Review of "Tao of the Backup Catcher"

Needing to find a good audio book on a recent drive to the Baseball Hall of Fame, I found this one buried in my Audible library.  Downloaded it and enjoyed it immensely.  Here is my review of "The Tao of the Backup Catcher." 

Title/Author:

“The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game” by Tim Brown, narrated by Tim Brown and Justin Price

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: This is a question for baseball fans, no matter what their level of interest.  Can you name the backup catcher for your favorite team?  If you can’t, then have no fear, this book by Tim Brown on one of the more unknown yet fascinating positions on a baseball team is part biography, part philosophical waxing and all a fun read.

The biography part is on a career backup catcher who had many stops in both minor league towns and in MLB cities, Erik Kratz.  Brown chronicles Kratz’s many stops along his way to appearing in 332 major league games over 11 seasons.  Just his list of MLB teams is extensive – nine different teams. Starting with the Pirates (when he was 30 after spending eight years in minor league baseball), Phillies, Blue Jays, Royals, Phillies a second time, Astros, Pirates a second time, Yankees, Brewers, Giants, Rays and Yankees a second time when he decided to retire for good at age 40. And this doesn’t cover all the moves to different minor league towns. Through it all, there are plenty of interesting stories about him and his wife.

However, the best stories are not really about Kratz personally or the other backup catchers whose names are mentioned throughout the book.  What is the best aspect of the book is how this job, while well paying, is one that is full of many different tasks.  Everything from warming up pitchers in the bullpen to how it is difficult for the backup catcher to get enough batting practice is covered.  Not everything in the book is related to what happens in the ballpark.  With so many moves, there is plenty of material on the many tasks Mrs. Kratz did to move the family.  Another great (and funny) anecdote is about Erik’s shower shows – there is enough about them that they get their own chapter.

This is just a small sample of the very interesting and fun material to digest in this book.  Like many who hold the position, this book may not make best seller lists, but it is one that baseball fans will want to have in their library and have ready when they need a lighter read – their backup catcher of baseball books.

Link: Amazon.com: The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game: 9781538726556: Brown, Tim, Kratz, Erik: Books

Review of "Roberto Alomar"

Sometimes a book on a famous player will allow the reader to learn much more about that player than what they learned in the media or through fandom.  That was the case for me with this book about Roberto Alomar.  Here is my review.

 

Title/Author:

“Roberto Alomar: The Complicated Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hall of Famer” by David Ostrowsky

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very good)

Review:  The subtitle of this book by David Ostrowsky is very accurate when discussing the baseball legacy of Roberto Alomar, a Hall of Fame second baseman who played for seven different major league teams but found his greatest success as a Toronto Blue Jay.  Alomar’s entire career, as well as his personal life and the controversies that surrounded him both on and off the field are captured here.

From the very beginning it is clear that Ostrowsky is not going to sugar coat Alomar’s life as the book begins with the infamous incident in 1996 when Alomar, then a member of the Baltimore Orioles, spit on umpire John Hirschbeck after a disputed called third strike. Alomar then further enraged fans and media when he mentioned that Hirschbeck had become more bitter since his son passed away.  While easily the most famous of the controversies involving Alomar, there are others that did not get as much attention but are noted by Ostrowsky.  These included allegations of sexual assault that led Major League Baseball to ban him from the game in 2021, although it would not change his Hall of Fame status.

Lest one thinks this book only covers this side of Alomar, it is also full of food writing about Alomar’s baseball career, from his excitement about the game as a child to his determination to keep playing late when his diminished skills in his mid-30’s would not allow him to hang on with a team.  His brief time with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox (twice) illustrate how much he had declined.

But when his star shone bright, it was brilliant as his accomplishments in Toronto made everyone who saw him believe he was one of the best, if not the best second baseman in the game.  His knowledge was considered to be off the charts, and he was always sharing it freely with teammates or anyone else who wanted to learn more about the game.

 In short, this book was a very fair, balanced, and informative account of Roberto Alomar.  A reader will come away from this agreeing that he certainly deserves to be considered a Hall of Fame player but will also understand why there are also detractors given the many controversies, justified or not, that surround his legacy.

