Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Final post of 2015 - Ballparks Yesterday and Today

It's hard to believe another year is about to end. There have been many good sports books published in 2015 and it was nice to be able to enjoy several of them. This one had a second edition published in 2015 and I received it as a gift from a family member who knows how much I love baseball. It is one that I would recommend to every baseball fan. Here is my review of "Ballparks: Yesterday and Today."

Wishing all a very happy and prosperous 2016. No matter if your team wins or loses, enjoy the games during the year and keep reading about them as well. 


Title/Author:
“Ballparks: Yesterday & Today” by Phil Trexler and Marty Strasen

Tags:
Baseball, professional, stadium

Publish date:
April 1, 2015 (second edition – originally published 2011)

Length:
160 pages

Rating: 
4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:
Every baseball fan has special memories at a favorite ballpark. Whether it was enjoying a Fenway Frank with Dad at a Red Sox game, admiring the ivy that covers the outfield wall at Wrigley Field or watching a baseball disappear in the upper deck at Tiger Stadium, the stadium holds as much nostalgia as the game itself for many.

That makes this book that contains pictures and stories of over 65 ballparks very special. No matter the era or how long the stadium was used for a Major League baseball team, it is included in the collection of ballparks that this book encompasses. Each chapter covers an era of ballparks: The Early Ballparks (1870-1900), the Golden Age (1901-1932), Early Expansion (1933-1966), The Modern Age (1966-1988) and the Second Golden Age (1989-present).

Interesting facts are included in the short story of most of the parks and pictures of not only the parks themselves but also artifacts such as pennants, uniforms (both players and employees), and ticket stubs. For example, my favorite of these was one of a $1.50 grandstand seat for game 5 of the 1917 World Series between the White Sox and Giants.

There are anecdotes about the “cookie cutter” parks of the 1970’s, the new age parks that have been popular the last 25 years and the wooden parks of yesteryear.  It is a book that is to picked up and looked at time and time again instead of being read like a story. That is because there are many stories for baseball fans to enjoy about each park.

This latest edition was updated to include the two newest parks: Target Field in Minneapolis and Marlins Park in Miami. No matter the age of the stadium, any baseball fan will be able to find his or her favorite one in this book and capture the wonderful memories that one can have only at a ball game.  It is a coffee table book highly recommended for all baseball fans.


Book Format Read
Hardcover

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Ballparks-Yesterday-Today-Phil-Trexler/dp/145081087X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451528426&sr=1-1&keywords=ballparks+yesterday+and+today

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