Review of "Shadows of Glory"

Just in time for the start of the World Series, I have found a couple of books on that very topic.  Here is the first review of a World Series book for this year, "Shadows of Glory."  (P.S.  this year's prediction - Yankees over Dodgers in 6 games.) 

Title/Author:

“Shadows of Glory: Memorable and Offbeat World Series Stories” by Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The history of the World Series can be just as interesting as the history of baseball itself.  One common cliché in baseball circles is that if you watch the game long enough, you will see something you have never seen before.  That was the case for me when reading this book on World Series stories.

I picked that phrase for this book because overall, it was a good read and the stories, while seeming to have the same format, were pretty interesting.  What caught me by surprise was how many of these stories I have read in previous books.  While that would not be a bad thing for a casual or new baseball reader, one who devours baseball books like I do will most likely have read most of these stories elsewhere.  One of them, the story of Nippy Jones of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and the “shoe polish” incident, was something I read about in a children’s baseball book.

Of course, Jones’ story and all of the others were written for adult readers and the research that went into the stories was very good.  It was great to read about the Negro League World Series in 1942, the St. Louis Browns’ lone World Series appearance in 1944 and others about obscure players who had their best baseball moments in the World Series.  Brian Doyle of the 1978 Yankees and David Freese of the 2011 Cardinals are examples of that kind of story in this book.

I would certainly recommend this book for those readers who have not read many baseball books but loves the game.  The stories are good, the reading is light and easy and it’s a fun trip to some little known World Series lore. 

I wish to thank Lyons Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Shadows of Glory: Memorable and Offbeat World Series Stories eBook : Brown, Dave, Rodimer, Jeff, Teixeira, Mark: Kindle Store

 

Review of "Pitch by Pitch"

If you have bought e-books, you may know about the recent settlement in which many readers were given credits in their accounts on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and similar companies. I was one of these readers and I used some of my settlement to purchase a book that I have wanted to read since it was published last fall.  Had time to read it on the train to the baseball game I attended yesterday and finished it in one round trip - excellent book.  Here is my review of "Pitch by Pitch."

Title/Author:

“Pitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game” by Bob Gibson and Lonnie Wheeler

Tags:

Baseball, history, World Series, Cardinals

Publish date:

October 5, 2015

Length:

256 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Game one of the 1968 World Series was considered to be one of the most dominating pitching performances ever seen in the Fall Classic. Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals struck out 17 Detroit Tigers in a winning performance that is chronicled in this book by the pitcher with author Lonnie Wheeler, who has assisted with several baseball books.

The title is a literal description of the book as Gibson relieves the game pitch by pitch after viewing and breaking down video of the historic game. He lets the reader get inside his mind as to what his thought process was before and during the pitch and what his reactions were for the results – mostly positive of course.

However, there is more to the book than just a recap of the game as stories about teammates, opponents faced on the Tigers and other tidbits of information that make for good reading. These stories are mostly Gibson’s fond memories of teammates such as Tim McCarver and Curt Flood, or showing respect for players on that Tigers team such as Al Kaline and Norm Cash. For the most part, these stories are inserted into the game summary when the subject played a key part of that moment of the game. The one exception to this is in the chapter on the eighth inning. There, a story about Gibson’s brother Josh is inserted where Bob gives credit to his brother in giving him the competitive fire he was famous for. It broke up the flow of the book, but not for long as afterward the ninth inning is recalled when Gibson set the strikeout record.

Gibson is not only renowned for his talent, he was also renowned for his meanness and inside pitching.  On the latter, he gave one of my favorite passages from the book when he explains the difference between pitching inside, which “implies placing the ball in the strike zone”, and coming inside, whose purpose “is to bring the ball inside often enough and aggressively enough to keep the batter from striding confidently across the plate to the side that you positively have to command; to keep him honest in other words.” So it is more appropriate to say that Gibson was famous for “coming inside” instead of “pitching inside.”

A very fun and entertaining read, this book is recommended for any baseball fan who wants to learn more about this pitcher and what was going through his mind as he was completing one of the best pitched games in World Series history.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

https://www.amazon.com/Pitch-View-One-Unforgettable-Game/dp/1250061040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467767771&sr=8-1&keywords=pitch+by+pitch+bob+gibson  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pitch-by-pitch-bob-gibson/1120963407?ean=9781250061041