Interview with Nancy Finley

I had the pleasure to speak via email to Nancy Finley, the author of "Finley Ball" and the niece of former Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley.  Her father Carl Finley was also an important member of the front office and she talks about the book, the team and some of her memories growing up in a baseball family.

Charlie O, the Oakland Athletics mule mascot

1.   Why did you write this book?

I wrote my book to bring attention to our 'Finley Dynasty' of the 1970's, and remind fans of our many contributions to MLB.

2) What are some of the biggest misconceptions about the Finley era?

Where do I begin?

Misconceptions-

 False- we wanted to leave Kansas City.  True- we had to flee Kansas City because of an unexpected stadium lease increase (annual lease amount).

We expected to be awarded the annual $1.00 the Chiefs enjoyed.  We ran to the only place with a 'ready to move into' stadium-Oakland. 

 False- we forced players to use nicknames.  True- we thought up nicknames for some players, for marketing.  If a player was an awesome athlete, and he would not use a nickname, this was fine.  We would choose a great athlete over any nickname.

 False-  we were cheap.  True- we were frugal.  I believe there is a difference.  If we were 'cheap', we wouldn't have poured $500k into the Kansas City Stadium, when we didn't own that stadium.  

If we were 'cheap', we wouldn't have awarded player’s bonuses after our 1972 World Series.  The MLB Commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, forced the players to return these bonuses.  

If we were 'cheap', we wouldn't have gone overboard on spending $$$ for our World Series rings.  These rings appeared so ostentatious, articles appeared criticizing our 'over the top' spending.   This does not sound 'cheap' to me.

There is a difference between 'cheap' and frugal.  I wish others would put this in the right context.   I am proud to say I am frugal.

3)  What is the REAL reason the A's left Kansas City?

I provide the main reason in my answer to #2 with Misconceptions.

We truly expected a 1967 city vote to renew annual sports stadium leases would bring us down to $1.00, just as the KC Chiefs had enjoyed since moving to KC.

Instead, we learned our lease was being raised to an annual $1.1 million.  I could sense rage whenever dad and Charlie told this story.  I know they were shocked. They couldn't afford this lease amount.  This amount would begin with Jan. 1, 1967, even though this vote was later in 1967.

I have to admit, I'm glad I was in Dallas with mom when this happened.  It sounded like a terrible situation.   

When Charlie bought the team, it was his dream.  This was not purchased as an investment.  Charlie subsidized the A's for several years.  He didn't announce this, because of Finley pride.  This was not something a Finley man did.  They are private. I personally believe he should have said something. Maybe he would be appreciated more.

It boils down to what occurred in August 1961.  Frank Lane's firing started the domino effect. I often refer readers to the June 1961 LIFE magazine article, with the words "Bugs Bunny" in the title.  This article reflects pre-August 1961, and what it was like. This article reflects Frank Lane's personality, and Lane's overall attitude.   This article has comments anyone would never expect to read about us.  This is how things should have stayed.

Then August 1961 happened.

4)  How is Finley Ball different from Moneyball?  

For starters, we won three (3) consecutive World Series, 1972, 1973 & 1974, in addition to reaching the 1971, 1975 and 1981 Play-offs.

We remained in second (2nd) place during the 1976 season.  This is surprising, considering all the distractions in 1976.

We won World Series, three in a row.  This hasn't been achieved since (the Yankees achieved this in the 1950s).  I am still waiting. 

I have heard excuses that it is difficult to win against a monied team like the Yankees.  We won in the 1970's.  In the 1970's, the Yankees had more $$ than us.  

Another excuse for not winning was "it is hard to win games in this coliseum (meaning Oakland)". I was surprised anyone would use this as an excuse.  Our achievement speaks for itself.

Moneyball talks about having a shoe-string front office payroll and staff. I can speak with certainty our front office was smaller in staff and payroll than the Moneyball 'Era'.  No one should make excuses about not winning.  

I could not understand the 'hype' around Moneyball.  I asked others to explain this story to me.  As the story was explained, I could see the person thought the same as me.

I have heard how Moneyball developed.  I'm not able to disclose this now.  I need to be certain of the source.

The title says a lot: Money Ball.  The story about using stats to acquire and trade players in MLB.  If the title was 'Wallstreet Ball', would it be any different?  No.  The writer, Michael Lewis is a great writer for all things 'Economy'.  My husband, Morgan D. King, Esq., has several books by Lewis  about the National Debt and  2008 Recession.   M. Lewis isn't known to write about sports.

In explaining Moneyball, another compared Moneyball to wheeling and dealing on Wall Street.  I finally got it.  Moneyball isn't about cultivating players to create a winning team.  Moneyball seems more like acquiring and trading players like one would with an investment.  I wondered if the income produced from this 'activity' is as good, or better, than having a championship team.

Moneyball's year, 2002, is the same as our 1971, 1975 and 1981 years when we made the AL Play-offs, and lost.   I include the 1981 Play-off, because this was a result of our rebuilding that started in 1977.   I have our late 1970's team rosters.  I enjoy seeing the names that appear on the 1981 roster.    

