Review of “Joe Black: More than a Dodger”

I belong to the baseball book club on Goodreads and each season after the World Series ends, we choose a book on the winning team as a group read. This book was our selection after the Dodgers won this year’s fall classic. Here is my review of “Joe Black.”

Title: “Joe Black: More Than a Dodger” by Martha Jo Black and Chuck Schnoffner

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: 

Say the name Joe Black today to most baseball fans and the response you most likely will get is “Who’s that?” But that wouldn’t be the case back in 1952 when as a rookie he almost single-handedly pitched the Brooklyn Dodgers to the 1952 National League pennant. This book by Black’s daughter Martha Jo and Chuck Schoffner tells of that special season and why it meant so much to the young pitcher.

The book as a whole is pretty standard fare as a biography for a Black baseball player in the early 1950’s. The color barrier had just been broken by Jackie Robison and by 1952, enough Black players were playing in Major League Baseball that the talent level and interest in the Negro Leagues was waning. Having gotten his crack at professional baseball in the Negro Leagues, Black was able to overcome the significant barriers he and his fellow Black players encountered to eventually pitch in the Major Leagues. Unfortunately, he never regained the magic of his 1952 season, gradually getting worse, and was eventually released by the Dodgers in 1957. He did sign with the Washington Senators for 1958 but pitched very poorly for them as that was his last season.

While reading about his baseball career was okay, I liked the chapters on his life outside of baseball better, especially his success first as a teacher and then as an executive for Greyhound Bus. He followed his mother’s advice and made sure to complete his education which paid off for him as it was unusual for baseball players in that era to have a college degree. It also contributed to another chapter in his post-pitching career that I enjoyed reading about. 

Black was hired by MLB to guide players to be successful after baseball, but he grew increasingly frustrated by the lack of attention to this and caring about the history of the game for Black players. This was profoundly illustrated when it was written that future white Hall of Fame players like Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux wanted to talk to Black about topics like the Negro Leagues while a Black player like Vince Coleman had no idea who Jackie Robinson was. Frankly, that is very sad. 

While the book didn’t have much of a “wow” factor for me as far as the baseball goes, it was nonetheless very interesting to read about Black’s life away from the diamond and it makes the title to be a very apt one for describing the man’s life. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Black-More-than-Dodger/dp/0897337530/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3L0E3FQZ7OA61&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.k1EqE-mL-VZaiODe_OB0mtguH9sHtm5jfVj5pMhoxkaSVjWtiuKTlFgTbGcBpbS4u4I_-byDlLNeyt_FWzS9q_c0y-qW2lKSstBmvN_ygZHWsmWB3s7JNuvk-5oDxOIVLMueYb8MoCVpqxsc6xqrxo8bVJUGQz7LTGP47CypGgmDjAgNHWw8eXpC6N9vagtFWFUDAmpPIZrppyASOsqhBh-vxo4U0NUBdXSdVD9DPN8.OeIw0BRfO41-LBAKK26a9ZDyDYXEUxsnw9NjLVO1Uh4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Joe+black+more&qid=1731114034&sprefix=joe+black+more+%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1 

Review of “Team of Destiny”

As a fan of the Minnesota Twins, of course I will read any book about their time as the Washington Senators. This is an upcoming book on the anniversary of their only championship in Washington. Here is my review of “Team of Destiny.” 

Title/Author:

“Team of Destiny: Walter Johnson, Clark Griffith, Bucky Harris and the 1924 Washington Senators” by Gary Sarnoff

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: 2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of the only World Series championship by the Washington Senators. To commemorate this anniversary, Gary Sarnoff compiled this comprehensive recap of the special season in which rookie manager Bucky Harris became the youngest manager to win the World Series at age 27. This is a record that still stands today.

The book starts off with the end of the 1923 season as the Senators finished 4th in the American League. It was an improvement but owner Clark Griffith was not satisfied and he felt a change was needed at the manager spot. After several considerations he contacted his second baseman Bucky Harris and asked how he felt about handling managerial duties as well as playing regularly at second base. Harris accepted the challenge in his calm and unassuming manner. This is a characteristic of Harris that is evident throughout the book, especially when reading his quotes given to the press.

