the mechanics of baseball, so some of the passages are bit too technical, but that does not ruin the overall impression of a very interesting guy, that got way more out of baseball, than he was built for

[M Boughner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, although the title really should have been, “Zen and the Art of Hitting a Baseball”. I remember watching Green often when he was playing for Toronto and got an autograph once. I was always a fan, and appreciated the manner that his book combines philosophy , baseball and personal anecdotes. It really does highlight how difficult and fleeting is the skill required to hit a baseball thrown by a major league pitcher.

[Marcelo Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shawn Green was one of my favorite players as a kid and finding this book made me very happy. It's a short examination of his career told through the lens of learning, specifically about things like his own ego and the pitfalls surrounding one too inflated and as well as trying to keep it deflated.

I might have liked this book more because of its parallels to my own life than anything else, but I will almost certainly go back to it some day.

[dahyung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found out lots of quotes that is meaningful for awareness, presense, and non-attachment. He was a 'professional' baseball player and he practiced this meditation through his 'career.' That means finding stillness is not only from basecall but from everywhere - he also refered to Pirsig, as he read Zen and Mortorcycle when he was a senior at highschool.

[Tom Herzog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not finished yet, but enjoying this read on the mental aspects of the game. Mindset, the challenge to master attributes necessary in all aspects of life, often the the difference in our pursuit to be all who we are created to be. Shawn does a good job at speaking to the challenges which transcend all aspects of life. 👍

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not about the baseball; it never was. That's his point. Green has produced a remarkable book, a memoir of how he used a life most people will never live to reach (and lose, and recover) a level of mindfulness few will achieve. I really appreciate his matter-of-fact approach; this is not a peachy self-help book. It's simply what happened, and why he valued those experiences.

[Aaron Hand · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the strangest baseball book I’ve ever read. I liked Shawn Green as a player - he was great, a lefty, humble, and Jewish. This book is more of a psychology book than a book on sports. He’s practically New Age in how he lives and only biologically Jewish. He writes at length on meditation, focus, being present in the moment. I won’t read it again. It was slightly below average.

[Callie and Adam Rosales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read!

As a baseball player, this book is my favorite of all time! If we can approach the game like Shawn Green then we might understand what it truly means to “have fun” playing the best game in the world.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that I picked somewhat randomly out of the baseball section at the library. If you are interested in baseball and eastern religion/philosophy then you’ll certainly enjoy it. If you don’t know much about baseball you’ll likely not appreciate it quite so much.

[Alan Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essence of the game and of the self!

This book isn't just about one mans secrets of the game, but about finding the secrets of the self! He found what certain other authors call the authentic swing!

[Mike Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that you might give as a gift to someone. Especially a sports fan that can use an introduction to the eastern zen way of thinking presented in the book. I enjoyed. Took lots of notes. Nothing new but presented differently in the context of baseball.

[Nelson Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really awesome book !

This book really brings to light a lot of the key things to use when at the plate from a player who had a short but great tenure as a major league

[Nicholas Bakke]

Great book!

[Chris Schaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. More on the I than the team.

[Mark Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This account of Green's career, as he matured and let Zen enter his approach to the game. His life on and off the field are here, along with the role the influence of Zen has had on both.

[Brandon Soat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. It turned out to be more of an autobiography, but Green did make some noteworthy comments throughout the book.

[Ryan Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read full of life & baseball knowledge while providing a behind the curtains look at life in the big leagues. Will be recommending to all of my players!

[gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shawn Green always seemed to be a thinking player and his Zen influences. Interesting insights into his hitting philosophy and his friendship with Carlos Delgado.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, the only thing that makes this book 2 stars instead of 1 are the real-life stories (especially about the Blue Jays) and the perspective it gives into the mind of the major leaguer (some intentionally, some not). Otherwise, Shawn is not a great writer (which would mean Gordon McAlpine is not either?) and the writing lacked flow - kind of like a chatterbug who yammers on and dances around between topics. I appreciate the message of the book and what he was trying to convey - and I respect his spirituality and hunt for that great meditative state (admirable, as it is not an easy thing to achieve), but I couldn't get away from the fact that he spent the book talking about getting away from having an ego and being present, when what kind of person writes a book about their experiences and point of view and thinks people will want to read it? What makes someone share personal journal entries written during the best of times and not the worst? Is that also not ego? He kind of comes across as a narcissist, but I guess anyone who has ever been famous is a bit of one maybe.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this memoir by Jewish baseball player Shawn Green got too technically involved in different batting stances, &c. But overall it was a thoughtful description of how he used Buddhist meditation & Buddhist approaches both for playing major league baseball & also just for living his life. I appreciated his honesty about what his mistakes as well as his successes.

[Mike Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot more about the approach to hitting specific pitchers and playing in the big leagues than most MLB memoirs. Refreshing not to rehash games and seasons generically like some USA Today article: he recounts certain games from his own point of view that are important to his story and to him personally.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

He over told the message of "oneness", even though I appreciate it and apply it to my life as well, it seemed like it was mentioned every page in the same fashion.

However, I really enjoyed the behind the scenes stories he told about his relationships with baseball players, coaches, fans etc.

I always liked watching him play, and I wish more players approached the game the way he did.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a book that combined baseball with Eastern philosophy, but it really worked for me. On one level, I enjoyed the inside look at the day-to-day life of Shawn Green, one of my favorite Dodgers. On another, I was inspired to follow his prescription for mindfulness meditation.