Review of "A Whole New Ballgame"

There is a lot of baseball buzz in Washington right now with the Nationals playing in the World Series for the first time in franchise history and the first time for any Washington team since 1933.  However, there was some baseball excitement created 50 years ago by the second Washington baseball team and that is the story behind this excellent book.  Here is my review of "A Whole New Ballgame."

Title/Author:

“A Whole New Ballgame: The 1969 Washington Senators 50^th Anniversary Edition” by Stephen J. Walker

Tags:

Baseball, professional, history, Senators

Publish date:

April 15, 2019

Length:

257 pages

Rating: to

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Until the 2019 season, baseball in Washington D.C. has had a dreadful history. The current team is the third Major League team to call Washington home, and this excellent book by Stephen J. Walker chronicles the only winning season for the second team in Washington called the Senators during its 10-year stay before becoming the Texas Rangers in 1972.

That Senators team was an expansion team that began play in 1961 to replace the team, an original American League franchise, which moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.  This second team was even more dreadful than the first one (who had only one championship season, 1924) and helped keep alive the phrase made popular by the original team "Washington – first in war, first in peace and last in the American League."

When businessman Bob Short (ironically, from Minneapolis) bought the struggling franchise, he got an idea that was inspired by the city's football team, the Redskins.  When they hired legendary coach Vince Lombardi and interest in the Redskins increased, Short thought the same could happen for his baseball franchise.  So, in a surprise move, he coaxed legendary Red Sox hitter Ted Williams to be the manager of the Senators for the 1969 season.

This did more than just sell tickets. The Senators still had pretty much the same team as 1968, yet they improved to record 84 wins which gave hope to the pennant-starved fans in the nation's capital. However, those players, almost to a man, gave credit to Williams for not only learning how to better themselves as ballplayers but also to believe in themselves.  The book tells these recollections and stories told by so many players, such as catcher Jim French, pitcher Dave Baldwin and outfielder Bernie Allen.  These are not the typical stories one reads in a newspaper or book that is pieced together from various sources.  These came from the players themselves through numerous interviews and the reader will immediately be able to tell that these stories are genuine and from the hearts of these men.

Of course, the few star players on the Senators such as Frank Howard and Mike Epstein are told as well, but because Walker devoted a lot of space for the not-so-well-known players, the book has an everyman feel to it and because of this, many readers will connect with the players that gave Washington a summer to remember. 

                                                                   

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Ballgame-Washington-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B07QS1TFD4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=