 I wish to thank the author and publisher for providing a review copy. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

 Link: Roberto Alomar: The Complicated Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hall of Famer: Ostrowsky, David: 9781538158029: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Gibby"

You didn't think I could let Opening Day of the baseball season pass without a baseball book review, did you?  Having obtained a copy of this upcoming memoir on former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons earlier, when I was trying to decide on what baseball book to start the 2023 season with, I chose this one.  Here is my review.

Title/Author:

“Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer” by John Gibbons with Greg Oliver

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

John Gibbons is exactly who he says he is in the subtitle of this memoir – a baseball lifer.  His book, co-written with Greg Oliver, is the perfect illustration of how a memoir of a baseball lifer, whose position was catcher, would read.  It fits all the stereotypes that one thinks of when they pick up a memoir by a baseball lifer.

Let’s list a few of those stereotypes that a reader may believe about this book before reading a page.  One – catchers usually make the better managers, especially marginal catchers.  This checks off nicely as Gibbons talks fondly of his playing career, which really did not have much success in the major league level, but he did show enough knowledge of the game that when he realized his time as a player was through, he was able to find scouting jobs, which led to coaching, which led to managing jobs.  Those were both in the minor leagues (Mets system) and in the majors, where he led the Toronto Blue Jays in two separate stints. 

Two – baseball men of a certain age dislike the changes in the game today.  For the most part, Gibbons shows how he is not a fan of some of the current strategies such as the early removal of starting pitchers. He will often wax nostalgic about how the game used to be.  This is something not uncommon in many baseball memoirs, but at times this felt to be a little too much.

Three – there will be certain players that the baseball lifer will go on and on with stories about that player.  There is plenty of that in this book, both for teammates while a player and also as a manager.  They can range in talent from a fellow back up catcher to a Hall of Fame pitcher such as Roy Halladay. That is not necessarily a bad thing as many of these stories make great reading.  It does show, however, that even though Gibbons had the reputation as a “player’s manager” as he refers to himself, he certainly had his favorites.

Four – self-deprecation as humor is almost always present in these types of books and that is certainly present here.  Like the stories about players, that helps the reader enjoy the book even if it seemed a bit predictable.

While this may come across as a critical review, it really isn’t – it is meant to convey that everything one may expect from a baseball memoir is present here, including fond memories for Blue Jays fans of their run in the 2015 postseason.  That is the section with the most detailed baseball talk for on-field action, but for baseball talk in general, this is a book that many fans, especially Blue Jays fans, will enjoy.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.  The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

Link: Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer: Gibbons, John, Oliver, Greg, Donaldson, Josh: 9781770417106: Amazon.com: Books

 

 

Review of "Rickey"

Spring has begun and now that there is labor peace in baseball, fans and players alike are ready for the season to begin.  Of course, that also includes reading any new or upcoming advance copies of baseball books and this biography of Rickey Henderson is one that many should look for when it is released in June.  Here is my review of "Rickey"

 

Title/Author: “Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original” by Howard Bryant

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:  Rickey Henderson was a one-of-a-kind baseball player.  He set many major league records, such as most stolen bases and most home runs to lead off a game.  Those are just two of the many reasons, both on and off the field, that made him one of most interesting people to play the game and this biography of him by Howard Bryant is an excellent book on this excellent and exciting man.

Bryant has written several books on the topic of race and sports, including an excellent biography on Hank Aaron that discusses the topic and this book is very similar.  Bryant takes a critical look at the topic as Henderson had to deal with it during his youth in Oakland, his time in the minor leagues, and especially when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees.  There are many eye-opening passages that deal with race, especially in the chapters when Henderson wore the Yankee pinstripes.  Without being harsh, Bryant does raise some legitimate criticism of the team and specifically owner George Steinbrenner.

The criticism of Steinbrenner is in general terms and the difference in treatment between the team’s white players and the Black players.  In this specific case, that is clear not only in the dealings with Henderson but also with Steinbrenner’s investigation of Dave Winfield.  This is just one example of Bryant’s great writing on the topic, in which he casts a needed critical look but without blanket generalizations.  Another good example is in Oakland during his second tour with the A’s when Henderson, despite setting the record for stolen bases during that time, always seemed to be in the shadow of a more prominent player.  This could be either a teammate (Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco) or an opponent (Nolan Ryan).