I can see our rebuilding took us by surprise.  The late 1970's was a low point for us.  The Coliseum Board still hadn't fulfilled its promise to finish our front office.  We refused to pay for this ourselves, after what happened in Kansas City.  

Our late 1970's up to 1981 shows we could rebuild a winning team when we focused.  Sadly, without Charlie, we didn't have a chance to repeat our 1970's.  Dad and Charlie worked as a team.  Charlie couldn't develop the new hockey and basketball teams without dad.  Charlie learned this quickly when dad quit in early 1972.

5) Share a story that wasn’t in the book that you believe the readers would like to hear

One funny incident I've always heard about (I was an infant at the time) is how neighbors of our Kansas City Muni Stadium thought the city was on fire, or a bomb happened, when Charlie started the bus fire to show "no more trades to the Yankee".

We seemed to have bad luck at bridge toll booths in the bay area.

One of the many times dad picked Charlie up from the airport, dad was using a rental car.  

When dad drove up to the Bay Bridge toll booth, the dollar bill dad handed the toll booth operator blew out of his hand.  A storm was on its way to the area. I remember how windy it was that evening.

When dad went to pay again, the money flew out of dad's hand-again.  Dad was not happy.  Charlie was not happy. Charlie opened the passenger side, where he was sitting.  Charlie walked around the front of the car to pay the operator.  Charlie's suit jacket was blowing up around his waist.  

Charlie went to hand the operator a dollar bill, and it started to fly away.  Charlie noticed the dollar bill hit the ground.  Charlie ran over and used his foot to stop this dollar blowing off. By this time, the toll booth operator was in stitches with laughter.  I don't think this operator had any idea who Charlie or dad were.  I was in the back seat laughing too. Charlie picked up the dollar, and slammed it on the counter, until the operator had a firm grasp on it.  Finally, we drove onto the bridge.

Interview - Helen Yeomans

Having had the pleasure of reading her novel "Ang Tak", I decided to ask author Helen Yeomans about her golf game and why she decided to write about it.  Here are her responses.

1. What inspired you to write about golf in general and the Masters in particular?

To begin with, I was incensed by an article in the New York Times protesting that golf had no place in the Olympics; that it was merely a game for fat, middle-aged white men. Perhaps that contributed to my setting the story in 2016, though the year is never mentioned. I wanted to talk about the “upcoming” Rio Olympics, but I was writing in 2010-11 and thought I might be tempting fate.

As for the Masters, my parents loved watching it, my mother in particular. She didn’t play golf until she retired but for years, April in Augusta meant spring was here, and she loved the beauty of the course, and the flowers. She died while I was still researching and writing, but it became a way for me to work through my grief.

At some point during my research Augusta National announced that they were setting out to broaden the international aspect of the game. That led me to consider having a protagonist outside the traditional “Ryder Cup” golfing countries.

The real spur for Ang Tak, though, was the widely debated question of whether an an amateur could win the Masters, in the tradition of Bobby Jones. When I began my research, that idea seemed unlikely—and it still does. The field of pro golfers gets stronger every year, talented amateurs are encouraged to turn pro early, and the course doesn’t get any easier, regardless of equipment. So I set out to examine what key characteristics I felt any golfer had to have to earn a green jacket. Then I constructed a kid who had some of those traits. Then I threw him at the course, gave him some controversy and waited to see what would happen. I had no idea if Tony could win. I just wanted to see what would happen when he tried.

2. The characters in Ang Tak were very interesting and complex.  Talk about them, especially the two main ones, Tony and Kat.  

Following on from the first question, Tony had a lot of good qualities, many of them coming from his Sherpa heritage. When I first started to consider what country the kid would be from I had to weigh research time. I was already up to my ears in golf lore and Augusta National layouts and strategies. I needed a country I could relate to somehow. India was too big. Thailand too foreign, ditto Vietnam and Cambodia. I came across Nepal . . . Edmund Hilary . . . Sherpas and Gurkhas. I knew Gurkhas fought in the British Army. But Sherpas? . . . then I found a marvellous school, SMD School for Himalayan Children, and discovered one of their graduates was studying in Vancouver, where I live. When I heard his story and those of others like him, and learned about the extreme poverty and harsh environment  from whence they came, I realized a Sherpa might well have the necessary character to scale the mountain called Augusta National.

Tony has his father’s grit and ambition and his British mother’s temper. After his dad dies, he’s raised in England (which made my job easier). He was well on his way to a fine career in smash and grab when, quite by accident, he discovered golf. Of course, as any golfer knows, that’s merely the point where all your troubles begin. And so it was with Tony. He was too small and too quick-tempered but he kept at it until, some eight or nine years later he won the British Amateur and a berth at the 2016 Masters.

Because he was small until his late teens, he couldn’t overpower a course with his driver. Instead, he was forced to hone his iron and short game. He had a spotty amateur record, partly because of his temper and also because his uncle would not allow him to use a club if he threw it. Consequently, he seldom competed with a full bag of clubs.

