Review of “Sho-Time”

With baseball spring training in full swing, getting back into reading baseball books. This is one I found on Kindle Unlimited about the biggest name in the game today and it was decent. 

Title/Author:

“Sho-time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played” by Jeff Fletcher

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (good)

Review: Even casual baseball fans are very familiar with the accomplishments of Shohei Ohtani, the most successful two-way player in the major leagues since Babe Ruth. This book by Jeff Fletcher on Ohtani’s historic 2021 season is a decent read with the best sections coming early in the book.

The best parts of the book are not about Ohtani’s time in the major leagues, at that point all with the Los Angeles Angels. Those are reserved for Ohtani’s time in Japan, when he played professionally for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. This was probably the most significant aspect of Ohtani’s professional baseball career because as soon as major league scouts discovered the talented pitcher and hitter, he had thoughts about not playing in Japan and going directly to America. However, after announcing that he was not going to play in Japan, that is what he ended up doing through 2017 before joining the Angels.

It is here that the book, although decent in the details written about Ohtani with the Angels, loses its luster for me and other passionate baseball fans because there really isn’t a lot about Ohtani in the book that hasn’t already been said or reported elsewhere. Nothing on the diamond or his injuries in 2019 or 2020 were new to me. The most interesting aspects of these chapters were about the marketing of Ohtani by the Angels and his work with different translators. 

While there would not be too many people, even non-baseball fans, who don’t know who Ohtani is, this book would be best for those who fall into this category. As he now starts a new chapter in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, this book can be considered a decent recap of his time with the other Los Angeles team. 

Link:https://www.amazon.com/Sho-Time-Inside-Shohei-Greatest-Baseball/dp/1635767970/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= m

Review of "The Tigerbelles"

While I have read other great books on Olympic athletes, on Black athletes during the era of blatant racial discrimination and other books on running and track, this is probably the best one that combines all three of these topics into one great read.  Here is my review of "The Tigerbelles".  

Title/Author:

“The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State” by Aime Alley Card

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  

While there have been many books released on the struggles of Black athletes from previous eras the last few years, there hasn’t been one that has focused on an exclusive set of fabulous Black female athletes from those times until now.  “The Tigerbelles” gets its title from the name given to the women’s track and field team for Tennessee State University.  This excellent book on the Tigerbelles by Aime Alley Card is a fantastic account of their success at both their competition against other amateur athletes and their medal-winning trips to the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.

 Any discussion of the Tigerbelles has to start with their dedicated coach, Ed Temple. Temple not only provided guidance to the women on their performance on the track, but he also was a mentor on showing them how to conduct themselves outside of the school.  This was not only about their behavior, but their attitudes, their dress and their temperament.  There were some who would rebel against this, and they would be met with consequences but overall, Ed Temple was the driving force behind their success.  The book describes what he did and his life extremely well.

 As for the athletes themselves, Card writes about them with equal detail and knowledge.  While the most famous member of the Tigerbelles would have to be Wilma Rudolph, her story is not the only one that makes for great reading.  Others who enjoyed success with the team such as Barbara Jones and Lucinda Williams also have stories that should be shared and they are in this book.  The women’s experiences, both good and bad, are shared here as well.  While it is well-known about the racial discrimination faced by all Black people at that time, it is always painful to read about them.  However, there are also many uplifting stories, including the experience of those who qualified for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. It was good to read about these as well as the hardships the athletes faced.

 Speaking of hardships, the team faced those at their school as well.  Despite their success and popularity, Temple faced many difficulties in securing funding from the school for the team and for upgrading their facilities.  It didn’t help that the press did not take female athletes seriously (even more so than today) and did not give them the same respect and publicity. That didn’t detract their fellow students as Temple would annually hold a Blue and White competition with teammates running and competing against each other and it would attract many spectators on campus.

It isn’t often that a high quality book is written about a little-known athlete or team and while Wilma Rudolph may be known to some, the Tigerbelles have a story that many may not know but now will have stories that should be known by more people.

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

Link: Amazon.com: The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State eBook : Card, Aime Alley: Kindle Store

Review of “The Gas and Flame Men”

Sometimes a book that I thought would be mostly about baseball (or another sport) may be more heavily into another topic. That was the case for this book and it was a very good one. Here is my review of “The Gas and Flame Men.” 

Title/Author:

“The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service During World War I” by Jim Leake

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

When Germany started using poisonous gas as a weapon during World War I, the United States formed its own Chemical Warfare Service to not only counter this type of attack, but also to go on the offensive for this strategy. When the call was made for men to join this special unit, several well-known baseball players heeded the call. This book by Jim Leake is a very good work on both the military and baseball parts of this story.

