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/

Two for the price of one - short reviews of "Why We Swim" and "Mendoza's Heroes"

 This post is a deviation from my usual complete post as I have recently read two books that were not submissions for reviews - one was for an online non-fiction book club and one that I just wanted to try for something different and light.  Both of them were okay - three star reads and since they were not submitted to me for review, I decided to post a short, one paragraph review for each one.  They are listed below:

"Why We Swim" by Bonnie Tsui

This was an okay book. While I didn’t mind the writing style and felt it was more of a memoir, I just had a hard time picturing the author as a swimmer first with these amazing stories - instead I found myself thinking this is a journalist who happens to swim. Even if that is the wrong impression, it was how I felt when reading the book and as a result the stories lost some luster.  Even some of the more interesting stories that did grab my attention such as the swimming story from a service member in Iraq, did not seem to have the same luster for me that it did for other readers.  Maybe that doesn’t make sense to some, but that’s just how I felt - not a book I could connect with.  But the work is commendable and many readers have written glowing praise for it - I give it three stars out of five.  "Mendoza's Heroes: Fifty Batters Below .200" by Al Pepper Overall, this is a decent book that provides a short biography or at least career highlights of 50 major league players whose career batting average was below .200, commonly referred to as the "Mendoza line", which was made popular by broadcasters and named for former infielder Mario Mendoza, who spent nine years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers hitting right around that magic figure. It should be noted that he finished his career above that threshold at .215.  As for the book, some of the stories are great, especially when Pepper writes about players who failed to get above .200 in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Finding that information took a good deal of research, but after those chapters, the book felt more like an encyclopedia instead of good reading.  That includes the sections on the status of the game during the time frame when again, the early chapters were good, but not as good as the book progresses.  It merits a three star rating out of five.

Review of "Off Speed"

Thanks to including audio books on my reading/listening list, I accomplished a rare feat - finishing three books in three days.  This last of the three was a decent collection of stories set against the backdrop of a perfect game.  It is probably better to read this one in the hardcover or on an e-reader than to listen to the book, despite having an excellent narrator. Here is my review of "Off Speed"

Title/Author:

“Off Speed: Pitching, Baseball and the Art of Deception” by Terry McDermott, narrated by Joe Barrett

Tags:

Baseball, professional, Mariners, memoir, audiobook

Publish date:

May 16, 2017

Length:

224 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Pitching has changed much over the history of the game of baseball.  From tossing the ball slowly so that the batter can easily hit it to pitchers who can throw the ball over 100 miles per hour and make it curve in violent changes of direction, pitching has evolved.  The balls that change direction usually travel slower than the fastball and hence are called “off speed” pitches. This book by Terry McDermott and narrated by Joe Barret takes a look at these off speed pitches.

Some of the pitches are widely used today, such as a slider or a change-up, and some are no longer used for various reasons, such as a screwball.  Whether or not they are used, McDermott writes about nine different off speed pitches, one for each inning of the game that is used for the background of the story.  That game happens to be the perfect game thrown by Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez in the 2012 season. 

McDermott also talks about his Mariners fandom, his lack of ability to play the game and some other baseball stories that are entertaining (my favorite was attempting to dry a wet baseball field) and intertwined throughout the book.  While these stories were mostly good, I found them a distraction to the theme of the book, namely learning about the off speed pitches and the progress of Hernandez’s masterpiece.  This may read better in a hardcopy or e-book format, but as an audiobook, I found the skipping between stories and information distracting. 

One good part of the audiobook was the narration of Joe Barrett. The stories as he read them came across as interruptions, although this was much like listening to a baseball game on the radio.  His voice made him sound like he was a baseball broadcaster.

Overall, this book is a decent one for baseball fans who want to learn a little more about off speed pitches or just want to hear some good baseball tales.  If this took one of these themes or the other, I believe it would have the possibility to be a great book.  Structured as is, it is okay and worth the time needed to listen or read.

Book Format Read:

Audio book

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Off-Speed-Baseball-Pitching-Deception/dp/0307741982/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/off-speed-terry-mcdermott/1116864194?ean=9780307741981

Review of "Home Game"

Happy Memorial Day to all who are observing the holiday weekend in the United States. Don't forget to take some time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy this holiday weekend.

I picked up this book in the hopes of learning more about baseball's first family, the Boones. They were the first family to have three generations of big league players and while the book was mostly about the third generation, it was still a good read.  Here is my review of "Home Game."

Title/Author:

“Home Game: Big-League Stories from My Life in Baseball’s First Family” by Bret Boone and Kevin Cook

Tags:

Baseball, memoir, Mariners, Reds, Braves

Publish date:

May 10, 2016

Length:

272 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Bret Boone made history when he was called up to the Major Leagues by the Seattle Mariners in the 1992 season.  His grandfather Ray Boone and his father Bob Boone also played in the Major Leagues, so his call-up made the Boones the first family to have three generations of players in the Major Leagues.  Bret shares his stories of his trip through the major leagues, some family memories and his life after playing baseball in this memoir.

It reads much like a typical sports memoir with early childhood memories, the adventures of high school, college and minor league baseball on the way to the majors, insight into the life of a major league player and what he has done after he had to make the painful decision that he could no longer play the game.  That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if a reader is looking to find out more information on this family that has produced three generations of big leaguers, it doesn’t contain a lot of stories on Ray or Bob Boone. There are a few, mainly what was passed down to Bret, but from the title, one might expect more about father and grandfather.

Instead, there is a lot of information about Bret that he shares. The style of writing is also typical of a sports memoir, complete with jock talk, some locker room hijinks and a lot of the confidence that Bret had in his quest to make it to the major leagues.  This isn’t to say that there is not much information on the family – in fact, one of my favorite lines comes when his younger brother Aaron is also called up to the majors, saying that in June 1997, “…the Reds promoted a skinny punk of a backup infielder, Aaron Boone, from Triple A to the majors.”  Sounds like some loving brotherly talk.

The book also sheds some insight from Bret Boone’s point of view about the rising use of statistical analysis in the game, performance enhancing drugs, the 1994 strike that wiped out that year’s World Series (Bret was very active in the player’s union) and some other historical moments.  One of the better baseball chapters was when he recalled the 2001 season for the Seattle Mariners.  He was a member of that team who set the current record for most wins during the regular season at 116.

Overall, this is a fun book to read and I admit I did try to find a reason not to enjoy it when I realized that it would be mostly about Bret and not very much about his father and grandfather.  Nonetheless, I did finish it and I am glad I did.  Recommended for readers who enjoy sports memoirs.

I wish to thank Crown Publishing 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/Home-Game-Big-League-Stories-Baseballs-ebook/dp/B013ZNNX9I?ie=UTF8&keywords=home%20game&qid=1464452615&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/home-game-bret-boone/1123309258?ean=9781101904909