Review of "Doc, Donnie, the Kid and Billy Brawl"

It isn't often that both the New York Mets and New York Yankees have good years during the same season.  Of course, 2000 comes to mind when they played the "Subway Series" but one that might not be as fondly remembered is 1985 when both teams came very close to winning their respective divisions.  That season is remembered in this excellent book.

Title/Author:

“Doc, Donnie, the Kid and Billy Brawl: How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York’s Baseball Soul” by Chris Donnelly

 

Tags:

Baseball, history, Mets, Yankees

Publish date:

April 1, 2019

Length:

312 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

1985 was a baseball season that captivated New York that the city hadn’t seen in nearly 30 years.  Both of the city’s teams, the New York Mets and New York Yankees, were involved in tight races for their respective divisions that came down to the final week of the season.  Both teams had star players that captivated their fan bases.  One had a long history of winning, the other was mostly known for its struggles save for one magical season.  The stories of both the Mets and the Yankees during that crazy season are captured in this book by Chris Donnelly.

 

The personalities of the front office personnel could not have been different. The Mets were owned by Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, who were hands-off owners and left the team in the hands of general manager Frank Cashen.  Cashen’s baseball moves were approved by the owners and some turned out to benefit the Mets in a big way.  Two trades that were of this nature are discussed in the book, trades in which the Mets acquired catcher Gary Carter and first baseman Keith Hernandez.

 

On the other hand, the Yankees were owned by George Steinbrenner, who was continually second guessing the decisions of his general manager and field manager.  Some of Steinbrenner’s more famous rants about the running and performance of his team and players are documented in this book, including his insult of outfielder Dave Winfield, calling the All-Star player “Mr. May.”  He fired manager Yogi Berra after only 14 games in 1985 and re-hired Billy Martin for the fourth time. These are just a few of the many times a Steinbrenner action is described in the book.

 
The play of both teams on the field, however, makes up the bulk of the book and for both of them, they played above expectations.  The Mets were an up-and-coming club in 1985 with young stars Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry leading the way.  Gooden had one of the best seasons ever recorded by a pitcher, and when Carter was acquired from the Montreal Expos, the Mets got even better.  However, while they were in first place for a brief stretch, they ended up finishing second to the St. Louis Cardinals.
 
As for the Yankees, they used the frequent circus-like atmosphere surrounding Martin and Steinbrenner to their advantage by shutting it out of their minds (as best they could, anyway) and playing good baseball as well.  While Don Mattingly was a young star on the rise, the team was mostly made up of veteran players such as Winfield and Rickey Henderson.  While their expectations were not as high, the Yankees had some great play as well and like their cross-town rivals, they finished second as well behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

The overall arching theme of this book, however, is the battle to win over the city – both in the press, in the stands and in the hearts and minds of baseball fans in New York.  While Cashen is occasionally quoted in the book (from newspaper accounts at the time) about the Yankees, the writing about Steinbrenner and his obsession with the Mets and their success makes for good reading.  At times these passages could be hilarious, sometimes maddening, but always entertaining.

For these reasons and many more, every fan of one of the New York teams needs to add this book to their bookshelves.  An informative, entertaining and well-researched book, it captures the spirit of New York baseball during that crazy 1985 season.

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

Book Format Read:
Hardcover

Buying Links:

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496205537/  

 

https://www.amazon.com/Doc-Donnie-Kid-Billy-Brawl/dp/1496205537/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr

Review of "Glove Affair"

While the end of March means the start of baseball season and the excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament, I decided to end the month with another book on boxing - and it was the right choice as this was a terrific memoir by a man who has spent more than 40 years in the sport.  Here is my review of "Glove Affair."

Title/Author:

“Glove Affair: My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing” by Randy Gordon

Tags:

Boxing, professional, memoir

Publish date:

April 12, 2019

Length:

272 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

When someone can work in a profession or area that the person loves, then that person is sure to love his or her career. For Randy Glover, he has been loved boxing since he was 11 years old. He was able to take that affection for the sport into a nice career as a boxing writer and editor, broadcaster, ring announcer, radio show host and even a gig as the New York State Athletic Commissioner. Glover talks about each of those stops in this memoir that is sure to please any boxing fan.

