Review of "Baseball's Outcast"

While the past week was quite busy for me, the snowstorm that is gripping much of the nation has helped me catch up on reading and writing reviews.  To start the recovery of reviews, here's one on former MLB star Ron LeFlore. 

Title/Author:

“Baseball’s Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore” by Adam Henig

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: 

While every professional athlete, no matter their background, has an interesting story to share about the rise to becoming one of the best at their profession, former Major League Baseball player Ron LaFlore had a very different path to get to that point.  His story of going from a convicted criminal serving time in prison to becoming an All-Star outfielder is covered in this book by Adam Henig.

LaFlore grew up in a poverty-stricken, mostly Black area of Detroit.  Succumbing to life on the streets, he took to committing various crimes to obtain money.  During an armed robbery, he was arrested and sentenced to serve time at Jackson State prison.  While I was certainly interested in LaFlore’s baseball career, I found this section of the book to be the best as Henig did a masterful job of describing LaFlore’s life in prison, his change in behavior from rebellious to model prisoner due to athletics and the ways he developed his skills in baseball, a sport he never played before suiting up for the prison team.

A scout from the Detroit Tigers discovered LeFlore through connections and he was granted a 48 hour pass to attend a tryout at Tiger Stadium.  While still fairly raw with his fielding and hitting, it was LaFlore’s speed that eventually earned him a contract with the Tigers and more importantly, an early release from prison.

From there, the book is mainly about his baseball career, where he became an all-star with the Tigers during the 1976 – 78 seasons, led the American League twice in stolen bases and was a fan favorite. He teamed up with a local sportswriter to pen an autobiography, which became a best-seller and also was made into a made-for-TV movie that starred LeVarr Burton playing LaFlore.  Henig’s writing was also very good here, including when he injected aspects of LaFlore’s personal life that not only affected LaFlore’s performance on the field, but also his standing with teammates and the Tigers’ front office. 

That led to a trade to the Montreal Expos, where he led the National League in stolen bases, becoming the first major league to accomplish the feat in both leagues.  However, again due to difficulties with getting along with teammates and the front office, the Expos released him after just one season, 1980.  After that, he tried to catch on with the Chicago White Sox, but that didn’t end up well either. 

Here is where the book turns into simply a brief summary of his life after baseball, save for one incident where he and his wife were invited to a reception for former players in Detroit, only to have several issues such as the lack of a hotel reservation make it more difficult.  I found this to be quite an abrupt end to the book after all the great detail about his life before and during baseball.

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

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Baseballs-Outcast-Story-Ron-LeFlore/dp/1538194953/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

Review of "Schoolboy"

Even though I read a lot about baseball in the early and mid 20th century, I had never heard of Waite "Schoolboy" Hoyt until obtaining this book.  Learned a lot about his life and some about his baseball career.

Title/Author:

“Schoolboy: The Untold Journey of a Yankees Hero” by Waite Hoyt with Tim Manners

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (Okay)

Review: This is a unique memoir in that the subject of the book died before the book was actually assembled.  Tim Manners took many clippings and notes from former major league pitcher Waite Hoyt and put them together in a manner that reads like a memoir by Hoyt.  Manners deserves a lot of credit for pulling off this project as it does describe Hoyt’s life completely in the first-person narrative.

Maybe it is because of this formatting that while the book mostly describes Hoyt’s life in chronological order, I found it a slog to get through the pages.  Knowing that Hoyt was an important member of one of the greatest baseball teams in history, the 1927 New York Yankees, I expected more about his baseball career and that team.  The parts that do describe any part of his time with that team are mostly about his interactions with teammates, especially Babe Ruth.  However, one of the more interesting parts of the entire book did involve a member of that team, but well after both men had left the Yankees.  When Hoyt was trying to get back into baseball shape one winter, he decided to do so at a local skating rink.  Who did he see at the rink who was also skating as part of his conditioning?  None other than Lou Gehrig!