Like many Buddhists, he became very good at using meditation to sharpen his focus. And he did everything he could to learn about Augusta National, but there’s no substitute for local knowledge.

Which brings us to Kat.

Fuzzy Zoeller won a green jacket his first time at the Masters, in 1979. He was a fine golfer but he’d probably be the first to say his caddie was a big part of his win, because his caddie knew the golf course inside out. He knew how the putts break on the 12th green, and how the wind can fool you on the fourth tee. So I reckoned if Tony was going to stand a chance, he needed a caddie like that.

Why is Kat from Vancouver? To cut down on the research. And why is she female? Because you need something to interest female readers. I thought long and hard about giving Tony a tempestuous love life but realistically, I didn’t think it would work in these circumstances. Besides, most of his time during the round is spent with his caddie. Notwithstanding his stable relationship with his girlfriend, however, Tony does have an emotional crisis at a key point, and that was more than enough to derail him. Stress takes its toll during a major.

Kat was unable to make it as a pro herself but was lucky enough to find work with a top-line golfer who had already won a green jacket when she joined him. So they were always guaranteed a spot in the Masters and she spent twelve years learning the course. Tony would never normally get the help of an experienced caddie like this except that her own player was out with a bad back and he persuaded her to help the kid out.

Players and their caddies can form very strong attachments—after all, they spend hours and hours together, sometimes off the course as well as on. The story tries to show the relationship between a young player and an older caddie, formal to begin with, then relaxing, then completely falling apart as stress takes its toll. Then rebuilding and trying to move forward.

3. Do you play golf?  If so, how would you rate your game?  

I’m a mediocre golfer, thrilled if I can score in the 80s, although now that I’m playing regularly I will probably start to want more. All golfers always want more.

I was fortunate to have an excellent teacher and to benefit for years from my dad’s insights into players and swings.

4. Do you have any other stories or books with sports as a main theme in the works or as an upcoming project?

Not at present. I did think of writing a sequel to Ang Tak, but I shelved it. I'm always interested in story ideas, however. If any of your readers have any a suggestion, I'd welcome it. 

If you wish to take Helen up on her offer, you can reach her here:  
http://www.helenyeomans.com/

Interview - Aaron Smith

I  recently had the chance to interview Aaron Smith, author of "Thursday Night Therapy" about the book and his participation in the Thursday night basketball that is the subject of his book. He gave some very interesting answers.

------------------------------

1. What motivated you to write about the Thursday night basketball game?

My degree is in journalism and I worked as a sports editor and sports writer in the newspaper industry. I've always been drawn to the human interest stories in sports journalism; I craved writing those types of stories over simply covering and reporting on games. I enjoyed the deeper meaning of sports and how it affected those who play and those who watch the games. When I got involved with this group of guys for Thursday night basketball, I quickly felt how important and how meaningful this tradition was to these guys. Basketball wasn't just basketball. As the group closed in on its thirtieth anniversary, Fran Niehaus, my father-in-law and founder of this game, asked me to start jotting down and recording some stories for the guys to commemorate this long-standing tradition. As I got into the project, it became apparent that turning a few stories into a meaningful book that explored not just the stories from the games but also the psychological and even spiritual side of the weekly tradition would be the way to go.

2. If you were told that your game is a similar style to that of an NBA star, whose game does yours resemble?

Let it be known that I've NEVER been compared to anyone close to the NBA, so it would be pretty difficult to say my game resembles that of any professional basketball player. When I played in high school, I couldn't dribble to save my life. But I could shoot and I could play defense. If teams played zone, my job was to shoot and hopefully get them out of the zone. Other than that, I was only in the game to play defense and try to slow down the other team's best scorer.

The great thing about this Thursday night group is that we all play against each other so often, we know what each other's strengths are and we know how to stop each other. That has forced us to adapt and change our game. I've had to learn how to dribble and drive and finish inside because they've worked toward taking my three-point shot away. It's fun to see how all of our games have changed and adapted over the years. We have short guys who can drive and finish in the paint and we have taller guys who have extended their skills beyond the three-point arc. So to answer your question, my game can be similar to a spot-up shooter like Kyle Korver on some nights and on other nights when I'm forced to drive and finish or drive and pass, I would like to think the style is similar to Paul George, someone who can shoot if he needs to, but looks to drive and create for his teammates.

3. How has participating in the group been therapeutic to you personally?

Playing in this game really has affected my life for a few reasons. One way has been just to offer a release of pent up energy and stress. With three young children and everyday life challenges coming at me constantly, it's so important for me to have a release. This Thursday night game is that release. There is nothing quite like the feeling of running off that stressful energy. Any negative energy that has built up for a week just simply vanishes on the court. I write about that in the book; when I get home from these games, perspective has been altered. Problems that seemed stressful before don't seem that big anymore. Annoyances I may have had with the kids before Thursday night really don't matter after playing hard for three hours. It certainly is a "reset" button, as one sports psychologist puts it in the book.

