If you are a numbers person, sports are the perfect outlet to show off your love of numbers. This book by a well-known ESPN personality takes those numbers and uses them to highlight the best of the best. Here is my review of "Got Your Number.
Title/Author:
“Got Your Number” by Mike Greenburg with Paul Hembekides
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review: As any sports fan knows, numbers are an integral part of sports, no matter what game. Whether it is the number on a player’s jersey, the statistics, the team or individual championships or just some part of the sport that involves a number, they are a source of debate among sports fans. That is case with this book by well-known ESPN personality Mike Greenburg and co-author Paul “Hembo” Hembekides as they bring a different perspective on numbers in sports.
Greenburg takes each number between 1 and 100 and assigns it to an athlete, team or other sports figure that will illustrate why the chosen figure is one of the very best in their sport. Most, but not all, of these that are given to athletes are for the number on the jersey they wore and for the most part, this reader agrees with the reason. It should be noted that in the introduction of the book, Greenburg states that the opinion he states about the number or sports figure is the correct one, but later does allow for debate. That follows suit with his on-air personality and frankly, sounds just like all fans who engage in this type of debate.
Without sending too many spoilers, here are examples of how an athlete, coach or other figure who doesn’t wear numbers are honored in this book. A legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus, has the number of major tournaments he won as his number. One of the best college basketball coaches, man or woman, is honored by the number of winning seasons she had at Tennessee. That is Pat Summit, of course. Finally, the horse who is considered the greatest Triple Crown winner ever, Secretariat, is honored by the number of lengths by which he won the Belmont Stakes in 1973 – a record that will likely never be broken.
The book is broken down into snippets on each honoree of about two or three pages and in each of them, the authors explain why (sometimes with other numbers) they chose that athlete or team. Of course, there will be differences of opinion between the author and each reader (in my case, I agreed with most of them but I was very disappointed with a few, starting with #29) but that’s to be expected in any book that describes or lists the best of anything. One final note – this is not limited to Greenburg’s lifetime or those sports performers he has seen. There are several older honorees that make this book one that truly covers a long time frame and gives it even more credence to how good it is. If you are a sports fan, you want to pick up this book.
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