With more than 40 years in the sport as not only the top man in New York State, but also as editor of the respected Ring Magazine as well as a respected announcer, Gordon has many excellent stories on boxers of many different weights and eras. The reader will be taken to the modest household of future champion Alexis Arguello when he sensed danger and saved his family from harm during an earthquake in his native Honduras in 1972. There are many stories about Mike Tyson, including the nickname given to him by Gordon that became Tyson’s favorite, “Catskill Thunder.”  Gerry Cooney plays a prominent role in the book – this is especially so as Cooney is currently a co-host of a boxing show on Sirius XM radio with Gordon.

While many of these stories, not only about boxers but also about Gordon himself and his career, are mostly upbeat and happy, Gordon doesn’t ignore the dark side of the sport.  One example occurs in Chapter 7, when Gordon talks about Billy Collins Jr., a promising youngster who took a ferocious pounding in a bout in which the gloves of his opponent were illegally stripped of the padding, resulting in Collins being hit with bare knuckles. While Collins survived the pounding, he never boxed again and soon grew depressed, abused alcohol and other substances and died in an auto accident under the influence. Gordon wrote a powerful editorial in Ring, calling Collins’ death a murder. This type of writing, no matter the mood, is present throughout the book and the professionalism of Gordon’s work is prominently displayed throughout the book. No matter which era of boxing a reader enjoys or which weight classes he or she follows, this book is a must read for anyone interested in the sweet science.

I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield 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/Glove-Affair-Lifelong-Journey-Professional/dp/1538121123/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/glove-affair-randy-gordon/1129536038?ean=9781538121139

Review of "They Said It Couldn't Be Done"

With this being the 50th anniversary of the "Miracle Mets" championship, there are several books that will be coming out about that team.  This one covers the team and the players in very good detail.  Here is my review of "They Said It Couldn't Be Done"

Title/Author:

“They Said It Couldn’t Be Done: The ’69 Mets, New York City and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History” by Wayne Coffey

Tags:

Baseball, professional, history, Mets

Publish date:

March 26, 2019

Length:

304 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The New York Mets shocked the baseball world in 1969 by winning the World Series in their eighth year of existence. In the previous seven years they had finished either last or next to last place. While they have been dubbed the “Miracle Mets” and also the “Amazin’ Mets”, this book by Wayne Coffey goes into great detail to illustrate that their win was not really a “miracle” or “amazing.”  Instead, it tells the details of how the team was put together, the background of most of the players and how the season and postseason baseball played by the team was simply excellent.

By placing well-detailed short synopsizes of players within the details of key games and each postseason game of 1969, Coffey does a very good job of explaining to the reader that this Mets team was not one that surprised themselves by being good.  Indeed, this team, to a man, started to believe in itself the previous season as the manager, Gil Hodges, installed a quiet yet firm atmosphere of confidence in his club.  The reader can’t go more than a few pages without reading about someone stating that Hodges’ leadership was crucial to both his own success and that of the Mets.  

As does most baseball books that cover a particular year or era, this book also has references to the important issues of the year such as the civil rights movement, the Woodstock music festival (there is a nice tie-in between the team and the story of a fan who attended the event) and man’s first walk on the moon that year.  There are a few of these event that feel like they are simply inserted into the book without much reason, but for the most part, they match what is going on with the team.  The best connections to the events of the day are how the embattled mayor of New York City that year, John Lindsey, attached himself to the Mets to gain any political advantage.

However, the best writing of the book is the very detailed description of the eight postseason games played by the Mets.  The reader will learn about practically every play in the three games against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series (a three game sweep for the Mets) and the five World Series games against the Baltimore Orioles.  Some of the best player stories are here as well, tied in with some of the best description of terrific play as well.  One that stood out to me was outfielder Tommie Agee – both in Coffey’s story about his struggles in the segregated South and his two outstanding catches in the World Series. Mets fans will want to pick up this book to either relive that wonderful season for their team or to learn more about the players and manager as well as the baseball.