Secondly, playing in a lot of pick-up games in college and immediately after, I started to hate basketball because of the constant trash talking and overly physical play. The joy of basketball was quickly removed when playing that style of basketball. Playing with this group has renewed my love of the sport. The game is played the right way. There is no trash talk. There are no purposely hard or over-the-top fouls. The game is played with respect for each other and respect for the sport. Early on when I first started playing with this group, I played with the attitude it took to survive random pick-up games. But now, after about 10 years of playing with these guys, my perspectives are back in order. My attitude has changed. The joy is back on the basketball court. I needed that.

4. How do you feel about other games and this type of benefit? Meaning that for those of us who would not be talented enough to join a basketball group like yours, would playing a different sport have the same results?

One of the main benefits of this group is the camaraderie and the friendships. A lot of our lives are spent nurturing professional relationships with clients or patients or bosses or colleagues. The rest of the time is spent nurturing family relationships. Just as important, but lacking in many people's lives, are the relationships with friends. This weekly get-together ensures that we'll have an opportunity each week for male bonding, camaraderie, and spending quality time with our friends. I think it is important and necessary to carve out time to spend with those we call our friends.

It doesn't have to be basketball. For some, it's golf. Or tennis. Or cards. Or simply carving out time to get lunch with friends once a month or so. I would encourage anyone to find their game or their sport or their group and make it a point, a necessity, to get together regularly.

5. Please feel free to share anything else about your book or your basketball group.

I'd just like to thank my father-in-law for inviting me to this game. It has meant a lot to me. And thanks to all those who show up on Thursday nights to play each week. It truly is remarkable that this game has lasted thirty years, and several of the players have played the entire three decades. The guys in their sixties are an inspiration. They make me want to play basketball for the next thirty years.

During my research for this book, it was great to see that we are not alone. There are games all over this country just like this. Some meet on Saturday mornings every week. Others play regularly with the same guys during extended lunch breaks. One of the sports psychologists I interviewed for the book also plays basketball with a group of guys, and that game also has lasted nearly thirty years. And every player in one of these groups talks about the same therapeutic release they get from playing. For me, it has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of this group, and it was an honor to tell their story.



--Aaron M. Smith www.aaronmsmith.com https://www.facebook.com/ThursdayNightTherapy

Interview with Robert Fitts and additional chances to win a book

This is a first for the blog - two interviews in one week!  This interview is with Robert Fitts, author of "Mashi" and other books on Japanese baseball.  He talks about Japanese baseball, his upcoming book tour and his own baseball experiences.  I thank him for taking the time to answer these questions.

I am also extending the chance to win a copy of the boxing book "Death In the Ring" by George Thomas Clark.  In addition to entering by leaving a comment on the reivew of that book or my interview with Mr. Clark, if you leave a comment here, you can enter to win as well.   If you do comment, but do not wish to enter the drawing for the book, please state so in your comment. Otherwise, enjoy and good luck!

Robert K. Fitts

Questions for Robert Fitts

1.  Why did you decide to write about Japanese baseball and its players?

In 1993 my wife was transferred to Tokyo and we lived there for two years.  The night I arrived in Japan, she took me to my first Japanese baseball game.  The atmosphere was unlike any game I had seen before.  The fans sang fight songs, blew horns, clapped in unison.   The stadium shook.  I fell in love with Japanese baseball that night. Later that year, I wrote a few dozen retired players to ask for their autographs.  To my surprise, these players not only signed but many wrote letters back and some sent me gifts.  How different from Major Leaguers!  I’ve been interested in the history of Japanese baseball ever since.

2.  “Mashi” took a little different approach to illustrating the struggles of a player who was a minority to fit in with his teammates.  Instead of telling about injustices, most of these anecdotes are humorous.  How were you able to approach a sensitive subject with so much humor?

That’s Mashi.  He has a great sense of humor—something every former teammate mentioned when I interviewed them.  He loved his time in the US and focused on the positive rather than difficult experiences.

3. Are you a fan of Japanese baseball?  What are your observations on the game in Japan and do you feel that the quality of play is close to that of Major League Baseball in the United States?

Major League baseball is more aggressive, faster and powerful than Japanese ball.  I feel that the American game in played at a higher level but that one should not dismiss Japanese baseball as inferior.  They produce many, many great players and watching their games can be a lot of fun.  I worry that with many of their stars coming to the US that baseball in Japan will no longer be able to maintain its high level.

4. Tell us about your baseball experience – whether as a player, a fan of a certain team or player, or if you just enjoy writing about it.

I played baseball—poorly – as a kid and for a company team when I lived in Japan.  For a while I was an avid softball player but now just play in a relaxed league.  I’ve been a baseball card collector since I was 10 and that led me to start selling Japanese baseball cards about 15 years ago.  To promote the cards, I started writing about the history of Japanese baseball but soon found that more interesting than selling cards, so I began focusing on writing about 10 years ago.  Mashi is my fourth book on Japanese baseball. 