There is certainly more written about the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) than about baseball in the book. However, this doesn’t mean the game is ignored. There is good material on several well-known ballplayers who were part of the CWS - including two very famous Hall of Fame players, Christy Mathewson and Ty Cobb.  Leake, through excellent research, finds quotes about how the players felt about serving their country with the “work or fight” orders of that war. There was some controversy about Mathewson’s willingness to fight, and Leake’s research shows that wasn’t the case. Cobb’s feelings about the possibility that he would not return to baseball after military service was also interesting.

However, the best work was about the CWS itself. Every aspect of the program was covered, from its inception to the recruiting of men with knowledge of chemistry and gasses to the training. One notable item was something that is hard to fathom today and that the soldiers were shipped overseas without any training in the program - that would be received while on the field. Interestingly, one soldier who would fell under this category was Cobb, but the Armistice Day treaty was signed before Cobb saw any combat. He was getting training but the war ended earlier than expected. 

As all know, Cobb went on to more great seasons after returning home. However, as author Leake noted, this wasn’t the case for all. He does write about the tragic death of Mathewson soon after coming home, which was attributed to his exposure to gas during the war.  Leake’s work on lesser known players like Eppa Ripley is just as good throughout the book as well. Readers who enjoy military literature or baseball books will want a copy of this book.

I wish to University of Nebraska Press for proving a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640126058/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1640126058&linkCode=as2&tag=netg01-20 

Review of “Cardinal Dreams”

 While there are plenty of books on the stars of baseball and some on minor league life, this was a book on a prospect who had a taste of the big leagues then suffered an untimely death - a very good read. Here is my review of “Cardinal Dreams.”

Title/Author:

“Cardinal Dreams: The Legacy of Charlie Peete and a Life Cut Short” by Danny Spewak

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Charlie Peete is probably a player that most people, even hard-core St. Louis Cardinals fans, wold not recognize. He only appeared in 23 games for the 1956 Cardinals, hitting .192 in 59 plate appearances. So why would author Danny Spewak write a book on this player? Because he was a Black player with a promising future whose life was tragically cut short when he and his family dies in a plane crash in November 1956. 

More than just that tragedy, the story of Charlie Peete is one worth sharing because of his struggles that he and many Black players faced during the early days of the integration of Major League Baseball. It is also notable because despite many of their National League competitors integrating already, the Cardinals were among the last of the National League teams to welcome Black ballplayers. Thischanged when August Busch bought the team and wanted to have the best players on the team, no matter their skin color. 

At the time, Peete was in the minor league system for the Cardinals and was getting antsy to get his chance. Having already proven to be a fine player in the Piedmont League where he was a local favorite, playing for the Portsmouth (Virginia) team which was his hometown, he was moving up the ranks all the way to triple A Omaha, finally getting the call in July 1956.

There is more to Peete’s story as he was also a member of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League as well as organized baseball. The shameful acts of racism Peete faced were not discussed in great detail but enough that a reader will understand what Peete and other Black ballplayers faced at that time. 

Like the rest of the book, Spewak uses many sources of information when writing about the doomed flight to Venezuela where Pete, his wife and their three children perished. It was common for ballplayers who were on the cusp of making the Major Leagues to play winter ball in Latin American countries and Peete was about to play for a Venezuelan team for the 1956-57 winter. This section, like the rest of the book, is very informative and an easy read. Telling stories about players like Charlie Peete is something that should be done as well as the pioneers like Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. 

I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield publishing for proving a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

Link:https://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Dreams-Legacy-Charlie-Peete/dp/153817992X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 

Review of “The New Ballgame”

 January is always when I’m itching to find baseball books as I am impatiently awaiting for pitchers and catchers to report. This book did the trick. Here is my review of “A New Ballgame.”

Title/Author:

“The New Ballgame” by Russell A. Carleton

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

If I were to be told about a book on baseball analytics, I would think that it’s all graphs, spreadsheets numbers and acronyms for the various formulas used in modern statistics. This book by Russell A. Carleton does contain all of that - but it is not what I would think a book like this is all about.

Instead, Carleton uses his time as a clinical therapist to explain the thought process behind the shift to these statistics and their use by baseball teams.Something he refers to frequently throughout the  book is that there are 5 basic facts about every person and he connects that to the topic of the chapter. At first it felt annoying but it was better as the book went along.

That was also the case as he presented his baseball topics. While some seemed to make sense from the start, such as the changes in the use of the sacrifice bunt and the decline of its use age, there were other topics that I felt he went in various directions. The best example of that was the chapter that asks if analytics “ruined” baseball. The information is good, but it jumps all over the place. That goes from the length of games to bunts to stolen bases to the low pay and poor working conditions for minor league players. Until the en of the chapter I couldn’t see how it tied all up.

However, that didn’t take away what made this book enjoyable- it was a normally dry topic that thanks to Carleton’s writing, it was a much more palatable item to read about. I felt that a fan will understand a lot more about the reasons why teams hire these data analysts and make decisions based on this data. Overall a very good read. 