This section of the book, and the celebration by not only the team but the entire city of Washington DC after the World Series are the best parts of the book. The reader will certainly feel the joy that the city has after their baseball team brought home the championship. It is also interesting to read the tidbits during the World Series when President Calvin Coolidge is attending the game. This is mainly due to the rabid fandom of Mrs. Coolidge as Sarnoff lets the reader know about her enthusiasm while cheering for the team. 

The bulk of the book, from the first spring training game to the last out of game 7 of the World Series against the New York Giants, is a detailed account of every game. For the absolute baseball junkie this is great material, but it feels like it drags. Just like the players, I felt I was reaching the “dog days” of the book by the time August rolled around. It read like a narrative of baseball-reference.com accounts of the game. Although to be fair, there were sprinklings of interesting anecdotes about various players, especially the stars of the team. These included Hall of Famers Sam Rice, Goose Goslin and Walter Johnson. The reader will feel the same joy as Johnson did when he became the winning pitcher as Muddy Ruel scored the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. This section of the book is the part where I was most grateful for the deep detail of game action.

Overall, I felt this was a decent book on the magical 1924 season for the Senators. While it does seem to go slow at times, that matches the grind of any baseball season. As a fan of the Minnesota Twins, I always enjoy reading anything about the franchise’s days in Washington so this account of their most successful season during that era was one I was glad to read. 

I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link:https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538182352/Team-of-Destiny-Walter-Johnson-Clark-Griffith-Bucky-Harris-and-the-1924-Washington-Senators 

Review of "Stumbling Around the Bases"

Some people consider themselves political junkies.  I place myself in that category if the politics are those inside baseball and this book is one that any "junkie" like me should pick up.  Here is my review of "Stumbling Around the Bases."

 

Title/Author: “Stumbling Around the Bases: The American League’s Mismanagement in the Expansion Eras ” by Andy McCue

Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  For a significant portion of the latter half of the 20^th Century, the National League was considered the superior of the two leagues in Major League Baseball.  This was due not only because of the play on the field or the faster pace of racial integration in that league, but also because of its actions taken when its franchises would relocate or be added.  This book by Andy McCue concentrates mainly on the American League on that latter topic and explains why, due to its own missteps, why it was considered to be league that reacts instead of leads.

When the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated to Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively in 1958, the National League realized the market for baseball on the West Coast was untapped and wanted to take advantage of this. Seeing how attendance was boosted significantly for the two franchises, the American League also wanted in on West Coast business.  However, as McCue expertly describes, the owners couldn’t agree on a well-researched and reviewed plan and instead hurriedly decided to expand in 1961 to Los Angeles (where their team, the Angels, had to agree to conditions set by the Dodgers) and in Washington, D.C. 

The latter site was chosen only because the American League feared that Congress would take away from baseball the exemption for anti-trust laws after owner Calvin Griffith moved the Washington Senators to Minnesota to start the 1961 season.  This expansion plan, panned by many observers, only set the stage for even more blunders by American League ownership and McCue doesn’t leave many individuals unscathed in his account of these transactions.

Among those who McCue profile to show how the American League executives were not exactly experts at vetting who would become owners are two men who became enemies of the fraternity. One was Charles O. Finley who purchased the Kansas City Athletics and moved them to Oakland (again, going to a West Coast territory already with a National League). The second was Bob Short, who during the 1960’s purchased the expansion Washington Senators team and ended up moving them to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, becoming the Texas Rangers.  Finley and Short, as well as the sale of the New York Yankees to CBS, are all cited as examples of American League ineptitude as well as the tale of Seattle.

