The Baseball Book Club discussion

This thread is for any book discussions and/or reviews on books that are not group reads.

I just completed an interesting book on attempts to integrate the game just after the Civil War. Interesting scholarly read on how the game became segregated.

When Baseball Went White: Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Dreams of a National Pastime

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Just finished this novel. Only recently even knew it was about baseball ! A witty satire, published in '73 so the perspective is from that angle, and most still holds true.

The Great American Novel

I'd like to read it too

Looks interesting - have enough suggestions for the November poll (going up later tonight) but should I add it for the December suggestions?

I'd also like to read this. Either nov or Dec is fine.

December it is. When those suggestion posts go up, I'll add it.

That'd be a good time for me to read it, and I have it readily available at my fingertips.

I'll sneak a movie mention in here, out of the main stream. Just watched a flic on TCM, silent w/Harold Lloyd,called 'Speedy', (and maybe our Harold saw the opening?). It's silent.

1927, about 15 minutes of baseball related items in the movie, but one is a harrowing 5 minute cab ride for Babe, who is picked up after handing out balls at an orphanage. Then newsreel of a HR.

The Best Game Ever: Pirates vs. Yankees, October 13, 1960

Read this book on the train going to and from the Twins-Mets game today. I have to thank Mike Linn for letting me borrow this one. It was pretty good - not the best baseball book that I have read, the author certainly spoke his disdain for the current game, and the author couldn't get an interview with the hero of the game. Nonetheless, it was certainly better reading this book than staring out the window of the train.

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Miracle at Fenway: The Inside Story of the Boston Red Sox 2004 Championship Season

I just finished this one today. It has actually been on my shelf for awhile. When I was provided a copy of Doug's book Pudge: The Biography of Carlton Fisk to review, a copy of this one was also generously provided by the publisher. I finally got around to reading it this week and I am glad I did. It especially seemed relevant to read this year as another team is looking to end a long championship drought.

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Read the ninth issue of Babe Ruth Sports Comics. Here is my review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

We will at times debate the greatest teams of all time. The team that is the subject of this book, the great Oakland teams of the 1970's, is one of them that makes the discussion. This book covers their wins, their fights and their one single connection - the player's dislike of the owner. Decent book, very critical of that owner, Charlie Finley, without a lot of credit to him for putting those teams together. It was the only blemish in my mind in an otherwise very entertaining book on an entertaining team.

Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s


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Thanks Lance. Might be interesting to contrast the views of Charlie in this book vs. Nancy Finley's book. Obviously Charlie was a polarizing figure and far from hero material, but just as obviously he played a very great role in astutely picking the right players and putting them together for a great team. The vast majority of that team was home-grown.

Those were my thoughts while reading this book, since I had previously read Nancy Finley's - two very different points of view. I usually like a little more balance (although since Nancy was family, I expected that type of viewpoint) than what was presented in "Dynastic" but it still was a very good and entertaining read.

Interesting review Lance. I just might havt to see if Indigo/Chapters online has it listed and add it to my already lengthy (but shortened due to a corporate decision) wish list.

Lance wrote: "We will at times debate the greatest teams of all time. The team that is the subject of this book, the great Oakland teams of the 1970's, is one of them that makes the discussion. This book covers ..."
Maybe that common dislike or even hatred of the owner helped bring a winning attitude because of it.

I am inclined to believe that the players on those A's teams had so much talent that they would have won whether the owner was Attilla the Hun or Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. But the common dislike theory definitely makes for a more interesting story.

A lot of great teams have a theme added to them after they have won or lost. Sometimes it's that they shared a great love for each other (like the Packers of the '60s) or a great hatred for a manager or owner, or an us-against-the-world mentality. It always adds spice to the stories and helps them be remembered while the teams that don't quite measure up are quickly forgotten.

Long Before The Miracle: The Making of the New York Mets

This book has promise but I found it to be repetitive with some of the information - which also had errors that I did not mention in the review. For example, twice on a list of teams that have never won the World Series, the Mariners are not listed - either time!

There are good parts of this book and I particularly enjoyed the story on Joan Payson - but I would only recommend this book to die-hard Mets fans.

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Since I like to read about the business of the game as much as the game itself, I was very excited to pick this up when the audio version was offered at a very inexpensive price. However, it was a bit disappointing as it didn't live up to the premise on the cover. Not a bad read or listen, but it is mainly for Tampa Bay fans.

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I'm reading that Mets book now Lance. In the chapter on Joan Payson the author states that she died in 1972 the same year as Stengel, but Casey died three years later it should've been Hodges.

I didn't catch that, mainly because I didn't remember when Stengel died. It wasn't the only error. Twice he listed teams that have not won the World Series and both times he forgot the Mariners. I stopped pointing out errors in my reviews because I got tired of authors complaining to me about it

Certain errors bug me like he got Christie Mathewson's career win total wrong, and then he named the four American league pitchers who dominated the National League in the 42 all star game but instead he named the N.L.pitchers

Thought I would share this here. Our friend Mike Reuther has written a new fictional story and he generously sent me a review copy. It looks like a quick read so when I finish i will be sure to share my thoughts here.