5.  What future books can readers expect from you?  Do you have any work in progress currently?

I’m working on a story about the early days of Japanese-American baseball.  I’m studying a group of men who immigrated to Los Angeles around 1903 and formed a baseball team.  They barnstormed across the Midwest and hoped to become the first professional Japanese team on either side of the Pacific.  But, things didn’t work out.

6.  Feel free to add anything here that you would like readers to know.

This summer, Masanori Murakami is joining me for a 9city book tour.  We will stop in Chicago, Boston, New York, Rhinebeck NY, Cooperstown, LA, Fresno, San Francisco, and San Jose.  Information on these events will be posted on my web site www.RobFitts.com.  I hope everybody can come out to meet Mashi and have him sign your copy of the book

Interview with George Thomas Clark - and another giveaway!

I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. Clark here before getting to the interview for two things.  Not only for taking the time to answer a few questions about his book "Death in the Ring" but also for his generosity.   He has agreed to give away a copy to a lucky reader of the blog!   In order to enter, either leave a comment at the end of the interview here or on the review of "Death in the Ring."  If you are a boxing fan, it is a book you should read as it is not only entertaining, it is very possible you will learn about a few fighters that you probably didn't know.   The drawing for the book will be held May 11.  Good luck to everyone!

George Thomas Clark

1. Why did you decide to write about boxing history that included some obscure fighters?

Some of the boxers in Death in the Ring may be little known today but almost all were prominent, even heroic, during their time. Peter Jackson, for example, is known only to boxing fans who are interested in history. When he fought more than a hundred years ago in Australia, however, he was a national figure, and his status increased after his first extended trip to the United States and England. John L. Sullivan spent years ducking Jackson, claiming he was defending the honor and purity of whites and after Jackson fought a marathon draw against Jim Corbett, Gentleman Jim never wanted to give him a rematch.

Battling Siki is perhaps the most obscure and tragic figure in this book. He astonished France by knocking out national idol Georges Carpentier but, due to alcoholism and bizarre behavior, was blacklisted in France and had to come to the United States to get good fights. Here he was confronted by tough and talented boxers far more disciplined than he, and he lost more than he won. His drinking worsened and he ended up getting a bullet in the gut in Hell’s Kitchen while still in his twenties.

2. How difficult was it to write stories about boxers in the first person, especially those from the early 20^th century such as Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey?

It was difficult to write in the first person but probably no more so than the third person. I’m just more comfortable using the first. No matter what voice you use, you have to do a lot of reading, and video watching if available, to learn what the fighter was like personally as well as professionally. Once you know the character, you slowly let him write his own story. There’s a lot of information about Dempsey and Jack Johnson, and good videos, too, so I felt I understood both men in and out of the ring.

3. With the rise in popularity of such sports as mixed martial arts, what do you see as the future for the sport? Will there be another “fight of the century” to draw much attention like the Pacquio-Mayweather bout?

I’m a baby boomer and, like most people through the ages, most attached to the heroes of my youth. My idea of a fight of the century is Ali v. Frazier, Foreman v. Ali, or Leonard v. Hearns or Duran. Manny and Floyd are great fighters, but can anyone really contend that Pacquiao would survive long against Hearns? Using his spectacular right hand, The Hit Man would pulverize Manny. And I think boxer-punchers like Sugar Ray Robinson and Leonard were just as slick as Floyd, and much better sluggers. Floyd would be competitive but he wouldn’t have enough against those guys. I do think Floyd would decision Duran without much trouble. Wilfred Benitez barely got touched by Duran, and no reliable person is going to claim Benitez was as good as Mayweather.

Mixed martial arts will continue to grow in popularity but boxing will maintain a reasonably prominent perch. There’s great artistry in landing and avoiding punches. There’s also great danger, and people are more concerned now about injuries in sports. Even the big daddy, football, has lost more competitors in recent years than any other sport. Basketball is the emerging sport.

4. Tell us about your boxing experience – whether as a boxer, a fan of a certain fighter, or if you just enjoy writing about it.

Like most boxing fans, I slipped on the gloves a few times as a kid, and like most boxing fans I quickly discovered I didn’t like getting hit and returned to the basketball court.

Muhammad Ali is my all-time favorite boxer and probably my favorite athlete and sports personality. No one brought as much drama and excitement into the ring. Ali was so charismatic his pre-fight antics were often more entertaining than many bouts then and now. Sugar Ray Leonard is my second favorite fighter. And despite my misgivings about him against great welterweights, including Mayweather, who I expect to win by decision, Manny Pacquiao is my favorite current fighter. He’s exciting, aggressive, and talented.

5. What future books can readers expect from you? Do you have any work in progress currently?

I just finished a book titled Paint it Blue,  (http://www.amazon.com/Paint-Blue-George-Thomas-Clark-ebook/dp/B00UKXD22A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) which explores the lives of painters – Picasso, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and many others, not all famous, in the same first-person style I used in Death in the Ring.

6. Feel free to add anything here that you would like readers to know.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have won many titles and mountains of money. They’ve also been fighting professionally for about twenty years. That’s enough. I’d like to urge both of them to retire. They’re still good fighters. That’s not the point. Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson were still good fighters long after they should have quit. They suffered by staying too long.