Seattle’s part of American League mishandling of expansion and markets is a very interesting story. The Seattle Pilots were one of two expansion teams in 1969 along with the Kansas City Royals (another team that was provided to a market because of fear of retaliation after the city lost the Athletics) but it was clear that the ownership group did not have the funds and backing necessary to run a major league team, nor was there a stadium up to major league standards.  A well-known story but one that is worth mentioning was that fans who had tickets in the left field bleachers had to wait for the paint to dry on the benches in their seating location.  The Pilots ended up in Milwaukee just days before the 1970 season opened and Seattle got its replacement team (see a pattern here?) in 1977 when the Mariners began play in the new Kingdome.

There is a lot of information told in this compact book of approximately 200 pages and that includes the footnotes and references.  This shows the crisp writing and excellent research into these issues that McCue has done.  Readers who enjoy books on the business side of the game and its politics will enjoy this one immensely.  Some of the information may be known from other larger sources, but it will be hard to find another book that tells of the infamy of the American League brass in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link:  Stumbling around the Bases: The American League’s Mismanagement in the Expansion Eras: McCue, Andy: 9781496207036: Books (amazon.com)

Review of "Walter Johnson"

 As a Minnesota Twins fan, I am also very interested in books about their time as the Washington Senators. Since the best pitcher in franchise history played during that time, I was very interested in this biography of Walter Johnson and it was terrific.  Here is my review:

Title/Author: “Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train” by Henry W. Thomas, narrated by Ian Esmo

Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  At the time of his retirement in 1927, Walter Johnson was considered by some to be the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball to that point.  Today, nearly 100 years later, he is still considered to be an all-time great despite pitching for mostly losing teams in Washington.  Henry Thomas' biography of Johnson can be considered to be in that same lofty conversation - nearly 25 years after its publication, it should still be considered among the better baseball biographies. 

Every aspect of Johnson's life is covered in great detail and will never come across as "ordinary" or one that a reader will want to skim or skip entirely.  Thomas writes with as much passion about Johnson the man as he does about Johnson the pitcher.  Johnson's childhood and life after baseball was mainly on the farm and he enjoyed that lifestyle - it is said often how much he enjoyed being outdoors.  He was also a very devoted family man to his children and his wife Hazel and he received a lot of praise for his clean living.

That praise was matched by the accolades he received for his pitching as despite pitching for a mostly poor Washington Senators team, Johnson was able to accumulate 417 wins, 3509 strikeouts and an ERA+ of an astounding 147 (100 is considered an average major league pitcher).  While most of his time with the losing Senators is written in mostly positive terms in this book, Thomas' best baseball writing in the book coincides with the two best seasons for the Senators during the Big Train's career when the Nationals (which is the name used for Washington most of the time during that era and is used by Thomas) won the World Series over the New York Giants in 1924 and came within an inning of defending that title against the Pittsburgh Pirates the next year.  Even though Johnson was clearly on the downhill side of his career, it was also very clear he was first in agony in the 1924 World Series when he lost the first game but elated when he came in and pitched game 7 in relief and was the winning pitcher.  This part of the book is the perfect example of how good the writing is throughout. 

The narration in the audio version by Ian Esmo is just as good as the writing as he not only makes the play-by-play sections very exciting but a listener will enjoy the many stories and articles sprinkled in the text by some of the better sportswriters of the time such as Grantland Rice and Damon Runyan.  For this reviewer, it enhanced the writing about Johnson as well.  But whether one wants to read or listen, any baseball fan who wants to learn more about this legendary pitcher should add this to their collection

Link:  Amazon.com: Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train: 9780964543904: Henry W. Thomas, Shirley Povich: Books

Review of "A Whole New Ballgame"

There is a lot of baseball buzz in Washington right now with the Nationals playing in the World Series for the first time in franchise history and the first time for any Washington team since 1933.  However, there was some baseball excitement created 50 years ago by the second Washington baseball team and that is the story behind this excellent book.  Here is my review of "A Whole New Ballgame."