This isn’t to say the book is all about that topic. It is a very good and complete look at Henderson’s life and baseball career.  It also has lighter moments, especially when talking about some of the legendary “Rickey being Rickey” stories, whether they are embellishments, legends, or the absolute truth.  These are especially enjoyable to read, such as the story about talking to John Olerud when both were teammates in Seattle when Rickey said that he had a teammate on the Mets who wore a batting helmet in the field like the Mariners’ Olerud did.  That teammate – John Olerud. 

The organization and structure are much like any standard sports biography, but that is about all that is ordinary about this book.  Readers who either enjoy sports biographies or Bryant’s work will want to pick up this one.  While it would be a stretch to call it as unique as Rickey Henderson, it is one that isn’t quite like other biographies – it is even better.

I wish to thank Mariner Books for providing a review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Rickey-Life-Legend-American-Original/dp/0358047315/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1647951687&sr=8-1

Two for the 4th, part 2 - Review of "The Only Way is the Steady Way"

Part two of the July 4 doubleheader for this blog is a review of a book of baseball essays I read on a train ride to...a baseball game.  Going to see a baseball game, America's Pastime, during the weekend of July 4 and reading a baseball book just seemed to be the right thing to do.  Here is my review of "The Only Way is the Steady Way"

Title/Author: "The Only Way is the Steady Way" by Andrew Forbes

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Usually when I read a book of essays or short stories, the final result ends up being a mixed bag – some good, some not so good and some in between those two areas.  This one doesn't fall into that category as I was enjoying every single word of this collection of mostly baseball essays by Andrew Forbes.

I say "mostly" because not every part of every essay is about baseball.  There are some very personal and moving sections about Forbes' family life, a little social commentary and other personal observations.  They are all related to baseball by the end of the essay, but they do give a snapshot into not only Forbes' personal life but also how much the game of baseball plays into his life.

Residing in Ontario, Forbes is a Toronto Blue Jays fan and some of the writing deals with them – the Jose Bautista bat flip in the 2015 postseason is one of the better topics when he writes about his team.  But he saves his best work for his writing about Ichiro Suzuki and how his success in Major League baseball after an excellent career in the Japanese leagues shows how much that one player affected him.

This is not to say Forbes writes only about Ichiro in glowing terms, although he mostly does so.  This is also not to say that this book is ONLY about Ichiro, although he is the subject of many of the essays.  Instead, the book is best viewed as a tribute to baseball and a reminder of how important it is in the lives of those who play the game, watch the game or otherwise enjoy the game.  Ichiro is the main illustrator of how this is done, and Forbes does a great job of conveying that message in short sections that will be enjoyed by anyone who fits the above categories. 

I wish to thank Invisible Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Way-Steady-Essays-Baseball/dp/1988784662/

Review of "Change Up"

With a choice of either watching repeats of past games in various sports or reading books, I decided on the latter and as a result, I am posting reviews more often.  That's a good thing as I am discovering not only new books but also some that I may have missed earlier when they were published.  That is the case for this one written by Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez in 2016.  Here is my review of "Change Up."

Title/Author:

“Change Up: how to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better” by Buck Martinez

Tags:

Baseball, professional, memoir, Royals, Brewers, Blue Jays

Publish date:

March 29, 2016

Length:

304 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

John “Buck” Martinez could be considered a “baseball lifer”, considering he has been around the game in some manner for six decades.  He writes not only about his career as a player, broadcaster and (briefly) manager but also shares his thoughts on the status of the modern game and its strengths and weaknesses.

The book does have a few flaws – some of the sentences could have used a grammatical make over and Martinez does jump from topic to topic at times.  He does keep the chapters on his playing career together but the other portions do seem to skip around.  It makes the book at times a bit of a challenge to read, but does not detract from the points he makes and the unbridled joy he has for the game.

It is clear from Martinez’s words that he believes today’s players spend more time working on the flashier aspects of the game such as home runs and pitch speed and less time on not only fundamentals, but also time together as a team.  That is mentioned so often that I was picturing a younger reader wanting to write “#OKBoomer” to Martinez for his “old fashioned” views.  While nothing he states is incorrect, the reader may come away with the belief that the long time Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster doesn’t like the current status of the game.