The encounter with Gehrig, which covers an entire chapter, is an example of how the book reads – some baseball, but mostly topics that are important to Hoyt’s life but are not really part of the game.  There are very interesting events that would not have occurred in Hoyt’s life had he not been a ball player such as meeting Al Capone, but if one is looking for a book on Hoyt’s baseball career, this doesn’t delve into that very deeply.  That is surprising for a memoir, and at times the book does feel tedious to read, but it still deserves some praise just for putting together Hoyt’s complete story.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska for providing a review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Schoolboy: The Untold Journey of a Yankees Hero: 9781496236791: Hoyt, Waite, Manners, Tim, Costas, Bob: Books

Review of "Comeback Pitchers"

When I obtained this book, I had to admit that I knew very little about the two pitchers who are the subjects.  One, I vaguely remembered reading about in a children's baseball book and the other I thought I remembered hearing when one of his records was broken 10 years ago.  Turned out what I remembered about them was correct, and by reading this book, I learned a lot more about both men and their pitching careers.  Here is my review of "Comeback Pitchers." 

Title/Author: “Comeback Pitchers: The Remarkable Careers of Howard Ehmke and Jack Quinn” by Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  Athletes in every sport will hear from others that when their performance or their health is slipping that it is time to give up the sport.  For two pitchers whose best years came in the 1920’s, Howard Ehmke and Jack Quinn, they were no different.  However, what was different is how at an advanced age for a pitcher they both were able to not only lengthen their baseball careers, but also perform at a high level.  Their careers and stories are chronicled in this excellent book by Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg.

There are some similarities in their careers.  They both played in the Federal League, a third major league that lasted only three years, 1913-15.  It was Ehmke’s breakthrough after much success in the minor leagues, while for Quinn it was a chance to make more money when he felt that his current team, the Boston Braves, were not giving him enough chances to pitch. They were also teammates for two and a half seasons on the Boston Red Sox (who were not a good team at the time) and later for the Philadelphia Athletics under Connie Mack.

It was here that Ehmke acquired the fame that he was long remembered for – in 1929, he was a “surprise” starter for the Athletics in Game One of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs.  The chapter on this game and the actual events and conversations that led up to the game is one example of the excellence of this book. Spatz and Steinberg dispel many myths about the game, starting with the “surprise” announcement of Ehmke as the starter.  He and Mack had actually worked out an agreement in which while it wasn’t certain that Ehmke would start game one, he was certainly going to be part of the A’s World Series team and contribute.  There are numerous quotes and sources about Ehmke’s start that support the notion that it was not a complete surprise to many in baseball.

This, of course, is not all that is written about Ehmke in the book as the authors included such items as Ehmke’s frequent clashes with Ty Cobb when Ehmke pitched for the Tigers, Ehmke’s very good performance for a terrible Red Sox team and his elation that despite all the health issues he suffered, he was able to be on a championship team in 1929. 

Similar extensive writing and research was done on Quinn as well, but his fame was due more to his longevity instead of any one particular accomplishment. There are three noteworthy records he held for a long time because of his longevity.  One that still stands is that he was only one of three pitchers to appear in a game at age 50 or older.  The other two have since been broken – the oldest player to hit a home run (broken by Julio Franco in 2016) and oldest pitcher to win a game (broken by Jamie Moyer in 2012).  Quinn’s career is covered just as extensively as Ehmke in the book, with detailed pages on his success with many different teams.  It should also be noted that Quinn was one of the last spitball pitchers as those pitchers who used it as their primary pitch were allowed to continue using it after it was banned in Major League baseball in 1920.  That meant he was still throwing the spitter for another 13 years. 

While neither pitcher was ever considered outstanding or had a career that would be considered for the baseball Hall of Fame, this book is one that certainly could be considered to be in that lofty status of baseball books, it was that good.  Because of the detail, it is not one that will be read quickly, but it is so through that a reader will feel like they will now be an expert on the careers of Howard Ehmke and Jack Quinn, two pitchers who certainly can be considered as “comeback pitchers.”

