Review of "The Wax Pack"

Having never read a book with this type of premise before, I dove head-first into this one as soon as I downloaded the electronic version and enjoyed it immensely.  Here is my review of "The Wax Pack"

Title/Author:

“The Wax Pack: On The Open Road In Search of Baseball’s Afterlife” by Brad Balukjian

Tags:

Baseball, biography, professional, relationships

Publish date:

April 1, 2020

Length:

264 pages

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

The concept of this book sounds very simple, yet it is one that is unique among sports books which are available.  The author, Brad Balukjian, opens a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards nearly 30 years after it was purchased (the book takes place in 2015) and sets out on a road trip to learn what each of the 14 players in the pack have done in their lives since the cards were issued.  What follows is an amazing journey that the reader will enjoy while riding along with the author while he sets out to meet these players he calls the “Wax Pack.” 

The fame and skills of the players range from a Hall of Fame player (Carlton Fisk) to those with very short and non-descript careers (Jamie Cocanower), from the very famous (Dwight Gooden) to the virtually forgotten (Al Cowens).  Balukjian tells a story about each player, whether he actually talks to that man or not, that usually has little to do with baseball and more to do with what has happened to each man after baseball.  These can range from very uplifting and inspiring, as was the case for this reviewer when reading about Gary Templeton’s story, to very poignant and heartbreaking, such as Cocanower’s revelation about his wife’s diagnosis of cancer and the tragedy that befell the family of Randy Ready.  Some men still sound angry, such as Vince Coleman, while some are still very happy with what the game provided them, such as Rick Sutcliffe.

The most entertaining stories are two in which he did not speak to the player for an interview, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. In one, Balukjian ended up attending a Houston Astros game and was close to meeting Gary Petis, who was working as the third base coach of the Astros at the time. How he ended up at the game makes for an entertaining story, as does Balukjian’s adventure of trying to connect with Fisk.  There are actually two chapters on this as after failing to connect with Fisk at his home, Balukjian drives out to Cooperstown for the 2015 Hall of Fame induction weekend and spends $60 for the chance to meet Fisk for about 30 seconds while Fisk signed his card.  What Balukjian does in that very quick encounter was probably the funniest story in the entire book – but alas, it did not get the desired result as Fisk still does not provide that story for the author.

The author’s own personal story, however, is also intertwined throughout his road trip and it adds special meaning to his meetings with the former baseball players.  He describes his relationship with his parents throughout the book, leading up to a “Field of Dreams”-esque meeting with his father.  He also makes a side trip to visit an old girlfriend, the only one that he mentions in the book but a woman for whom he still believes was the best one he had.  Both of these stories will make the reader have the same gamut of emotions that his meetings with the players evoked.

One last item that should be mentioned about the book – it begins and ends with descriptions of how the cards and bubble gum are packaged, complete with a short story of an employee who works in the factory that packages the cards. Anyone who has tasted the bubble gum – a term used loosely to describe that hard stick – can relate to Balukjian’s torture when he consumed the gum.

Those baseball fans who had in their possession baseball cards at one time or another will certainly want to read this book, but one does not have to be a baseball fan to thoroughly enjoy this book that is not only thought-provoking but also emotion-provoking as the reader will feel a large range of emotions while reading it.

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:

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496218742/