That would be an incorrect assumption on the part of the reader. While it is clear that Martinez has the time-honored belief of pitching and defense is required for winning baseball, he acknowledges early that the analytics used by modern personnel are essential as well.  He shows his willingness to accept change when he writes about his career.  He was one of the players who learned the game in the baseball academy run by the Kansas City Royals in the 1970’s.  While there, he felt that he learned the game the proper way and it shows when he talks about his time in the major leagues with the Royals as probably his best time in the major leagues. 

While he was disappointed to leave the Royals, he does write with fondness while remembering his playing days two other clubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Blue Jays.  Martinez writes several pages about the importance of team chemistry (including mentioning it for the current Blue Jays team at the time of publication) and he credits his time in Milwaukee for providing the education in showing how important that is to the success of a team.  As for his time with the Blue Jays, he is grateful to the organization for not only finishing his career with a winning team, but also to allow him to work for the organization for many years, including a short stint as manager which wasn’t very successful and a job that he now admits he was not ready to take.

More than his career recollections, this book is best when Martinez talks about his vision of the game, what the game has and what it needs from its past.  The reader may not agree with all of Martinez’s points, but one cannot argue that he doesn’t love the game and a reader who shares that same enthusiasm should pick up this book.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                               

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Change-Up-Great-Baseball-Better-ebook/dp/B013PL1PJ0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/change-up-buck-martinez/1122494181?ean=9781443440752

Review of "Full Count"

With a 20 year career in the major leagues and a long tenure as a baseball broadcaster, something he is still doing, David Cone has many stories to share and he does so in this very good memoir.  Here is my review of "Full Count."

Title/Author:

“Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher” by David Cone and Jack Curry. Narrated by David Cone

Tags:

Baseball, professional, memoir, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Royals, audiobook

Publish date:

May 14, 2019

Length:

320 pages

Rating: to

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Most baseball fans who have seen David Cone pitch during his 20 year career in Major League Baseball will have a moment or two in which they reacted "Wow, is he good!"  Maybe it was his perfect game he threw in 1999 against the Montreal Expos (on only 88 pitches).  Maybe it was one of his gutsy performances in which he logged pitch counts that would be unfathomable today, such as his 166 pitch game.  Maybe it would be when he was part of the celebration for the 1992 Blue Jays winning the World Series.  Or, maybe one knows him now as part of the television broadcast team for the New York Yankees.  Regardless of what is most memorable, fans and readers of baseball books will enjoy this memoir that goes well beyond a recap of his career.

There is one word that kept coming back to me throughout the book – perfectionist.  That is the overall image I believe Cone was portraying himself to be.  With the book starting off with Cone's failure to complete the eighth inning of game 4 of the 1995 American League Division Series between the Yankees and Seattle Mariners and continuing throughout the book, Cone spends a lot of time discussing his failures or recklessness that resulted in lessons he learned and took to heart to become an even better pitcher.

As a native of Kansas City, he was elated to be drafted and making his major league debut with the Royals. Some of the recklessness mentioned above is discussed in this time in his life and it went up a level when he was traded to the New York Mets and was a part of the team when they had a famous wild reputation.  He wasn't around for their 1986 championship but he did pitch in that team's other postseason appearance, the 1988 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  His poor outing in game 2 of that series is another example where he beats himself up for his bad outing but still uses the experience to learn a valuable lesson. 

His time in New York with the Mets ended when he was traded during the 1992 season to help the Toronto Blue Jays win their first championship.  He left the Blue Jays after that season to rejoin the Royals, who then later sent him to the New York Yankees when Kansas City decided to use younger, cheaper players.

When Cone gets to the Yankees, the great stories that made up the book early on return, as Cone shares his impressions of his teammates such as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettite.  The stories about the latter tie in nicely with the other main topic of the book – terrific insights into the occupation of pitching.  That is the subject of many stories he shares about the lessons learned.  Whether Cone talks about how to throw off speed pitches, batters looking for any means of how to figure out what pitch is coming next or the art of sign stealing (something very interesting to read now with the revelation of the sign stealing scandal of the Houston Astros), Cone talks with an air of authority and experience.  These were my favorite parts of the book and he credits so many people for helping him along the way.  From his father to hitters telling him what he was doing to telegraph his pitchers to his encounter with Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven in a hotel bar that resulted in a lesson on throwing a curveball, these passages about the art of pitching made for some great reading. 