You can find out more about Mr. Clark at his Web site:

www.GeorgeThomasClark.com

Winner of "Mashi" and upcoming interviews

The drawing has been held for the hardcover copy of "Mashi."  Using RAT STATS sampling software, all readers who left a comment were given a number, entered on an Excel file, and run through the program.  The lucky winner is #8, Beth K.   Beth, please send me an email (click "Contact Me" for the address if you do not already have it) with a mailing address and your copy will be on the way.  

There will also be an interview posted with the author, Robert K. Fitts, as I have sent him a few questions about the book and Japanese baseball.  As he posted, he will also be out promoting the book.  There was significant interest in this book, so I hope those who want to learn more will be able to attend one of these events. 

I want to thank everyone who left a comment for reading the review and entering.  There will be another giveaway soon, as the author of "Death in the Ring", George Thomas Clark, has generously offered a copy of his book as well.  This will be offered when the interview with him is posted as I have sent him a few questions.  I will promote this here and on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads as well.   So do check back regularly as I hope to be able to continue to host interviews and giveaways.
 

Interview - Laura Vanderkam

I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Vanderkam, who recently published a book on the lives of the players from a fictional high school basketball team, "The Cortlandt Boys
(http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/2015/02/review-of-cortlandt-boys.html).  Here are her answers:


1. What gave you the idea to write about a high school basketball team from the past?

 
The seed of the idea came from something that happened. When I was a freshman in high school in South Bend, Indiana, our boys basketball team won the state championship. It was such a huge deal for everyone. This is the land of Hoosiers, after all! I moved away shortly thereafter, and ten years later my mom sent me an article the local paper did on what the players had done with their lives. A few had actually played in the NBA. It was a good team! Other boys, though, led more quiet existences. That got me wondering: what is life like when the biggest thing to happen to you happens when you are 17? The characters are nothing like anyone I went to school with, the rest of the plot is made up, and a small town in the Poconos is not much like the post-industrial Midwest. But that’s where the idea came from. 


2.  I thought it was interesting to get the viewpoints of females who were not part of the team.   How difficult was it to write about a boys team from a female POV?
 
As a woman, it’s probably easier for me to write from a female POV than from a male POV. The challenge for me was making the boys on the team seem believable, to have them behave as boys would behave. I try to study human nature as much as I can. I pay particular attention to people who react differently than I would. I’m raising three sons now (in addition to a daughter) so I’m starting to get a sense of the ways boys interact. 


3.  Tell us about your basketball experiences, whether as a player or as a fan.   Do you have any favorite current players or teams?  Do you prefer a level of the game (High School, College, NBA) over others?
 
I played basketball in a community program for one season when I was in sixth grade. I wasn’t any good at it. I managed to go the whole season without scoring a point. That said, I picked up the terms and the general sense of how it felt to move a ball around a court. I watched many of the games during that championship season back in Indiana as well, and saw how precocious athletes played. These days, I go to the occasional Sixers game in Philadelphia, though of late that’s generally been a depressing proposition. At least I try to get myself good seats.


4.  Will you be writing any other sports-based stories in the future?

I’m a runner, and I’m drawn to the idea of writing about a character who runs. The challenge is making running exciting from a plot perspective. A long run is a good way to clear my head and come up with ideas, but it probably doesn’t make for an exciting scene for anyone else! Perhaps I’ll create a character who’s a track coach, since a competition would have more zing to it. 

5.   Feel free to add anything else here that you wish.
   
I’ve built my writing career doing non-fiction, so writing a novel was something new for me. I learned a lot in the process. The biggest take-away is that truth is no excuse in fiction. In non-fiction, if something really happened, it really happened, and you can write about those details without giving it another thought. The fact that something happened doesn’t matter in fiction; the universe you create needs to make sense on its own.

Laura Vanderkam

Author, I Know How She Does It (2015), 168 Hours, and What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast -- a paperback compilation of the bestselling ebook series, all from Portfolio/Penguin. Please visit www.lauravanderkam.com.

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Talking hockey with Cassandra Carr

I had the chance to ask some hockey questions to romance author Cassandra Carr, who has a series of hockey romance books published, one of which was reviewed here, and knows a thing or two about the sport.   Here is that interview:

1.      How did you become interested in hockey?    

     
 I’ve been watching hockey from an early age, but really became a fan when I moved to the Western New York area in 1994. I started following the Buffalo Sabres, and have been a fan for twenty years now. Try me in bar trivia, especially about the Sabres, but generally the NHL works too. A couple of guys have found out the hard way that it’s not a good idea to challenge me. ;-)

2.      What methods of research have you done to be able to write such detailed passages about the game?  Not just the on-ice action but also about topics such as front office dealing and player accommodations.

      

      If you watch the game long enough you pick up enough. I’ve also watched a lot of specials and behind-the-scenes stuff. Oh, and read a lot of newspaper and magazine articles. Those “getting to know” the players interviews yield a lot of information too.