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

Links:  Amazon.com: Comeback Pitchers: The Remarkable Careers of Howard Ehmke and Jack Quinn: 9781496222022: Spatz, Lyle, Steinberg, Steve, Williams, Pat: Books

Review of "The Chalmers Race"

A new year usually means organizing and looking to see what to keep and what has been just laying around - including books.  This is a book I had been provided by the publisher some time ago, so it became my first piece in my organizing for 2022.  Here is my review of the 2014 book "The Chalmers Race"

 

Title/Author: "The Chalmers Race: Ty Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie and the Controversial 1910 Batting Title That Became a National Obsession" by Rick Huhn

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (good)

Review: One of the closest, and most controversial, baseball batting titles took place in 1910 when two future Hall of Fame hitters, Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers and Napoleon Lajoie of the Cleveland Naps (later Indians, now Guardians) battled for the title down to the last day of the season when Lajoie, thanks to some help by the St. Louis Browns, collected eight hits in a double header to edge out Cobb for the title – or so it appeared.  The stories of these two men as well as others and the craziness of the entire episode is captured in this well-researched and detailed book by Rick Hahn.

The title is so stated because 1910 was the first year in which the hitting leader in each major league would be awarded a new automobile from the Chalmers Motor Company, a generous offer by Hugh Chalmers who saw the tremendous advertising potential by donating a car to the winner.  The book starts off with short biographies of Chalmers, Cobb and Lajoie, followed by how both of the players fared for most of the 1910 season.  This part of the book is informative and very detailed, requiring careful reading to fully understand the complexities of all three men.

Once the final week of the 1910 season comes, which is about a third of the way through the book, that is when things get more interesting and Hahn's attention to detail really assist the reader in gaining a clear picture of not only what happened on the field, especially in that St. Louis-Cleveland doubleheader but also why Cobb really took the last two days off instead of playing.  He was accused of doing so in order to not lose the title to Lajoie, but that was not what he or anyone else was stating.  While that was part of the interest and controversy, that was minor compared to Lajoie.

Hahn here does his best work in the book, taking the reader to the field that day when the Browns let Lajoie bunt down the third base line as the rookie third baseman played deep on each at bat so that Lajoie would easily reach base on a base hit.  Immediately it was questioned if Lajoie, the Browns players or their manager Jack O'Connor, were part of a plan to make sure that Lajoie won the Chalmers.  There was also some bad history between O'Connor and Cobb (something both men denied) that fueled this speculation. 

More good writing is done when the final determination after gathering all official scorekeeper sheets is done when American League President Ban Johnson, who at the time was considered the most powerful man in baseball, declared Cobb the winner of the title.  That didn't end the controversy, however, and it lasted well into 1912, when O'Connor sued the Browns over his dismissal following the 1910 season when he contended that his contract stated he would have the job in 1911 as well. Some felt he was fired because of the Cobb-Lajoie batting race controversy, and the court case did nothing to dispel that even though the judge ruled in O'Connor's favor. 

Hahn finishes the book by showing that this was not the only time at batting title ended in controversy, most notably the 1976 American League title won by George Brett of Kansas City over teammate Hal McRae, who claimed that racism played a factor in that title.  There was also a study in 1981 by the Sporting News that questioned some of the calculations and concluded that Lajoie was indeed the batting title champion.  However, this again was never fully concluded and today, more than a century later, the 1910 American League batting championship is still cloudy.  Also, it should be noted that thanks to the generosity of Hugh Chalmers and his wish to put any controversy aside that would tarnish his or his company's name, both players received automobiles.

A book that illustrates not only the batting title but the state of baseball in the early twentieth century, this is a book that requires careful reading but will leave the reader much more knowledgeable about the entire controversy.

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

Links: The Chalmers Race : Nebraska Press (unl.edu)

Review of "Undone"

Every now and then, it's good to pick up a fictional book to cleanse the reading palate before diving back into the non-fiction books on the TBR mountain.  This was one I discovered in the Goodreads baseball book group when the author plugged the book (in the proper area of the group page).  I decided to give it a try since it was available on Kindle Unlimited and boy, it exceeded all expectations.  Here is my review of "Undone"

Title/Author: "Undone" by Phil Warner

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: When a promising young shortstop for the Detroit Tigers is found dead at the scene of a one vehicle auto accident, it didn't appear that foul play may have been involved.  However, thanks to the inquisitive mind of the officer on the scene and the detective later assigned to the case, it does involve much more and the result is this terrific murder mystery with a baseball connection by author Phil Warner.

