Review of "Out at the Plate:

Dot Wilkinson’s life was far bigger than the record books that put her in two different Halls of Fame. Lynn Ames captures not just the softball legend and championship bowler, but the trailblazing woman who built a business, lived authentically, and shaped generations around her. It’s a remarkable story of talent, courage, and a life fully lived.

Title/Author:

“Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story” by Lynn Ames

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: 

Not many athletes, no matter their sport, can claim they’ve made the Hall of Fame in two different sports. The first female athlete to do so, Dot Wilkinson, has her story told here by author — and longtime friend of Wilkinson — Lynn Ames.

The two sports in which Dot achieved her fame were softball and bowling. Softball is where Dot truly made her name and became a legend not only as a catcher and later a manager, but also throughout her native Arizona. She started playing at age 10, and by 16 she was starring for the Ramblers, an amateur team that went on to win multiple championships thanks to the play of Dot and her teammates.

She was also an accomplished bowler, and after her softball career slowed down, she devoted more time to the sport. Her talent quickly drew the attention of the WIBC (Women’s International Bowling Congress). After winning the WIBC Queens tournament, she eventually earned induction into their Hall of Fame as well.

However, what makes this book stand out goes far beyond her accomplishments on the diamond or the lanes. Dot was a woman ahead of her time in countless ways. She became the owner of a real estate company after her mentor left the business to her when he could no longer run it. When repairs or renovations were needed, she handled the contracting work herself, often alongside her longtime life partner of 48 years.

That partnership is significant, because Dot lived in an era when gay men and lesbians were not accepted as they are today. She knew early on that she was attracted to women. She lost her first true love to breast cancer, then spent nearly five decades with her next partner. Yet she did not come out publicly until that woman’s funeral.

All of these parts of Dot’s story may not have been told if not for the immediate friendship she and Ames developed when Ames first felt inspired to write this book. Because of that bond, Dot opened up about her remarkable life, and Ames captured those stories in a way that would make Dot proud. It’s a book anyone can enjoy, whether they know Dot Wilkinson’s name or not. An extraordinary woman like Dot deserves to have her story read by everyone.

Link:  Amazon.com: Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story eBook : Ames, Lynn: Kindle Store

Review of "Smart Baseball"

For my American readers, happy Independence Day, celebrating 250 years.  On a special day like this, what better review to post than one on the great American pastime, baseball?  Baseball fans have spent the last decade learning a whole new language of numbers, and Keith Law’s Smart Baseball was one of the first books to explain why that shift mattered. His look at the limits of traditional stats and the rise of better ones still feels sharp years later. It’s a clear, balanced guide to how modern evaluation really works.

Title/Author:

“Smart Baseball: The Story behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think about Baseball” by Keith Law

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: 

Fans who have followed baseball statistics over the last 10 to 15 years have watched both the volume of numbers and the types of metrics evolve. Keith Law’s Smart Baseball, published in 2017, offers a clear, timely accounting of why traditional statistics often fail to tell the full story of a player’s hitting, pitching, or fielding ability, which newer metrics were gaining traction, and what the future might hold.

Much of what Law predicted has come to pass, most notably the rise of Statcast and its now‑familiar measurements like launch angle and exit velocity. Drawing on his experience in scouting, analytics, and front‑office work, Law presents a balanced view of how modern evaluation works. Unlike Moneyball—which he still considers the gold standard for introducing analytics—Law doesn’t demean scouting. Instead, he shows scouting and analytics as complementary departments working toward the same goal: finding the best players. He acknowledges the old scouting tropes of “gut feelings” and a player’s “look,” but focuses on how scouting has advanced rather than criticizing its past.

Law’s sharpest critiques come early, where he explains why certain traditional statistics—batting average, RBIs, pitcher wins, and saves—are poor indicators of actual skill. He ranges from “still useful, but less important” (batting average) to “essentially useless” (wins and saves). Reading this years after publication, I found myself nodding along; I’ve grown accustomed to the “better” stats he champions. Had I read it in 2017, I probably would have been yelling at the pages defending some of those old standbys. Except wins—I agreed with Law on that one long ago.

When he turns to advanced metrics, Law is equally fair. From straightforward ones like OPS (on‑base percentage plus slugging) to more complex measures like FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching, similar to ERA but based only on events a pitcher can control), he explains why each offers a more accurate picture of performance while also noting where they fall short.