I wish to thank Crown Archetype 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/They-Said-Couldnt-Done-Astounding/dp/1524760889/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=11ZK50JGB90F4&keywords=they+said+it+couldn%27t+be+done+coffey%2C+wayne&qid=1553469254&s=gateway&sprefix=they+said+it+couldn%27%2Caps%2C524&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they-said-it-couldnt-be-done-wayne-coffey/1128997110?ean=9781524760885#/

Review of "108 Stitches"

As a viewer who enjoys hearing Ron Darling's broadcasts whether with the Mets or on TBS, I was interested in seeing what stories he would share in his latest book.  Here is my review of "108 Stitches"

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Title/Author:

“108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game” by Ron Darling

Tags:

Baseball, professional, memoir, Mets, Athletics, Expos

Publish date:

April 2, 2019

Length:

272 pages 

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Ron Darling can be described as a baseball lifer, first as a player as he enjoyed a moderate amount of success as a pitcher with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Oakland Athletics. He is now a successful broadcaster for the Mets and also for TBS on their national baseball telecasts.  Having spent decades in the game, he would naturally have many stories to tell and he does so in this, his third book.   At the beginning, Darling tells the reader that baseball has its own “six degrees of separation” and that is how everything in the game is somehow connected, but makes a better analogy by describing the makeup of a baseball and its 108 stitches.  Pull one story out of his memory and he connects it with another, which is related to yet a third one and soon one will see how everything in the game is connected, just like the 108 red stitches keep a baseball together.   Darling also drops names of the people in his story in (almost) alphabetical order and these people, mostly players who were teammates at one time or other broadcasters, range from the obscure to the superstar.  Most of the stories are about the Mets, since that is the team with which he has spent the most amount of time, but there are also good stories about his time with Oakland as well.  He was only on the Expos for about two weeks, so he doesn’t recall much about them, but is able to portray that transitional period about as well as one can expect.   These anecdotes can range from hilarious to poignant.  There is one chapter on crying in baseball which was probably the best, as those were the touching stories and a reader will almost tear up when reading some of those.  The best of these for me was the one on a young player in a late season game.  The young player had struck out in the second inning, killing a Mets rally.  The Mets got things going again in the third, the young man’s turn came up again – and the manager pinch hits for him.  This left that player demoralized and was sobbing on the bench – and his teammates felt sympathy instead of the usual indifference.  I left the names out so as not to spoil the story, but this is an example of the prose that Darling produces throughout the book.   The book ends with Darling’s take on the modern game, one which he views from the broadcast booth and while he is critical of many of the strategies of today’s analysis-driven game, he doesn’t come across as a grumpy old man as many former players can do.  Instead, he offers illustrations of what makes today’s baseball different from when he played.  It is a fitting conclusion to a book that starts slow, but picks up steam and ends up being a fast, fun read for hard core baseball fans.  Readers who are more casual fans may not pick up on all the names as easily, but should still be able to enjoy reading about some of Darling’s favorite people and stories.     I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Excellent basketball memoir Usually a sports memoir will follow the same pattern. An ex-athlete will talk about his childhood, his career while playing his chosen game and his life after retiring. While some of this is true for Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), his story takes on extra meaning because of his willingness to talk about his mental health issues so candidly. He does verify some of his more off beat moments, such as working at Circuit City while still a player. He does

 

 

Book Format Read:
E-Book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/108-Stitches-Threads-Darndest-Characters-ebook/dp/B07D2BXK3Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Review of "The Four Home Runs Club"

Every now and then I will receive a book from an author or publisher from out of the blue.  That was the case with this book, as I didn't know there was a book about the 18 players who have hit four homers in a game.  Here is my review of that book, "The Four Home Runs Club"

Title/Author:

“The Four Home Runs Club: Sluggers Who Achieved Baseball’s Rarest Feat” by Steven K. Wagner

Tags:

Baseball, professional, history

Publish date:

June 28, 2018

Length:

224 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Only 18 players in the history of Major League Baseball have been able to hit four home runs in a single game. These players have had various amounts of success in their careers. Some are known by people who are not baseball fans, such as Willie Mays and Lou Gehrig; while others may only be known by hard-core fans, such as Scooter Gennet and Pat Seery.  The stories of all eighteen of them are told in this book.

The book follows the same format for each man – a brief biography of his life and baseball career before the big game.  Then a description of each of the slugger’s at-bats during the game with four home runs, whether or not that resulted in one of the home runs, was next.  This would include the opposing pitcher and the game situation, i.e the home run extended his team’s lead.  Then the chapter would conclude by chronicling the player’s career following the historic game and his life after baseball.  The only exception to this format was that there are three players who are still active as of the date of publication (Gennet, Josh Hamilton and J.D. Martinez) and as a result, their chapters are slightly shorter.

Like any other collection of stories, some of them are fascinating more so than others, but for this collection, each one of them shared one thing in common – a historic game and offensive show that anyone who saw it, whether player, fan or the hitter himself, will remember. That is evident with the numerous quotes from other players, especially pitchers who gave up some of the historic home runs.  Those were the best parts of the stories – especially quotes from those pitchers whose pain faded with time and are looking back fondly at the show put on by those hitters.

The book doesn’t dig deep into the lives of any of the players and there are many sources of more complete information on many of them, especially stars like Mays, Gehrig and Mike Schmidt.  But if a reader wants to learn a little bit more about these historic games and hitters, this is a good starting point.

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

Book Format Read:

Hardcover

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Four-Home-Runs-Club-Baseballs/dp/1538115425/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-four-home-runs-club-steven-k-wagner/1128178038?ean=9781538115428

Review of "When the Crowd Didn't Roar"

A very unusual baseball game took place in Baltimore on April 29, 2015 - it was played with no fans in attendance.  The story of that game and the circumstances that led to the decision to play the game is captured in this excellent book. Here is my review of "When the Crowd Didn't Roar"

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Title/Author:

“When the Crowd Didn’t Roar” by Kevin Cowherd

 

Tags:
Baseball, politics, race, Orioles, White Sox

Publish date:

April 1, 2019

Length:

192 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

On April 29, 2015, the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox played the first major league game in which no spectators were allowed into the ballpark.  Earlier in the week, two other games between the two teams were postponed for security concerns due to the rioting that was taking place in Baltimore following the death of an African-American in police custody. The city of Baltimore and Major League baseball did decide to have the April 29 game played, but with no fans in attendance so police and other law enforcement officials could concentrate their efforts on the aftermath of the rioting. The circumstances of both the game itself and the events that led up to that decision are captured in this excellent book by Baltimore sportswriter Kevin Cowherd.   Two characteristics of this book stand out. One is that Cowherd takes an explosive issue like the treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement and writes about it in a balanced, non-judgmental manner.  He was writing about factual information without inserting his own opinions.  While the book is considered a baseball book, it is much more than that as it is important for the reader to understand the circumstances that called for this unusual atmosphere for the game to be played.   As for the game itself, the best parts of the writing about it were about the players. This is especially true for Orioles players, especially Adam Jones, who was thrust into the role of the unofficial spokesman for an African-American viewpoint from the Orioles.  Chris Davis and Caleb Joseph are also followed through the game.  Joseph’s actions of pretending to sign autographs for fans is one of the actions taken in order to try to give the game a sense of normalcy but at the same time illustrates the awkwardness the players, umpires and other crew members feel.  Many times Cowherd describes how much the normal sounds of a game – pitches hitting the catcher’s mitt, spikes on bases, even the chatter and spitting in the dugout – are magnified in this stadium void of fans.   Through it all, there is some humor thrown in for good measure.  Cowherd writes about the Orioles television broadcasters, Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer, and what they were saying and doing during this game.  Like the players, there was some humor attempted – a line by Thorne when he was telling a play in a whispered tone that he was using his “Masters voice” was very funny – but it was overshadowed by the enormity of the situation.  Again, all of this is brought to life by the excellent writing of Cowherd.   There is one story Cowherd told that captured the spirit of this book, the Orioles and the city.  A young African-American man who wrote a blog about sports from his perspective was provided press credentials for one of the cancelled games.  But he felt he had to be a part of the no-fans game, so using his expired credential, he made his way to the post-game press conference of Orioles manager Buck Showalter. He asked the manager a question that was unlike the typical press conference question and Showalter didn’t back away from the question, but instead gave an answer that made the young man happy.  Of course, he was discovered and had to leave the conference, but this story is the best of the book because it captures the feelings of everyone involved, regardless of their race or political affiliation. For the full details of this story, it is best to read about it in the book as a review cannot do that story justice.   This book should be read under the knowledge that while it is about an unusual baseball game, it is more than just a baseball book.  The reader will have a much better understanding of what the city of Baltimore was enduring during that week and how this game both gave the city a small amount of normalcy during a trying time and was a illustration of how grim the situation seemed at that time.   I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.Excellent basketball memoir Usually a sports memoir will follow the same pattern. An ex-athlete will talk about his childhood, his career while playing his chosen game and his life after retiring. While some of this is true for Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), his story takes on extra meaning because of his willingness to talk about his mental health issues so candidly. He does verify some of his more off beat moments, such as working at Circuit City while still a player. He does