When Officer Roberta Hodges discovers the crash scene and realizes that the dead driver is Tigers rookie shortstop David Stone, something tells her that despite the appearance, there is more to the story than a tragic accident or a suicide.  Told through three different narrators – Officer Hodges, long-time Tigers star Jimmy Grayson and Detective Finn Gaines – the story is riveting with just enough twists that keeps a reader captivated but not confused with too many turns and characters.

Baseball fans will love the plentiful amount of baseball in the story, especially during Grayson's dialogue as he talks about his play on the field, what he thinks of Stone's play, the coaching he does from watching televised games during his injury rehab and even brief talk about performance enhancing drugs.  There isn't a lot of on-field action as the most text there is during a game is when Grayson suffers his injury during an intrasquad game when Stone lands on Grayson's leg when the latter was sliding to break up a double play.

If one is not into baseball, there is still plenty to enjoy about this book.  For those who have not been to Detroit, there are many references to some of the city's landmarks and other attractions.  For those that are familiar with the city, they will enjoy the hometown feeling. The pace of the story is excellent and the descriptions of the ongoing investigation is an excellent mix of the familiar (at least fans of police television shows, movies or stories) and the not-so-familiar.  The dialogue is crisp and very believable and the ending does not disappoint.  In short, this book has everything a good murder mystery story should have with plenty of baseball thrown in to attract fans of the sport, no matter their level of interest.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Undone-Phil-Warner-ebook/dp/B091G15Q8T/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20NZ67I8NV5HH&dchild=1&keywords=undone+phil+warner&qid=1628276183&sprefix=undone+phil%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1

 

Review of "City of Champions"

When I picked up this book from the publisher, I expected a collection of stories from the championships for Detroit teams.  It turned out to be something far different, and far better, than any type of book like that.  Here is my review of "City of Champions"

Title/Author:

“City of Champions: A History of Triumph and Defeat in Detroit" by Stefan Szymanski and Silke-Maria Weineck

Tags:

Baseball, football (American), basketball, ice hockey, boxing, Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, Pistons, race, social issues

Publish date:

October 13, 2020

Length:

416 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

Detroit has a very interesting and rich history, both in sports and in political, racial and social contexts. Some of it is very uplifting, some is very unflattering but all of it is worth discussing as these two authors do in this very informing and extensive book about the connection between the city's sports and its track record for various political and social issues.

The format of the book is the first clue that this will not be a typical sports book that mingles a few political or social issues into the discussion of what happened on the field and the athletes that accomplished those feats. The book goes in reverse chronological order, starting in 2017 with the opening of the new home for the Red Wings and Pistons and goes all the way back to the 18^th century when the city was settled.  Through each chapter the connection between a significant sporting event and the issues of the day in Detroit are covered completely and with impeccable research.

Selection of the events was a good cross between significant events in Detroit sports history. The Pistons' "Malice at the Palace" in 2004, the Lions' last playoff victory in 1970, the Tigers' 1945 pennant in the last year when "4Fs" were the majority of major league players and Joe Louis' victory over Max Schmeling in 1936 are just a few of the major sports events involving Detroit are covered.  They are complemented by events that shaped Detroit's image and explained how they tied in with the systemic racism and economic inequality that plagued the city.  The 1967 riots, the struggle for union workers despite the presence of a large union (that tied in nicely with a chapter on Red Wings' star Ted Lindsey) and the fate of the automobile industry are just a small sampling of those issues in which the research and writing are even better than the sports coverage.

For readers who want to get a good picture of how intertwined sports and social issues can be within a population, this is the best source for that kind of information that one can find. Whit it wasn't a topic for which I was seeking more material, it certainly was a book that I could call an education for history in both sports and the city of Detroit.