Title/Author:

“A Whole New Ballgame: The 1969 Washington Senators 50^th Anniversary Edition” by Stephen J. Walker

Tags:

Baseball, professional, history, Senators

Publish date:

April 15, 2019

Length:

257 pages

Rating: to

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Until the 2019 season, baseball in Washington D.C. has had a dreadful history. The current team is the third Major League team to call Washington home, and this excellent book by Stephen J. Walker chronicles the only winning season for the second team in Washington called the Senators during its 10-year stay before becoming the Texas Rangers in 1972.

That Senators team was an expansion team that began play in 1961 to replace the team, an original American League franchise, which moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.  This second team was even more dreadful than the first one (who had only one championship season, 1924) and helped keep alive the phrase made popular by the original team "Washington – first in war, first in peace and last in the American League."

When businessman Bob Short (ironically, from Minneapolis) bought the struggling franchise, he got an idea that was inspired by the city's football team, the Redskins.  When they hired legendary coach Vince Lombardi and interest in the Redskins increased, Short thought the same could happen for his baseball franchise.  So, in a surprise move, he coaxed legendary Red Sox hitter Ted Williams to be the manager of the Senators for the 1969 season.

This did more than just sell tickets. The Senators still had pretty much the same team as 1968, yet they improved to record 84 wins which gave hope to the pennant-starved fans in the nation's capital. However, those players, almost to a man, gave credit to Williams for not only learning how to better themselves as ballplayers but also to believe in themselves.  The book tells these recollections and stories told by so many players, such as catcher Jim French, pitcher Dave Baldwin and outfielder Bernie Allen.  These are not the typical stories one reads in a newspaper or book that is pieced together from various sources.  These came from the players themselves through numerous interviews and the reader will immediately be able to tell that these stories are genuine and from the hearts of these men.

Of course, the few star players on the Senators such as Frank Howard and Mike Epstein are told as well, but because Walker devoted a lot of space for the not-so-well-known players, the book has an everyman feel to it and because of this, many readers will connect with the players that gave Washington a summer to remember. 

                                                                   

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Ballgame-Washington-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B07QS1TFD4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Roy Sievers"

It is not uncommon for me at the end of the year to find books that were sent to me awhile ago but never were read or reviewed.  So, with apologies to the publisher hoping that they agree with me that it's better to write a late review than to not review a book at all, here is my review of "Roy Sievers"

 

Title/Author:

“Roy Sievers: ‘The Sweetest Right Handed Swing’ in 1950’s Baseball” by Paul Scimonelli

Tags:

Baseball, professional, biography, Senators, Browns,             White Sox, Phillies

Publish date:

November 30, 2017

Length:

220 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (good)

Review:

Unless a person is an avid fan of baseball in the 1950’s, chances are he or she has not heard about Roy Sievers.  He enjoyed a productive hitting career playing mostly on losing teams, most notably the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.  It was for the latter team where author Paul Scimonelli became a fan of Sievers and was the inspiration for this biography.

Drawing off memories, numerous interviews of former teammates and even with Sievers himself, the reader will learn much about Sievers’ career, both the highs and the lows.  While Sievers never led the American League in major offensive categories, he was often compared to some of the other stars of that era such as Mickey Mantle and Eddie Matthews.  Of course, playing for second division teams didn’t help him gain attention from most fans, but his offensive prowess was well-respected throughout the game. The interviews with other players and people involved in the game illustrated this.

It should also be noted that Sievers had injuries that threatened his career, most notably a severe shoulder injury that impaired his ability to throw from third base (his natural position) or the outfield.  By overcoming these setbacks to become one of the most respected players in the game says much about the character of Sievers as well as his ability.

The book an easy, fast paced read that at times jumps around from topic to topic but is a very good source of information for the state of the sport in the 1950’s. Aside from Sievers, no topic is explained in great detail, but does explain the point well enough that a reader who wants to learn more will have his or her interest piqued.  Recommended for fans of baseball in that decade.

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

Book Format Read:

Paperback

Buying Links:

www.mcfarlandpub.com – 800-253-2187

https://www.amazon.com/Roy-Sievers-Sweetest-Handed-Baseball/dp/1476668698/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=