Link:https://www.amazon.com/New-Ballgame-Not-So-Hidden-Shaping-Baseball/dp/163727226X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 

Review of “Watford Forever”

 While I had heard about Elton John owning a soccer team in the 1970’s, I never knew the details until I received this book as a Christmas gift. Thank you to my son for giving me this -mit was very good. 

Title/Author:

“Watford Forever” by John Preston

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

In 1976, the Watford soccer club and Elton John (Reggie Dwight) were at polar opposites in their respective worlds. As John was soaring to great popularity and fame with his music, Watford was languishing at the bottom of the standings in England’s Fourth Division - about as low as an English soccer club could go. However, those fortunes were about to change as Elton John purchased the club and soon thereafter hired Graham Taylor to run the team. How they changed Watford’s fortunes is told in this book by John Preston.

Both men are portrayed in great detail, which helps illustrate both the similarities and the differences between the two men. When they first met, Taylor was questioning both the level of commitment that John would put into the team aside from money and also just how much of a challenge did he want by taking over such a poorly funded and run club - at least they were before these two took over. It helps if the reader understands the inner workings of English soccer, both on and off the field to understand what Taylor was doing. But that isn’t required to thoroughly enjoy the book, especially with the character development of not only the two main figures in Watford’s rise to the First Division, but also many of the players on the pitch.

Speaking of the action there, Preston doesn’t spend a lot of time giving play by play details of games, but he does include accounts of all the important matches Watford played at all levels. This included both friendlies and league play. This was good writing as well - advanced enough that fans who know the sport well won’t be bored with reading these passages, but simple enough that casual or new fans will be able to easily understand the game.

Not only is there writing about the soccer, but there is also some very good material on John’s rise in the music industry and the demons that haunted him. Like many other musicians, dugs and alcohol were problems for him. But he never let that interfere with his love of the Watford club he had since his childhood. He often went to their games with his father, the only true bonding time they had. John also knew when to set aside his authority and let Taylor dictate what should be done when needed - right down to making sure the owner was properly dressed when making appearances with the team.

If a reader is either a soccer fan or an Elton John fan they should pick up this book. Entertaining and fast paced, it will make a great addition to the library of this type of reader.

Link:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CGN9YR9P/ref=x_gr_bb_amazon?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_bb_amazon-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0CGN9YR9P&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2 

Review of "88 and 1"

The timing for this review is perfect - it was exactly 50 years ago today that a historic winning streak ended.  This book tells the story of not only that thrilling basketball game but the inside stories of the two teams involved.  Here is my review of "88 and 1"

 

Title/Author:

“88 and 1: UCLA, Notre Dame and the Game That Ended the Longest Winning Streak in Men’s College Basketball History” by Timothy Bourret

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:  

One of the longest winning streaks in all of sports occurred between 1971 and 1974 when the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) men’s basketball team won 88 consecutive games.  That streak ended on January 19, 1974 when Notre Dame upset the Bruins 71-70.  While this book about the game and the streak by Timothy Bourret is not meant to be a means to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of that historic game, it is nonetheless timed well to be published when that game will be talked about on sports media.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is how Bourret brings fascinating tidbits into the dialogue that centers around the two schools’ basketball teams during that era.  The first, and a fact that is fairly well known, is that the streak started in 1971 when UCLA defeated Notre Dame.  One fact that might not be as well known is that in January 1974, Notre Dame became the first school to have three of its sports teams defeat the number one ranked team in that sport.  In addition to breaking UCLA’s streak in men’s basketball, the Fighting Irish defeated #1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and the hockey team, in only it’s third season of existence, defeated #1 Denver.  Items like this, which are interspersed throughout the book, make it one that a reader will absorb cover to cover so that they will not miss any more interesting items like this.

Both schools’ basketball seasons between 1971 and 1975 are covered extensively throughout the book as Bourret does a good job of not only writing about the historic game, but the ups and downs (in UCLA’s case, almost all “ups”) of the two basketball teams.  However, there are not a lot of player profiles in the book.  There are brief write ups of star players from both sides such as Bill Walton for UCLA and Adrian Dantley for Notre Dame but there is not a lot of human interest material.  The best profiles for that aspect are for the two coaches, John Wooden (UCLA) and Digger Phelps (Notre Dame).

But if a reader is looking for factual reporting on games, plays and seasons, then this book is a treasure trove of valuable information on these two programs during that time period.  Bourret also highlights many of the differences between that era and today and often will note how something that happened during that time would not occur today or vice versa.  Rule changes such as allowing freshmen to play on the varsity team and dunking are among the changes that are discussed and fans who have followed the sport over the decades will nod in agreement about how different the game was then compared to now.

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

Link: 88 and 1: UCLA, Notre Dame, and the Game That Ended the Longest Winning Streak in Men's College Basketball History: Bourret, Timothy: 9781493081219: Amazon.com: Books