Pitching for Sanity

Mike wrote: "Certain errors bug me like he got Christie Mathewson's career win total wrong, and then he named the four American league pitchers who dominated the National League in the 42 all star game but inst..."

Stuff an editor who knows baseball should have caught

Great stuff. Thanks Harold.

This is the third time I've read the book. The last time was about twenty years ago. Has the great expose faded in its intensity and boldness through the years? Yes I think it has. Are the stories as funny as I had remembered? Yes, despite the immature locker room busting chops and pranks, I still laughed out loud numerous times. But remember most of those guys were still young men. The locker room reminded me of my fraternity house: the same kind of humor-just not as good. So, it's a bit politically incorrect and sexist. Can anyone really say they didn't love Animal House when they first saw it?
Prank example: A faux legal letter is sent to pitcher Fred Talbot promising a paternity suit is in the works. Talbot, rereading it three times, buries his head. Teammate Tommy Davis says, after the prank is revealed, "I didn't think you Caucasians could get any whiter". Ray Oyler follows with, "You couldn't have pulled a needle out of his ass with a tractor."
Prank example: Joe Pepitone goes to the team trainer complaining about his penis, after he had placed a piece of popcorn underneath his foreskin. The doctor says, "I have never seen a venereal disease like this before in my life."
Best oral line: The Seattle Pilots moved up batting practice to accommodate a nationally televised game. The new time was 10:30. Catcher Jim Pagliaroni quips, "I'm not even done throwing up at that hour!"
Best written line: On a form that players had to fill out for the publicity department, one question asked "what is the most difficult thing about playing major league baseball?". Mike Hegan writes, explaining to your wife why SHE has to get a penicillin shot for your kidney infection."
Best bit: Dick Stuart(strange glove), habitually late for meetings, shows up late and mimics a red carpet academy award announcer..... "He's wearing a Stanley Blacker jacket with Adolfo shoes...
Best duo bit: Mimicking what it was like for Mickey Mantle, always played in great pain, when he would be asked by a coach how his legs were and if he could play. "I'm fine, I'll just scotch tape my lower leg to my upper leg"...
But it's far from all laughs. This book told of the culture of baseball as it was before 1970. This was a time when players worked in the off season-had to. They squabbled over a $2-3000 raise-often losing to the dictatorial GM. It was a time of exploitation and Bouton makes it clear why the baseball owners and especially former Commissioner Bowie Kuhn hated the book. He had committed heresy, not so much for blabbing about inept coaches or the tell-all nature of the book, but by talking about salaries and the reserve clause. Remember this is the year Marvin Miller is just beginning to work for players. Free agency still didn't exist except in the minds of free thinkers.
Today's players get about $600,000 minimum salary and about $220,000 a year pension after 10 years of service. Bouton's year in 1969 was a transition year from the Dark Ages to what may have gone too far in the other direction. It was a time of relative simplicity. Wins were what counted for a pitcher to get a raise. It was a time when the expression, "throw the ball, see the ball, hit the ball" was in vogue. No advanced stats, no defensive shifts, just simply play ball. Yet still players, Bouton included, felt grateful that they were able to play the game in the majors even if they barely made ends meet.
There are some interesting points made too about racial differences, the counter-culture, and even the Vietnam War. I found it interesting that Bouton opined that players try not to get too close to one another because they may be demoted or traded and it hurts too much: much the same as rotating troops every 9 months so that men would not form too close a bond when they saw fellow soldiers get killed in action.
But what really got my attention was the prevalence of "greenies" in baseball as early as the late 60's. I had thought it was a 70's thing. Don Michner is quoted as saying the entire Oriole and Detroit teams were users as well as 50% of the Pilots.

There was some gossip too: Elston Howard was duplicitous as per Bouton, and Maris and Yaz often dogged it.
Bouton may have whined a bit in the book, but it's an honest memoir and Bouton let's us know that players care for their own personal achievements first and team next. He frankly discusses how a borderline pitcher like himself is often ambivalent about a competitor's success even if he is a teammate. He often rooted for the team but with the condition that his competition got shelled first and then the team rallied to win. It is a tight rope that Bouton had to carefully maneuver.
He captures how baseball "grabs you" with this memory. He is on a plane with turbulence going to Houston for his first start for that team. he thinks to himself, "gee if this plane goes down, I hope that the papers at least have me down as the probable starter."
This is a fascinating look into the life of a big leaguer of those times. Finances and freedom have changed, but I'll bet the pranks and busting chops are still just as prevalent.
Updates: For those of you fortunate to have the updated version, I must say that I was moved to tears several times by the chapter called "The Last thirty Years". In this chapter we get to know the maturing Jim Bouton; it embodies the aging process of its author in a most meaningful way. As Jim tries to come to grips with life after a short comeback in 1978, he must deal with the reality of "it's time hang up the spikes" and all that that means. The longing to play ball even in small towns, to hang on to the memories, the dreams of a baseball life still gnaw at him. He is 57 and he is aging and trying to live with the worst kind of pain-the loss of a beautiful, loving daughter just beginning her third decade of life. This chapter is so poignant and raw it's almost to difficult to bear. The letter from step-sister Hollis to her recently deceased sister is just one of several moments to grip the reader. Then there is the magnificent father's Day gift from son Michael, whose open letter published by the NY Times to the Yankees entreating them to invite his father to the Old Timer's Game, leads to one of Jim Bouton's most satisfying days, even if it is only a temporary hiatus from his suffering and debilitating loss. I have no doubt that even seventeen years later, the anxiety and the depression still remain, although one hopes only occasionally and that Jim and Paula are enjoying their lives and their grandchildren. Thank you so much for letting us into your heart with such a heart wrenching chapter.