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

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/City-Champions-History-Triumph-Detroit/dp/1620974428/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/city-of-champions-stefan-szymanski/1136204408?ean=9781620974421

First review of 2020 - "Baseball Gods in Scandal"

Happy New Year to all my fellow sports book readers!  One resolution I am determined to keep this year is to catch up on reviews of books provided to me by authors or publishers but for one reason or another I never got around to doing.  This review is the first book in attempting to keep that resolution as it was sent to me soon after publication in the summer of 2019.  Here is my review of "Baseball Gods in Scandal"

Title/Author:

“Baseball Gods in Scandal: Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and the Dutch Leonard Affair” by Ian Kahanowitz

Tags:

Baseball, professional, Tigers, Indians, gambling

Publish date:

July 4, 2019

Length:

388 pages

Rating: to

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The late 1910's and 1920's was a trying time for professional baseball.  Caught up in several gambling scandals, the most famous being the Chicago White Sox throwing the 1919 World Series, the sport was well on its way to cleaning itself up thanks to the iron fist of its first commissioner, Kennesaw Mountain Landis.  However, in 1926 Landis received a letter from former pitcher Dutch Leonard about another gambling problem that season. That allegation, which involved two legendary players, is the subject of this interesting book by Ian Kahanowitz.

Late in the 1919 season, after the White Sox had already clinched the American League pennant and the Cleveland Indians were assured of finishing second, the Indians and Detroit Tigers played a mostly meaningless game.  "Mostly" is the key word here as the Tigers were in a fierce race for third place.  Finishing in the top three of the league was a big deal in those days as the top three teams received shares of the revenue generated from the World Series.  At the time, that was a significant amount of money given the player salaries.  Allegedly, the two biggest stars in that game, Ty Cobb of the Tigers and Tris Speaker of the Indians, were involved in a betting scheme to ensure the Tigers would win and finish third.  That was the subject of Leonard's letter and it set off a firestorm of controversy.

Of course, Cobb and Speaker denied having any involvement in any gambling. Their stories, as well as Leonard's and those of Landis, American League President Ban Johnson (whose feud and power struggle with Landis make for terrific reading) and Smokey Joe Wood, who also supposedly knew about this incident but had conflicting testimony, are captured in great detail by Kahanowitz.  At times, the writing is so detailed that a reader must read it carefully, almost like the transcript of a legal trial.  This review will not contain any spoilers, so one must read the book to know the outcome. 

However, reading the book is something that anyone interested in baseball during that era, or wants to learn more about the main characters mentioned above should do.  It will teach the reader a lot about this mostly forgotten but historic incident in baseball history.

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

                                          

Book Format Read:

E-book (PDF)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Gods-Scandal-Speaker-Leonard/dp/1938545877/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.summergamebooks.com/titles/history/baseball-gods-in-scandal-ty-cobb,-tris-speaker,-and-the-dutch-leonard-affair-detail

Review of "The 1967 American League Pennant Race"

With the championship run by the Boston Red Sox this fall, a baseball book club to which I belong wished to choose books on that team to read for the next discussion. While this book was not exclusively about the Red Sox, I immediately thought of the 1967 season when discussing the Red Sox.  This book talks about that thrilling race in great detail and is a very good read.  Here is my review of "The 1967 American League Pennant Race"

Title/Author:

“The 1967 American League Pennant Race: Four Teams, Six Weeks, One Winner” by Cameron Bright

Tags:

Baseball, history, championship, Red Sox, Twins, Tigers, White Sox

Publish date:

May 12, 2018

Length:

327 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)

Review:

One of the closest and craziest pennant races in baseball history occurred in 1967. Four teams in the American League – the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox – were tied for the lead with six weeks left to play. Each of these four teams, as well as the California Angels, who nearly made this a five team race, are dissected in this excellent book by Cameron Bright. Also, it should be noted that this is a book that covers these teams for the entire 1967 campaign, not just the exciting last month of that season

While the Red Sox chase to their “Impossible Dream” pennant has been the subject of numerous books and writings, they are merely one of four teams that Bright portrays in equal doses throughout the book. Unlike other volumes about the team led by Carl Yazstremski and Jim Lonborg, this book not only talks about the Triple Crown and leadership of Yazstremski (not a lot is written about his last month when he practically carried his team) and Lonborg’s courage in pitching so often, but it also exposes some of the flaws of the team such as their lack of speed and inconsistent play that kept the other three teams in the race. This is refreshing because if one looks at only the standings, the Red Sox had most of the same strengths and flaws of the other three teams.

