Review of "The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle"

 This book was unexpectedly offered to me for a review, although having read a book by this author previously, I wanted to see how he would write on a different sport.  It turned out to be a good choice.  Here is my review of Barry Sparks' book "The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle." 

Title/Author:

“The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle: From Tom Tresh to Bryce Harper” by Barry Sparks

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Mickey Mantle is a transcendent figure in the history of baseball. Despite injuries and a lifestyle that included plenty of nightlife and drinking, he was one of the best and most beloved players on the most successful franchise, the New York Yankees.  When his skills started diminishing, even before his retirement in 1968, the search was on for finding the next player that could captivate fans and the media.  This search, which is still going on today, is chronicled in this book by Barry Sparks.

In the book, Sparks portrays 16 players who all shared one thing in common: they were tagged by someone as the next Mickey Mantle. This could have been by managers or coaches who saw the player at any level of baseball, from high school to the Major Leagues.  The label may have been started by the media.  Or the praise from another player may have included a comparison to Mantle.  No matter how that happened, Sparks portrays the player in an honest manner, not judgmental. If there are opinions expressed, it is by the person quoted by Sparks.

Many times, those quotes come from the players themselves and that is one of the aspects that make the book very interesting to read.  A player did not have to be signed by the Yankees or start his professional career when or just after Mantle retired in order to be portrayed in the book.  The player also does not necessarily need to have a poor or average career to be considered for the book. The last two players Sparks writes about, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, are two of the best players in the game today and may eventually end up in the Hall of Fame like Mantle did.  But as Sparks explains in the beginning of the book, one didn’t have to struggle to be included in the book.

Each portrait contains details on the player’s baseball career, including when he was touted to be the next Mantle due to observations of either his performance on the field or projections from scouting reports.  No matter how the player was tagged, this book is a very good telling of what happens to players who are burdened with a heavy weight of expectations.

I wish to thank Mr. Sparks for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.  The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

Link: The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle: From Tom Tresh to Bryce Harper: Sparks, Barry: 9781620069554: Amazon.com: Books