Title/Author:
“Macho Row: The 1993
Phillies and Baseball’s Unwritten Code” by William C. Kashatus
Tags:
Baseball, professional,
Phillies ,history
Publish date:
March 1, 2017
Length:
384 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
During the 1993 baseball season, the Philadelphia Phillies were
considered the surprise team. Not only
because they unexpectedly won the National League pennant and took the
defending champion Toronto Blue Jays to six games in the World Series, but also
because of their image of being a rag-tag collection of misfits and
outlaws. This book by William C.
Kashatus shows that this image was well-deserved as he examines that season and
the six men who played the biggest roles in projecting that image and also for
playing good baseball.
The six players on which the book focuses are Lenny Dykstra, Mitch Williams,
John Kruk, Pete Icavigulia, Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton. To understand the
team, one must understand these six players, their personalities and what “the
Code” (the unwritten rules of baseball) meant to them. That is the strength of
this book as the reader will learn a lot about these six men. Kashatus writes about each one’s personality,
what drove them on the field and how they loved being part of a team of misfits
that was beloved by a city known to be hard on its sports teams.
There is plenty of writing about the baseball played on the field as well
as the reader relieves many of the key moments of the season, including all of
the games of the National League Championship Series and the World Series. The
former was the biggest surprise of that season as the Phillies defeated the
heavily favored Atlanta Braves and it was in this section where I felt the best
baseball writing was done in the book as it felt like I was at old Veterans
Stadium celebrating along with the six members of “Macho Row.”
While the attention to detail is very good, at times that made the book a
bit difficult to follow as the reader may have to refer back to understand a
point made. Also, at times I felt there
were contradictions in the opinions made by the author, such as how he felt
about one of the players, Lenny Dykstra. On one hand, I thought he really liked
Dykstra because of his hard-nosed play and the joy the author felt when he and
his teammates later became winners. On
the other hand, when the subject of performance enhancing drugs is discussed,
the author makes his feelings clear that those who used them were
cheaters. Because Dykstra’s use of PED’s
is documented throughout the book, I wasn’t sure how the author truly felt
about this key member of the team.
Nonetheless, this is a book that was as fun to read as was the lifestyle
after games that “Macho Row” lived. Phillies fans will especially enjoy this
book as it is one that should certainly be added to their bookcase.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying links:
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