Title/Author:
“Tony C: The Triumph
and Tragedy of Tony Conigliaro” by David Cataneo
Tags:
Baseball, biography, Red
Sox
Publish date:
April 15, 2016
Length:
276 pages
Rating:
3 of 5 stars (good)
Review:
When a baseball fan
hears the name “Tony Conigliaro” the first thought that comes to mind that his
story is a tragedy – he was young, talented, good-looking, a heartthrob to
young women, and was playing for his hometown Boston Red Sox when he was struck
in the eye by a pitch in August 1967. While he came back to play baseball after
recovering from the injury, he was never the same player again. His story is
told in this biography by sportswriter David Cataneo.
The book is well
researched and the reader will have a complete picture of Conigliaro’s life,
not just his baseball career or the events of that fateful plate appearance.
His high school and minor league success is well documented, as is his love for
his high school sweetheart. He lived the
life of a playboy off the field, and on the field he is portrayed as a cocky,
self-assured young man, and then goes out and backs up his bravado with
outstanding play.
The narrative is very
supportive of Tony and portrays him in a very favorable light in most
instances. Even in situations that one
may question his actions or why he thinks in the manner he did, Cataneo
explains why this happened and frames it in a way that will make the reader
take Conigliaro’s side in nearly every case. I didn’t think it was necessary in
every case and one in particular, why Conigliaro would never shake the hand or
speak to the pitcher who threw the pitch that hit him, Jack Hamilton, the
writing seemed to be making excuses for Conigliaro’s behavior. I also thought
that the author was too critical of others who did not approve of Conigliaro’s
behavior, such as Red Sox manager Dick Williams. While Williams had a
well-deserved reputation of being hard on his players, this is another case
where the author seemed to be taking one side of the dispute and not clearly
illustrating why Williams was acting the way he was.
Nonetheless, the overall
quality of the book is fine and well worth the time to read, mainly because
Cataneo does a very good job of covering the entire story of Conigliaro. In fact, I thought some of the best writing
came later in the book after Conigliaro’s playing days were through. It was
here when the previous thoughts I had about objectivity didn’t matter as
Cataneo writes poignantly about Canigliaro’s last years.
Readers who were fans
of Conigliaro and the Red Sox in the 1960’s will especially enjoy reading this
book. If the reader wishes to learn more
about this player whose career was cut short by an errant pitch, this is one to
pick up.
I wish to thank Summer
Game Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (PDF)
Buying links:
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