Any baseball fan who was a fan of Cone, one of his three main teams, or even just a fan of the game will want to pick up this book.  Whether one reads the book or listens to the audio version – I did both, and the audio by Cone lend an air of authenticity to that version – one will learn much about the art of pitching.

                                    

Book Format Read:

Audiobook and e-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Full-Count-Education-Pitcher/dp/B07Q8XGY6G/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/full-count-david-cone/1129475430?ean=9781538748848#/

Review of "Hello Friends!"

Memoirs can be tricky - they may be about the author or they may be about the author's memoires.  This one can be classified as the latter as long time Blue Jays radio man Jerry Howarth shares many stories from his 36 years behind the microphone.  Here is my review of "Hello Friends!"

Title/Author:

“Hello, Friends! Stories From My Life and Blue Jays Baseball” by Jerry Howarth

Tags:

Baseball, memoir, broadcasting, Blue Jays

Publish date:

March 5, 2019

Length:

360 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (good)

Review:

When a broadcaster does the games for one team for a long time, that person will have a vast collection of stories to share. That is the case for Jerry Howarth, who was a radio broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 to 2017. He shares many of those stories and some about himself as well in this memoir.

As one might imagine, a person who has had the same job for 36 years will have a wide variety of stories to tell. Of course, he shares his recollections on famous moments in Blue Jays history, such as Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series and the famous bat flip by Jose Bautista in the 2015 American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers. However, what makes the book a little different from other collections of stories like this are all the personal connections Howarth had with so many Blue Jays players and personnel over the years.

Some of these stories will be sad, such as the death of Howarth’s long time broadcast partner, Tom Cheek. His telling of the last half inning Cheek called for the Blue Jays will make the toughest of readers generate at least a sniffle. But many, many more of them are uplifting and tell about the successes and positive accomplishments of the subject, especially if it was a player.  Howarth rarely has a bad thing to say about anyone in this book. 

The most interesting part of the book turned out to be the beginning as he tells his tale of how he sent tapes of college games he broadcast and his jobs in sports outside of broadcasting.  He worked for a few years for the Utah Jazz before starting his broadcasting career doing the games of the AAA Tacoma Twins.  While this read much like any other memoir, it was good material and advice for readers who may wish to pursue this profession.  The rest of the book with its storytelling is much like any other collection of stories, fictional as well as non-fictional – some good, some not so good (either very short or just telling the reader “Hey, I talked once to so-and-so). 

Overall, this book is one that Blue Jays fans will certainly enjoy and fans of other teams may like as well.  If nothing else, Howarth can say he has shared a treasure trove of stories that many generations of Blue Jays fans will pass along from generation to generation.

I wish to thank ECW 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.amazon.com/Hello-Friends-Stories-Life-Baseball-ebook/dp/B07KBGZMMB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "The Utility of Boredom"

When I received this book and read the description, I wasn't sure what to expect. Collections of short stories are usually a mixed bag at best - not this one - I loved each story and many of them will be loved by all baseball fans.  Here is my review of "The Utility of Boredom."

Title/Author:

“The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays” by Andrew Forbes

Tags:

Baseball, collection, short stories, Blue Jays

Publish date:

April 4, 2016

Length:

160 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

No matter the genre or topic, a book that is a collection of essays or short stories will usually be a mixed bag with some good ones, some not-so-good ones and some that are so-so.  That is not the case with this collection of baseball essays penned by Andrew Forbes. Each story is one that Forbes writes from the heart and expresses his love for the game of baseball and his favorite team, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Of the essays that talk mostly about the game on the field, his love of the Blue Jays shows, especially the ones about the 1992 World Series championship team and the emotions he was experiencing during the 2015 postseason that ended with the Blue Jays losing to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

One of the passages in that essay is a great illustration of the terrific writing Forbes exhibits in each story. When describing his joy when Jose Bautista hit a home run in the deciding fifth game of the Division Series, Forbes describes when he “lost it” in this fashion:

“It was the most gloriously and deliriously deterministic moment imaginable…It was fantasy made real, anti-logic captured on live TV. It was a bullet to the brain of objectivity. It made no sense whatsoever and it was beautiful.”  That is quite the description of a moment that many fans will experience when their favorite team has a dramatic moment – in this case it was Bautista’s home run and subsequent bat flip. I thought the description of his emotions and passions in that paragraph was vivid and beautiful.