3.      From our earlier email conversation, I know that when your favorite player  Jason Pominville, was traded from your favorite team, the Buffalo Sabres, to my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild, you made this story a bit of revenge for that trade.  Do you base your fictional team, the Buffalo Storm, off of the real-life Sabres?  If so, what similarities do you use to bring that reality to the game?

I would guess they’re loosely based on the Sabres, but not really anything specific. I know a fair amount about the arena where the Sabres play, so I’ve used some of that info. Other than that, there’s no real specificities. But yes, that was a bit of my own revenge.

4.      Okay, I can’t resist this question.  In my review, I noted that Mikael could not find places to enjoy water activities in Minnesota.  Was this a tongue-in-cheek humorous passage or was this part of the above-mentioned “revenge”?

Eh, probably a little bit of both. I like to inject humor into my stories. Sometimes just to do it, sometimes to lighten up the overall mood a little.

5.      What marketing or selling technique do you have to attract readers who may not be interested in romance or erotica but love to read good sports stories?

I don’t think I use anything specific. Most authors use similar marketing techniques. I always think I should do something different, but I haven’t sat down and done any brainstorming.

6.      How do you see the upcoming season shaping up for the sport in general and the Sabres in particular?

The Sabres will not finish well, but the silver lining may be Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. As far as the sport in general, some of the old powerhouse teams are going down and others are finally rising. But who will win the Stanley Cup? No idea.

7.      Are you currently working on any other projects and are there any other books that will soon come out with hockey-based themes?   There is your Buffalo Storm series, of which this book is a part, but are there others?  Feel free to shamelessly plug your works here! 

I have a male/male series of hockey books – the Safe Harbor series, which includes See the Light and Hiding In Plain Sight; and more on the way. I’m in the midst of putting all the books that I have audio rights to on audio, through iTunes, Audible, and Amazon.

Interview with Tom Swyers

I had the pleasure to ask Tom Swyers questions about his book "Saving Babe Ruth" and his answers show that this is a topic of which he has a great deal of passion. 

1. What inspired you to write a book on saving a youth baseball league in a small town?

A few years ago, I experienced firsthand the pressures that community baseball and its volunteers undergo while I managed my hometown league’s 13-18 year old baseball program. I had to endure sheer craziness (threats, harassment, and a three year lawsuit) brought on the promoters of a travel baseball outfit simply because I was trying to save a community baseball program so that all kids of any skill level could play baseball in their hometown. Everything, including the kitchen sink, was thrown in my direction.


I’ve been silent for years about what happened, but now it’s time to tell the story through Saving Babe Ruth. It needs to be told because Saving Babe Ruth’s storyline is playing out in communities across the country to one degree or another.


Community baseball leagues have told me similar stories about how their leagues are struggling in the face of travel baseball and other pressures. The Washington Post ran an article on how travel baseball is eroding community baseball in May of this year. I was invited to speak at the New Jersey State Little League Championship Banquet last week partly because community leagues throughout the state are facing similar pressures.

If anything, Saving Babe Ruth is timely.

2. There is a lot of talk in the media today about youth sports and how many of the organizations and parents seem to lose sight that this is supposed to be about the kids having fun playing a game.   From the research you did for this book, would you say that this is accurate or more of an urban legend?   What really is the state of youth sports in comparison to some of the stories and rumors?

Let me answer that question by focusing on youth baseball before making a generalization with respect to all youth sports.

Saving Babe Ruth offers an unprecedented look at the underbelly of youth baseball today and the underlying forces at work. I don’t think there’s a published book available like it in that respect.

I have talked with representatives from a number of community baseball programs around the country. I think there is a parent population in every town or city that loses sight of why community baseball is important. The size and strength of that group varies with the town or city. Sometimes, the group can be small, but it can make up for its size by being loud or powerful, sometimes both.

In order for the community baseball model to live up to its full potential, players of every skillset have to make a sacrifice. The lesser skilled players generally do not have the opportunity to play on an all-star or travel teams in the summer. That’s their sacrifice. Summer baseball is not readily available to them after the league’s recreational season ends.

The more skilled players must spend part of their time playing on teams with lesser skilled players in their recreational league composed of all kids from their community. That’s their sacrifice. In exchange, these better players have the opportunity to play on travel or all-stars teams in the summer through their community league.

The problem occurs when parents of the more skilled players or the parents of the more financially well-off players (not necessarily the more skilled players) decide they don’t want their child to sacrifice anything. They just want their child to play pure travel baseball not necessarily affiliated with their community league. They don’t want to bother with the recreational league and the other lesser skilled kids (in their view) for a variety of reasons.

But the blame doesn’t rest solely with this group of parents. Usually, there is a local travel baseball promoter who tells the parents that their kids are too good to be playing in recreational leagues, that they must play with better players to become better players themselves. They offer promises of exposure and scholarships to parents who have their kids play travel baseball exclusively in their baseball programs.

