As we near the end of January, it's time to start thinking about baseball - soon we will hear the four magical words every fan loves to hear during a cold and snowy winter - "pitchers and catchers report." So, as I anticipate the start of another baseball year, time to catch up on some baseball reading. Here is my review of a book on the Hall of Fame first baseman for the San Francisco Giants, Willie McCovey.
Title/Author:
“A Giant among Giants: The Baseball Life of Willie McCovey” by Chris Haft
Rating:
3 ½ of 5 stars (good)
Review:
Through the 1960’s, the San Francisco Giants had two of the most feared sluggers in the National League – Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. While Mays was considered to be the better all-around player, McCovey certainly had a special place in the hearts of Giants fans. His baseball story is captured in this book by Chris Haft.
The vast majority of pages are about McCovey’s time on the diamond, whether it was at Candlestick Park with the Giants or other teams either in the minor leagues or his three seasons with the San Diego Padres. Very little time is spent discussion his personal life and at times, this would be good information to go alone with the baseball or his life after retirement – whether that involved baseball or not. One example of where this might come into play is the very little amount of text about McCovey’s first marriage and daughter during his playing days. When he was struggling, did that affect his life at home – or maybe it was the other way around and if there were troubles at home, was that affecting his performance? Most other sport biographies include this type of personal information, and it was surprising to see so little of it in this book.
The baseball text, however, is good and a reader will likely learn something new about McCovey – even if that person felt they already knew a lot about him. One example would be one that I didn’t expect to read – that McCovey was more popular among Giants fans than Mays. Considering that many non-baseball fans have heard of Willie Mays, but probably don’t know about McCovey, I found that surprising. Haft does a good job of explaining how this came about. Other interesting tidbits about McCovey revealed in the book is how McCovey got the nickname “Stretch” (his stretch at first base when taking throws from infielders) and the great reception he received from fans when he returned to the Giants after a three-year stint in San Diego. Also, a reader will certainly learn even more about the most famous at-bat in McCovey’s career, which was an out. There is an entire chapter dedicated to his famous line out to Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson to end the 1962 World Series.
Overall, this book was decent for describing the baseball career of the first ballot Hall of Famer. One might stop short of calling it a “biography” due to the lack of much information outside of the diamond but for baseball fans, it will certainly help shake off the winter blues while awaiting the start of spring training.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment