Review of "Make Me Commissioner"

When I saw this book available for review prior to its release in September, I was intrigued.  While I can't say I enjoyed all of Jane Leavy's books I previously read, I knew that she was very knowledgeable about the game, so this had to be good.  It was - glad I picked it up.  Here is my review of "Make Me Commissioner."

Title/Author: “Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It” by Jane Leavy

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:  “Baseball is too slow.”  “Analytics are ruining the game.”  “Kids don’t want to play the game.”  “Television ratings for baseball are terrible.”  These and other complaints about the current state of Major League Baseball have been spoken, printed, shouted and communicated in nearly every manner for several years now. Jane Leavy, an accomplished baseball writer and fan, decided to use her experience and interview many people to come up with ways to fix the game. She tells readers about this experience and her ideas in this very good book.

Something that makes the book very interesting is that Leavy talks with many people with various viewpoints on many different issues. Leaving out names because 1) there are so many in the book that it would make this review longer than an 18-inning marathon game and 2) it would not be right to put labels on people such as “traditionalist” or “stat geek” so this review will not do so.  It is just worth noting that the conclusions Leavy makes come after weighing all opinions.

Just about every aspect of the current game is covered and either addressed or left alone by Leavy in her final suggestions (which will not be revealed in this review). I thought her best work was on the lack of Black players from the United States as her interviews were very interesting. I will note that there is a triggering sentence in that section that she at least acknowledges that was very unprofessional on a possible solution to this problem.  But the overall topic is covered well.

As is the other example I will note her, her writing on the current state of traveling baseball and how it not only will exclude kids from playing the game but also limits the opportunities for players to advance to either college baseball or possibly being drafted by MLB teams.  I also enjoyed her stories of the Cape Cod league that are interspersed in the book between writing about these issues.  They tie in nicely with the topics being discussed.  One excellent example is near the end when kids can interact with the actual play on the field using some of the advanced analytical statistics.  If that sounds improbable, it did happen and the story is great.

Improbable is the most likely outcome for either Leavy to become the actual commissioner or for many of her ideas to become reality.  But even if they don’t, this book is a very good look at the current state of the game and some possible ways of addressing them without altering the beauty of the game itself.

I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link:  Amazon.com: Make Me Commissioner: I Know What's Wrong with Baseball and How to Fix It: 9780306834660: Leavy, Jane: Books