Despite the title, Smart Baseball isn’t a lecture demanding agreement. It’s an accessible, often humorous guide to how modern baseball analysis works. I laughed every time Law used “Joey Bagodonuts” to illustrate a point. Details like that—and the clarity of Law’s explanations—make this a worthwhile read for any baseball fan, no matter how long ago it was published.

Link:  Amazon.com: Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball eBook : Law, Keith: Kindle Store

 

Review of "So Young, So Great"

Bob Feller’s early career remains one of baseball’s most astonishing stories, and Jim Ingraham’s new book focuses squarely on how it unfolded. It’s a sharp look at the rise of a pitcher who became a star almost overnight.

Title/Author:

“So Young, So Great: Bob Feller Electrifies Baseball and America” by Jim Ingraham

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review: 

Very few, if any, other baseball players have taken Major League Baseball by storm as a teenager the way Bob Feller did when he first appeared in a game for the Cleveland Indians in 1936 at the tender age of 17.  That is the premise of this book by Jim Ingraham about the first six years of the Hall of Fame pitcher’s career.

This cannot really be labeled as a biography as Ingraham does not write very much about Feller’s youth or his family.  At least not in the way many sports biographies are written in which there are several pages about the subject’s parents, grandparents and siblings.  Instead, after a brief description of his baseball success in rural Iowa, it jumps straight into the day when Indians scout (and later Vice President) Cy Slapnicka approached Feller and his father and told them he would be in Des Moines watching Bobby pitch his game that day.  Afterward, Feller was under contract (signed by his father since he was still a minor) and property of the Fargo-Moorhead Twins, a farm club of the Indians.

From there, it was a whirlwind of moves, protests by other clubs and some fancy paperwork by Slapnicka that resulted in Feller making his debut in 1936.  And what a debut that was, as Feller struck out 15 St. Louis Browns on his way to a 4-1 victory. Ingraham does a good job of recapping this game and showering praise on Feller.

This was a good preview of what the rest of the book would be like as in each chapter, each successive season, Feller became the best pitcher in baseball as shown by either the traditional statistics used at the time or the advanced metrics favored by baseball analysts today.  The writing about his pitching was good, the coverage of what other players thought about his was better and Ingraham’s musings about the use of Feller in those first six years so that attendance would be better for both the Indians and other American League teams was great.  On that latter part, Feller was often called a “cash cow” in the book since average attendance at games he would pitch would be nearly triple that of all the other games at all American League cities, including Cleveland.

Other aspects of Feller’s life away from baseball during this time frame, even if they are only mentioned briefly, make the book feel like a more complete description of his life during this time frame.  Of course, his decision to enlist in the Navy instead of waiting to be drafted soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor is a major decision in his life.  As was the death of his father and the resignation of Slapnicka from the Indians, all around the same time. 

It was notable that other major parts of his life, such as his wedding to his wife Virginia, didn’t get as much notice in the book as did other events that were covered by the press – events that would otherwise not even be mentioned. These are events that many young men would have, but because this was Bob Feller, the best pitcher in baseball, the press covered them. These included his high school graduation and when he had his wisdom teeth removed.

There is quite a bit of repetition in the book, of which the most noteworthy is the frequent mention of the title – so young, so great.  That is understandable, especially when one considers how much Feller accomplished before the age of 23.  But for other aspects, such as the recollections of how Slapnicka found Feller, they don’t feel like they are part of the story.  However, this does not detract from the excellent writing about the accomplishments of a pitcher at such a young age. 

Looking at this part of Bob Feller’s career is a very good choice to give a reader an excellent look into his baseball life. If you want to understand why Bob Feller became a Hall of Famer before he became an adult, this focused look at his early career makes the case as well as anyone ever has.

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

Link:  So Young, So Great - Nebraska Press

Review of "This Is Not About Running"

Mary Cain’s rise in running was meteoric, but the story behind it is far more complicated. In this memoir, she pulls back the curtain on the pressures and abuses that shaped her teenage years. It’s a revealing look at how easily talent can be exploited.

Title/Author:

“This Is Not About Running” by Mary Cain

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review: 

Mary Cain’s story is sadly not uncommon. An elite runner discovered at age 12, she gained even more notice in high school as she shattered records previously held by professional athletes. At 16, she joined the elite Nike Oregon Project after being recruited by Alberto Salazar. But her experience there — and even with her high school teammates — was far from happy. She writes about those years in this memoir.