The spiel plays to the vanity of parents regarding their kid’s talents to make it at a D1 or D2 school, or even to play professional baseball. The spiel isn’t backed by statistics as only about 2.7% of all high school baseball players will ever receive a baseball scholarship and it will be a partial one at that, averaging $5,800 with no guarantees of continuation according to a New York Times study. Baseball offers one of the lowest average scholarship amounts of any NCAA sport based on this same study, second to last to only riflery. But parents either don’t learn about this until it’s too late or feel the pressure to pay up to keep up with other paying families. The fees for these travel baseball teams can be outrageous.

When enough players and families bolt for the Promised Land of travel baseball, community leagues struggle to survive and some fold. Sadly, there are a significant number of kids who are then deprived of a baseball experience in their hometowns. They must find something else to occupy their free time. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of other positive outlets available to them because schools and governments are cutting back on their programming. As a result, these kids find other things to do and often find themselves getting into trouble and undermining the health of their communities. I’ve seen that happen.

On top of this, sometimes school districts and local governments are unsupportive of community baseball for a variety of reasons.

While I can envision situations where travel baseball alone could support a community, those situations are by far the exception in my experience. Most of the time, in my view, everyone loses when the pure travel model is at work, except for the youth sports business interests, like the travel promoters.

Overall, I see that community baseball and youth sports in general today are under extreme pressure from individuals and outfits that seek to make a business of youth sports at the expense of kids, families, and their communities.

3.   Some of the characters in “Saving Babe Ruth” may seem to not be realistic to some readers and reviewers.  Two examples would be the main character of David and his obsession with not only the Babe Ruth league but also his use of weapons in defending the field.   Another example is the high school principal who moonlights as a professional sports agent (or maybe it is the other way around).  What was your inspiration to create characters such as these?

I guess the characters’ realism depends on the reader’s life experiences.

I was invited to speak at the New Jersey State Little League Championship Banquet last week in Berkeley, New Jersey and said this about the state of youth sports today:

You will simply not believe what is going out there and that’s understandable because our perceptions have not caught up with the reality of what is happening behind the scenes in youth sports.

There are plenty of “Davids” out there who are passionate about supporting or fighting to save their community baseball programs. I met quite a few while in Berkeley and in talking with people across the country.

One thing that makes some of these volunteers so special is that a number of them don’t have kids involved in baseball any longer because they’re in college or pursuing a career. These parents have stayed on because they know what baseball meant to their kids and what it means to the health of their communities. They are unsung heroes.

Many people are fighting a civil war over their community baseball programs today in their towns or cities and I think they can relate to David’s character in Saving Babe Ruth.

Yet David’s appeal, I think, goes beyond a story about youth baseball. Margot Livesey, a New York Times bestselling author and a wonderful writer, felt that David was a “man for all seasons” who rises to the occasion. One reviewer thought David reminded her of Kevin Costner, a man who maintains his wholesomeness even while firing an antique weapon at his rival. Carl Strock, a reporter who is mentioned in the novel, said you don’t have to be a baseball fan “to relish this story of intrigue and dedication on and off the diamond.”

With respect to the realism of the sports agent/school principal character, I understand why readers and reviewers don’t think it’s possible.

You said in your review, “I mean, really, an agent representing a superstar NFL running back can double as a school principal? It was a nice touch to the story, but for a character it felt like overkill for what the author was trying to illustrate.”

I totally understand and fully appreciate your point of view. I’d feel the same way if I were in your shoes. But don’t forget that Saving Babe Ruth is a novel based on a true story.

A news reporter asked about this character before I spoke at the New Jersey State Little League Championship Banquet. I’ll tell you essentially what I told him, and I’m challenging readers and reviewers here.

Saving Babe Ruth offers clues on the sports agent/school principal character. Research them. A stunning reality awaits.

There are specific news accounts and incidents referenced in the novel naming real, high-profile professional athletes and citing their interactions with the sports agent/school principal character. Research them. A stunning reality awaits.

The more a reader fully understands this reality, the more he or she will see an entirely new and shocking dimension to Saving Babe Ruth.

Saving Babe Ruth is a thriller novel based on a true story that also reveals a real mystery about a town and its secrets.

I think it’s wonderful that readers and reviewers seem to enjoy Saving Babe Ruth even though they appear unaware that this dimension exists.

4. Are you a baseball fan?  If so, what level of the sport and/or teams do you follow?  If you are not a fan, then why baseball as a subject?

These days, I’m more of a fan of the sport as opposed to any particular team, though I’ve always been a Yankees fan. While I like to watch a good baseball game, my interest in baseball goes beyond the game today and extends to the history of the baseball dating back to its origins. Baseball is so much a part of our heritage. I find it fascinating to see what was going on with baseball at any particular moment in our history.

5.    Are you currently working on any other projects and are there any other books that will soon come out?   Feel free to shamelessly plug your works here!  

I have some projects in the early stages, but I want to spread the underlying message of Saving Babe Ruth first and foremost. Baseball should be available to every town and city across the country. All kids, regardless of their race, religion, sex, background, or skill level should have the opportunity to play.            

Links

http://www.tomswyers.com/saving-babe-ruth/

http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Babe-Ruth-Tom-Swyers/dp/1941440002/