Review of "The Book of Joe"

During the holiday season, I always like to pick up a baseball book since it's about halfway between the end of the previous season and the start of spring training.  Usually the baseball news is slow at that time (not this year), so it's the best time to do so.  My choice for that this holiday season is this book on Joe Maddon. 

 

Title/Author:

“The Book of Joe: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life” by Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:  

This book fits perfectly with its subject, Joe Maddon, because it’s hard to classify what type of book this is, just as it is difficult to classify what type of baseball manager Maddon is.  He spent 19 years as a major league coach or manager of the Los Angeles Angels (a coach from 2002-2005, then as manager from 2019-2022), Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.  It was with the latter two teams where he made his mark on the game, first by taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball in 2007 to the American League pennant in 2008, then ending the Cubs’ 108-year championship drought by bringing a World Series championship to Wrigley Field in 2016.

The reason it is hard to classify this book is that it doesn’t have a nice even flow – at times it reads like a memoir, especially when he is talking about his days as a minor league scout and manager.  Other times, he sounds like a philosopher when he is talking to his players, especially when he or the player comes up with a phrase or slogan that is used for motivation.  A great example is in the subtitle of this book – “Try not to suck.”  Then still other times this reads like a baseball history book when explaining the various eras of managerial styles, from dictatorships to being “yes” men to front office personnel making decision by analytics.

The book does illustrate Maddon as a complex person, whether talking about his managerial style, his road to get to the major leagues or even when trying to fit him into one of these categories.  He speaks out frequently against having too much data inside one’s head, whether that is his own head when making game decisions or giving too much to a player that may cause him to overthink and lose sight of what he actually needs to do on the field.  But before saying that Maddon is an “old-school” type of manager, there are passages that talk about his embracing of data, including carrying clunky computers while traveling before the use of this type of data was common in baseball.

This isn’t to say that the book doesn’t have its positive qualities.  Many of the stories Maddon shares are funny and entertaining and it’s clear that while he may have some “old school” thoughts, he certainly is aware of today’s game and players.  Verducci is a well-respected baseball journalist and it is clear that he contributed to the history portions.  This included portraits of past owners and managers such as Gene Mauch and Billy Martin.  They are all interesting and good reads – but thrown together in the manner that they are done so in this book just makes it one that doesn’t seem to be complete.  When finished, I felt that something was missing and that I couldn’t get exactly what message was being sent to me, the reader.  But if one is a fan of Maddon or likes to just read about baseball, this book is for that person.

I wish to thank Twelve Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link: The Book of Joe: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life: Maddon, Joe, Verducci, Tom: 9781538751794: Amazon.com: Books