While the book’s title says it’s not about running, that’s both true and false. The most powerful sections deal with the treatment Mary received: coaches insisting that at 120 pounds she was too heavy, and the eating disorders and mental health crises that followed. Things became so severe she considered suicide and began cutting. The writing is fine, though at times it leans more toward venting than deep self-reflection. It’s never easy to write about one’s own mental health, so some grace is warranted, but it’s not the strongest memoir I’ve read on that subject.

The parts that are about running are compelling as well. Readers get a sense of what it’s like to train and compete at an elite level. Because we only have Mary’s perspective, many of these interactions come across as negative — and in most cases, justifiably so. The clearest examples come from her high school years. As she broke records and drew attention, one teammate’s mother began harassing Mary and her parents, convinced Mary was stealing the spotlight from her daughter. Mary suggests this mother was living vicariously through her child because of her own running background. Whether that’s true or not, it’s at least an explanation.

Then, of course, there are the issues with the Nike Oregon Project. Mary previously published an editorial in The New York Times detailing the mental abuse, the eating problems, and the toll on her mental health — but she never mentioned sexual abuse, even though she often spent time at Salazar’s house and describes several moments where they were alone. Given the later allegations against Salazar and his fall from grace, readers may wonder whether the memoir tells the full story of their relationship or whether some things were intentionally left unsaid.

Overall, this is a strong exposé of what the Nike Oregon Project did to Mary and, as she explains, the broader exploitation of young athletes. Hopefully her story contributes to further reforms beyond those already underway.

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

Link:  This Is Not About Running: A Memoir: Cain, Mary: 9780063441880: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "The Shining Mountain"

 It isn't often that I will read or listen to a book from the 1970's.  But as I was searching for a mountain climbing book on a peak I had not heard of before, I saw this one in the Audible library.  I decided to pick it up and I am glad I did.  This is my review of Peter Boardman's account of a two-man expedition on Changabang in 1976.

Title/Author:

“The Shining Mountain” by Peter Boardman, narrated by Stuart Crank

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review: 

In 1976, two climbers from England, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker, set out to achieve a first in mountaineering history.  They set out to be the first climbers to summit Changabang’s West Wall.  They would not be the first to reach the summit of this mountain in the Indian Himalayas but they would be first to do so on this more treacherous path. This book is Boardman’s account of that expedition, published in 1978. 

The audio version is narrated well by Stuart Crank.  His voice inflections allow the listener to easily distinguish between Boardman and Tasker, something that would not be easy to do if one has not met the men.  The writing is good as well.  Boardman does come off at times as bit of an elitist with his less-than-flattering remarks about people such as porters, but when it comes to his description of the climb, it feels like a gripping novel of survival.  This is especially true as the two of them reach the summit.

Some of the other features I did like was there wasn’t a long, drawn out description of the history of the mountain like some other books on mountaineering have.  There is some that will help the reader who is not familiar with the mountain have a little background, but it’s not a major part of the book.  I also felt that the description of the actual climb, the conversations between the two men and their feelings both during and after were excellent.  Especially that latter part.  While yes, Boardman may have made the remarks mentioned above, those are at least honest.  Keeping in mind when this took place and when the book was written, it was not uncommon for those types of thoughts to be prevalent at the time. 

I live my vicarious mountain climbing life through these types of books and this one gave me another mountain for which I have enjoyed hearing about a summit reach.  I am also glad I chose the audio version for this as an excellent narrator can enhance a story like this and Crank does so marvelously.

Link:  Amazon.com: The Shining Mountain (Audible Audio Edition): Peter Boardman, Stewart Crank, Vertebrate Publishing: Books

 

Review of "Unhittable"

If you've been watching baseball, especially Major League Baseball, the past few years, you may have noticed that the speed of pitches is faster and faster and that hitters, overall, are struggling to reach the same batting averages and on-base percentages that was prevalent a couple decades ago.  This book by Rob Friedman explains the phenomenon behind this trend. 

Title/Author:

“Unhittable: How Technology, Mavericks and Innovators Engineered Baseball’s New Era of Pitching Dominance” by Rob Friedman

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review: 

Throughout the history of baseball, there have always been eras in which either pitching or hitting dominated the game.  Currently, there is little doubt that this is an era of pitching dominance with pitch speeds higher than ever.  There are new advanced statistics and modern technology methods to measure them. This book by Rob Friedman explores the evolution of technology and other ways of making pitchers more dominant than the traditional methods of scouting and gut instincts.