Those other three teams are not only given equal space, but their strengths and flaws are covered in excellent detail as well.  The White Sox lived off their outstanding pitching staff, with Gary Peters leading the way. The hijinks of the grounds crew at White Sox park to keep the grass tall in the infield to help the pitching staff is well known.  But of course, the biggest story for the White Sox was their manager, Eddie Stanky, who was very outspoken about not only his team, but opposing teams as well.  His frankness as well as how he handled his team makes for great reading.

Coverage of the Tigers in the book is not quite so centric around one person or one aspect of the team, but nonetheless the reader will learn a lot about manager Mayo Smith and his team that was more balanced than the other three contenders, but fell short on the last day when they lost to the Angels.  As for the fourth team in the group, the Twins had chemistry issues and were the only team of the four that had a managerial change in the middle of the year. This was illustrated quite well in the book when the players were voting on their World Series shares and the players decided to NOT allow their fired manager Sam Mele to collect a share - that was later reversed, but the damage to their team chemistry was done. The other major weakness of the Twins, their infield defense, was also discussed in detail and overshadowed the excellent production from their batters and starting pitchers. 

Many of the games played between the four contenders are recapped as well, making the reader feel like he or she went to those games even though they took place over fifty years ago. Readers who were following the sport at that time will enjoy reading about a thrilling pennant race in which they probably recall where they were when the Red Sox defeated the Twins on the last day to win the pennant. For those readers too young to have witnessed any of these teams, this book will help them understand why that season is fondly remembered by Red Sox fans. 

Book Format Read:

E-Book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/1967-American-League-Pennant-Race-ebook/dp/B07D1S8LFV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-1967-american-league-pennant-race-cameron-bright/1127901814?ean=9781476632971

Review of "The Bird"

This book was one that was selected as a group read in an online baseball book club to which I belong.  While it has been around for a few years, the material in it will not grow old to those of us who remember Mark Fidrych and that summer of 1976 when he talked to the baseball, groomed the mound on his hands and knees and retired a lot of batters for the Detroit Tigers.  This is a very good biography of the man.

Title/Author:

“The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych” by Doug Wilson

Tags:

Baseball, professional, biography, Tigers

Publish date:

March 26, 2013

Length:

320 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)

Review:

During the 1976 season, there was one player who took the baseball world by storm.  He had a mop of curly hair under his Detroit Tigers cap, was nicknamed after a character on a children’s TV show, would talk to the baseball and smooth the dirt on the pitcher’s mound on his hands and knees.  Oh, yeah, he was a pretty good pitcher that year too, winning the American League Rookie of the Year award.

That pitcher was Mark Fidrych and his story is told in this biography by Doug Wilson. The book does and doesn’t read like many other biographies of baseball players. It does in that the format is chronological from his Little League and high school playing days, to professional success and then life after baseball.  It doesn’t follow the typical format in that there is much more on Fidrych on his life after baseball because his time in the major leagues was all too brief.

This latter part is really what stands out because it portrays Fidrych as genuine – what people saw in 1976 was not an act, but the true personality of “The Bird.”  Even when a celebrity has a certain persona on camera or on the field, but is a little different off it, that goes away when the celebrity is no longer in the spotlight.  Not Mark Fidrych. Two of the stories Wilson shares with readers bring this out and are why I believe this book captures Fidrych’s life after baseball better than most biographies.

One is when a prominent sportswriter visits Fidrych on his farm for a “where are they now” story.  Fidrych takes the writer around the farm and introduces him to every animal that is on the farm – whether it was chickens, pigs or goats, each one was introduced.  The other is when Wilson writes about Fidrych’s other occupation – hauling asphalt and other such goods on his self-owned truck to construction sites. Down-to-earth work that he enjoyed for a down-to-earth man.