Other essays that were excellent included one on San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Baumgarner, defunct teams such as the Seattle Pilots and the essay that matches the title of the book. I will end this review with an excerpt from that essay as it had the best explanation I have read that tells why I and many other fans believe that baseball is the greatest game on earth:

“You have to think of the long game. Baseball’s an exercise in concentration, a chance to train the brain to ignore the echoes of other forms of entertainment offering easier enticements. You sit through nine innings because that’s how long a game is and you want to watch a game. You sit through blowouts. You endure a game devoid of offense and call it a pitcher’s duel. When you attend a game, you show up early and stay until the final out is recorded, transit schedules and traffic be damned. This is your quiet commitment.  This is your loyalty and your investment., your faith that every recess and concavity will eventually be mirrored by something amazing. Slow and steady, you say.”

Amen.

I wish to thank Invisible Publishing for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

Paperback

Buying links:

https://www.amazon.com/Utility-Boredom-Baseball-Essays/dp/1926743695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466036795&sr=1-1&keywords=utility+of+boredom  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-utility-of-boredom-andrew-forbes/1123895368?ean=9781926743691

Review of "In Pursuit of Pennants"

There are several good baseball books that will be published this spring.  I have been fortunate to be able to obtain advance copies of two of them.  One was previously reviewed, the biography of Twins great Tony Oliva.  This post is my review of the other one, which is an excellent dissection of methods used to build winning baseball teams.  This focuses on the front office and owners and is an entertaining, well-researched book.  Here is my review of "In Pursuit of Pennants." 

Title/Author:

“In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations From Deadball to Moneyball” by Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt

Tags:

Baseball, management, history, Yankees, Reds, Pirates Royals, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Giants

Published:

April 1, 2015

Length:

504 pages

Stars: 

5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)

Review:

In the synopsis of this book, this question is asked: why do some baseball teams win while others don’t?  It is a question that has been around as long as the game itself.  This well-researched and well-written book examines the method used by winning teams to not only put together that successful club but also what was done to either keep winning or why the success had to come to an end. 

Nearly the entire history of professional baseball is covered, from the early days of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise to the current success of the San Francisco Giants.  The reader learns how different owners and general managers from Barney Dreyfuss (Pirates for 32 seasons in the early 20^th century) to Colonel Ruppert for the New York Yankees in the 1930s and 1940s, to Branch Rickey, George Steinbrenner and Billy Beane, they are all covered in this book.

The stories from various baseball executives are entertaining, funny and keep the book light despite some of the heavy research material. It reads like a fun history book without worrying about the next assignment or essay that might be due. 

Nearly every type of strategy to build a winning baseball team that has had some degree of success is analyzed.  Whether a team was built through its farm system, by signing free agents, building through the first-year player draft, statistical analysis or any combination thereof, this book will discuss the way it is done  and the men behind that club’s success. 

Any reader who has even a passing interest in baseball will enjoy reading this book.  I especially enjoyed the sections on how the teams of the first half of the 20^th century were able to build their winning clubs.  However, if more recent history is what the reader wants to learn, the stories from modern times are just as good.  This is an excellent source of baseball history through the lens of the front office.

I wish to thank NetGalley and the University of Nebraska Press for an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Did I skim?

No.  This was a very interesting baseball history lesson wrapped up in a book, so I wanted to make sure I read every word.

Pace of the book:

Very good – even with the extensive research required, it was a smooth easy read.

Do I recommend?

This is an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys the game of baseball and is curious about why a winning team is so successful.

Book Format Read:

Ebook (Kindle)

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Pennants-Baseball-Operations-Moneyball-ebook/dp/B00TJFBWOU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427067950&sr=1-1&keywords=in+pursuit+of+pennants

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-pursuit-of-pennants-mark-l-armour/1120736813?ean=9780803234970