There is a little self-promotion in the book as Freidman is the creator of Pitching Ninja, the platform where Freidman, a pitching coach and baseball analyst, will show videos of various pitches from pitchers from various levels of baseball and these videos are used by pitchers who want to improve their craft.  However, as the book explains, video is far from the only explanation why pitching is currently dominating baseball.

Something that will be appreciated by interested readers is that while Friedman does provide a lot of talk about new methods of analyzing data on pitchers, advanced technology to help create that data and other platforms like Codify, Friedman does not delve too far into language that is difficult to understand.  He also talks about each of these subjects by using the success of current pitchers like Tarik Skubal, Trevor Bauer and Tyler Glasnow to illustrate how these new methods of training and coaching are improving the quality of pitchers. 

It should also be noted that Friedman does include pitchers and coaches from most eras to show not only the advancements made for pitching but also how some had the foreshadowing to incorporate some of today’s coaching and pitching mechanics into their careers, even if not quite as advanced as they are today.  Two excellent examples of these forward-thinking baseball men mentioned prominently in the book are Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux and long-time pitching coach Tom House. There are even segments going back as far as the days of Walter Johnson and Christy Matthewson, mainly on how velocity was important to them even those early days before radar guns.

While there are sections that I felt dragged somewhat mainly because of repetition, nevertheless this is a very good book on explaining why this era of baseball is dominated by pitching.  It even includes some explanation from a hitter’s point of view, most notably Athletics All-Star Brent Rooker.  If a reader wants to know why pitchers are so hard to hit in today’s game, this is a good place to find out.

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

Link:  Amazon.com: Unhittable: How Technology, Mavericks, and Innovators Engineered Baseball's New Era of Pitching Dominance eBook : Friedman, Rob: Kindle Store

Review - The Hockey 100

 As I continue my quest to reduce my TBR mountain to hopefully at least a hill, I chose this book as the hockey season is coming to a conclusion this week.  This is the fourth book in a series that highlights the 100 greatest players in a sport - this is one is for the modern era of hockey.  I've read all four and so far, this is the best one. 

Title/Author:

“The Hockey 100: The Story of the Greatest Players in Modern Hockey History” By Sean McIndoe and Dan Robson with The Athletic hockey staff

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (Excellent)

Review: 

Since hockey has some unique traditions like playoff beards and an octopus thrown out on the ice at Detroit, it is only fitting that some of the greatest players in the game have some unique stories as well.  This book, listing the 100 greatest players since the NHL expanded from six teams to 12 in 1967, has some of those stories. These have been collected from various writers for The Athletic and compiled by Sean McIndoe and Dan Robson.  These are stories that every hockey fan should read.

Since this is a subjective list of those 100 players, there will be omissions or arguments about where certain players should be ranked. While those are always good for sports bar arguments or even friendly (?) discourse around the couch while a game is on the television, these rankings are grounded in well-reasoned arguments.

One great example of this is the story of Marcel Dionne, ranked #15 on this list.  The writer of this story points out that when people rattle off great players in the history of the NHL, Dionne is overlooked because he was never on a team that won the Stanley Cup. I wanted to stand up and cheer this author – it’s an argument I always make about any great player in a team sport.  I have always felt that degrading a player because his team didn’t win a championship is unfair.  The player doesn’t make personnel decisions – that’s up to the coaching staff and the front office. 

The other aspect of this book that I really like is that many of the stories of these players don’t always revolve around their statistics and accomplishments.  Of course, each player’s feats are included, but they aren’t always THE story. 

Here are two examples:  The first is about Bryan Trottier, who was a key player on the New York Islanders teams that won four consecutive Stanley Cups, has been very active in making the voice of Canadian Indigenous people heard.  The second is about Alexander Mogilny, a Russian player who came to the NHL before the USSR allowed its players to play in North America.  Mogilny had to make his arrangements in Sweden and even there, the team executives working on the deal felt the Soviet Union might be following them and tracing their calls.  This story was even more intriguing than the well-known story of The Russian Five from the Detroit Red Wings.  Some of those players made this list as well.  

Some hockey fans will not only be disappointed with the book because of player rankings, but it will also leave out greats from the Original Six era like Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Gordie Howe (he’s left out because even though he played after 1967, his best years were prior to that). Even without them, it does make for great reading for hockey fans and pays homage to the great players of the last 60 years.

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

Link:   Amazon.com: The Hockey 100: The Definitive Ranking of Ice Hockey's Greatest Players by The Athletic's Journalists (Sports series, 4): 9780063329195: The Athletic: Books