Of course, the baseball player is not forgotten either and the reader will be whisked away back to 1976 when the entire country was caught up in watching Fidrych pitch. The hype was a little different at the time since there was no social media sites and the writing captures what it was like to know about Fidrych only through Monday Night Baseball and newspaper accounts. Then when Fidrych had arm troubles and current treatments and surgical procedures were not performed yet, the reader will sympathize with Fidrych as he struggles to regain the form that made him so good in that magical summer.

Written with a passion for the game, Wilson’s account of Fidrych’s life is one that any baseball fan will enjoy, especially if one remembers The Bird or was lucky enough to see Fidrych perform his magic.

Book Format Read:

Hardcover

Buying links:

https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Life-Legacy-Mark-Fidrych/dp/1250004926/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479653773&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bird+mark+fidrych

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bird-doug-wilson/1111306664?ean=9781250048455

Review of "Hairs vs. Squares"

This is a baseball book that I had been eagerly anticipating since I had noticed that it was listed in the University of Nebraska Press catalog.  When it came in the mail, I couldn't tear it out of the box fast enough.  Then when I started reading, it wasn't going as well as I liked - but in the end, it was as good as I had hoped.  Here is my review of "Hairs vs. Squares."

Title/Author:

“Hairs Vs. Squares: The Mustache Gang, the Big Red Machine and the Tumultuous Summer of ‘72” by Ed Gruver

Tags:

Baseball, history, Athletics, Reds, Pirates, Tigers

Publish date:

May 1, 2016

Length:

408 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

1972 was a year filled with many newsworthy events in sports, politics, culture and music. The baseball season that year mirrored the rest of the world with its unusual course. From the first player’s strike that wiped out the first two weeks of the season to an exciting postseason that was capped off by the closest World Series in history, the 1972 baseball season is captured in this book by Ed Gruver

The best analogy for the book is that reading this book is like watching a ball game that looks like it will be a good one because of the starting pitchers, it starts out to not live up to expectations, but gets better in the late innings, capped off by a great finish.

When I saw this book offered for review, the subject really excited me as this was the start of the dynasty of one of the best teams outside of New York in baseball history.  This was the year that the Oakland Athletics won the second of their five consecutive division titles and first of three consecutive World Series.

After a great opening chapter, the writing in the book felt choppy and hard to follow. For example, when the author was writing about the strike that delayed the start of the 1972 season, the topics jumped all over the place. At one point, there was more talk about the near-walkout by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946 than there was about the 1972 strike issues. Still, I kept reading as the research was good (although there was one notable error about Dick Allen and the Phillies) and there was still a lot of material to cover.  

As the season wore on, the baseball and the reading got better. Gruver’s account of that year’s all-star game was excellent. The excerpts from the broadcast of the game added to his text.  This was something Gruver did regularly throughout the book – a nice touch. Of course, most of the material covered the teams that ended up winning their respective divisions – Oakland, Detroit, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.  However, unlike many other books on baseball seasons that I have read, Gruver covered notable achievements by players on other teams that did not win the divisions. He mentions Nolan Ryan’s strikeouts for the Angels, Rod Carew winning the batting title without hitting a home run for the Twins, Steve Carlton winning 27 games for a last-place Phillies team, and even the Montreal Expos giving their fans some excitement when Bill Stoneman threw a no-hitter.

But the best writing of the book and best baseball of 1972 was the postseason. Both of the League Championship Series had great games and Gruver covered those in good detail, including the bat throwing incident of game two between the Athletics and Tigers. This part of the book and the season is capped off by a thrilling seven game World Series between the Athletics and Reds. That series featured six games decided by one run, including game seven. The stories of these games were just as exciting to read about 44 years later as they were to watch as an 11-year-old kid on TV that fall.  If there was any doubt about this book’s quality, that chapter alone made it worth the time to read. If a reader enjoys books that recap a season, this one on the 1972 season is one that comes recommended to add to the library.

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

Book Format Read:

Hardcover

Buying links (pre-order at time of posting):

http://www.amazon.com/Hairs-vs-Squares-Mustache-Tumultuous/dp/0803285582/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460597786&sr=1-1&keywords=hairs+vs+squares

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hairs-vs-squares-ed-gruver/1122764953?ean=9780803285583