Mike wrote: "Great stuff. Thanks Harold."My pleasure Mike

Very well done summary Harold. You captured exactly why this book has become a classic and is on the short list of books every fan should read.

Speaking of greenies, it's interesting that after the book came out Brooks Robinson publicly addressed the issue Bouton raised. He laughed at the suggestion that all Orioles took them all the time, but did not deny anything. He said something like, "Sure I've taken them before and probably most major league players have at one time." He noted how casually they were handed out by trainers and that in the early '60s few thought anything about them. Since this came out in the early '70s Brooks concluded that since the country was involved in a new drug crisis brought on by the counter-culture that he did not think it was a good example for ball players to take "uppers" and that he would never use them again.

When I compare that statement with the outrageous denials from the steroid era I find it somewhat refreshing.

Doug wrote: "Very well done summary Harold. You captured exactly why this book has become a classic and is on the short list of books every fan should read.

Speaking of greenies, it's interesting that after th..." Truly

Lance wrote: "Since I like to read about the business of the game as much as the game itself, I was very excited to pick this up when the audio version was offered at a very inexpensive price. However, it was a ..."

If you like reading about the business of the game, you should enjoy reading "The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team" by two daily podcasters at Effectively Wild, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller (Sam just left the podcast, actually and the podcast moved from Baseball Prospectus to Fangraphs).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I did read "The Only Rule Is That it Has to Work" - I think if you click the link, my review is there.

This was a great book on the political struggle to build Dodger Stadium. It was amazing to read about how much O'Malley had to go through to get this built.

City of Dreams: Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles

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Just got done with one about the 1967 Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season. I think Red Sox fans will love this book

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Has anyone read Macho Row and/or One Nation Under Baseball? I just finished Macho Row...thought it was really good. Now reading One Nation...it is pretty good as well.

Haven't read Macho Row but I did read Beards, Bellies, and Biceps about the 93 Phillies.

I read Macho Row...it was good. If you click ths link Macho Row: The 1993 Phillies and Baseball’s Unwritten Code, you can see my review. One Nation Under Basebal is on my list of books for March. Sounds like you get copies from University of Nebraska Press like I do.

I will read your review, thanks. I ordered One Nation from Amazon...the hardback is available, but the ebook is not available until April 1. There are a slew of new baseball books coming up that I want to read, esp the bio on Casey Stengel.

There's also books on Leo Durocher, Dick Allen, Hugh Casey, and Lefty O'doul coming out.

I am looking forward to those books, esp the one on Durocher and the bio from Chipper Jones.

Anyone read The New Baseball Bible by Schlossberg?

I hope the Chipper bio has a young readers edition so my kids can read it. Eleven year old is doing book report on such edition of The Closer

Mike wrote: "There's also books on Leo Durocher, Dick Allen, Hugh Casey, and Lefty O'doul coming out."

One bio I am interested in Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey. That's because I saw Ila Borders pitch when she played with the St. Paul Saints.

I remember that story. We should have read it this month for women's history month. I can always file for next year.

Received my Chapters order today. One of the books was

That's a good one John.

I hit the jackpot yesterday. Received FOUR books in one mail delivery...all ARCs from Univ. of Nebraska Press. Two of them we mentioned above: Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey and One Nation Under Baseball: How the 1960s Collided with the National Pastime. I also received Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball’s Golden Age and Home Team: The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants. So I am certainly set until Opening Day!

One Nation is really good...reading it now. Ordered Dynastic, Bombastic & Fantastic from Amazon yesterday. That will be my read while at my son's baseball game on Friday.

Lance wrote: "I hit the jackpot yesterday. Received FOUR books in one mail delivery...all ARCs from Univ. of Nebraska Press. Two of them we mentioned above: [book:Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey|3138..."

Wow! What a haul. So does University of Neb. Press specialize in publishing baseball history?

I wouldn't say specialize - but they certainly do have a lot of baseball history books. Especially when they cross over into other social subjects such as racial equality and LGBT, like "Making My Pitch" does.