 

Book Format Read:
Hardcover

Buying Links:

 

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496213297/

 

https://www.amazon.com/When-Crowd-Didnt-Roar-Baseballs/dp/1496213297/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

Review of "Dark Trade"

Avid readers like me know that when a book makes you say "Wow!" or something similar when you finish, you want to shout out to the world that everyone else should read this book.  That is what I want to say about this one - one of the best books on boxing I have ever read.  Here is my review of "Dark Trade"

Excellent basketball memoir Usually a sports memoir will follow the same pattern. An ex-athlete will talk about his childhood, his career while playing his chosen game and his life after retiring. While some of this is true for Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), his story takes on extra meaning because of his willingness to talk about his mental health issues so candidly. He does verify some of his more off beat moments, such as working at Circuit City while still a player. He does Title/Author: “Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing” by Donald McRae Tags: Boxing, biographies   Publish date: March 15, 2019 (third edition, first published September 18, 1997)   Length: 528 pages Rating:  5 of 5 stars (outstanding) Review: Boxing is a sport that can bring out the best and the worst in human beings. This is true for the fighters, the managers, the fans and nearly anyone with a connection to the sport. Whichever way a story or personal tale goes, this book on the sport in America and Britain during the 1990’s is widely hailed as one of the best books on the sweet science ever written and this reviewer agrees with that assessment. Donald McRae, a writer for the British publication The Guardian, has been transfixed by the sport for a long time so he set out on a year-long journey to the United States and his adopted homeland of Great Britain (he is a native of South Africa) and through his exchanges with some of the best fighters of that era, he paints a very compelling picture of not only the boxers but also of the role that race, violence and social status play in the game. Some of the fighters portrayed include Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr., James Toney (whose portrait graces the cover), Chris Eubank, Oscar de la Hoya, and Nassem Hamed. Of course, promoters like Don King and Bob Arum are portrayed as well as some others such as Jackie Kellum, the manager for Toney and one of the very few females involved in the sport at the time.   However, instead of simply rehashing information that can be found in other sources, McRae dives into the minds of the people involved. The reader will feel like he or she knows the person portrayed more intimately than before turning the pages. Just for one example, the reader will learn that Mike Tyson is as well versed in Hemmingway and Mao (and many other authors) as well as uppercuts and body blows. While that wasn’t secret, it isn’t something that is described in as rich detail in other sources as it is in this book. I was particularly struck by the portrayal of James Toney as he had a background similar to many other fighters.  That is, having no father figure in the house, a hard-working and supportive mother and a close call to being another victim of the streets instead of finding salvation in the gym. While all of these are true in Toney’s life, he went through a different path, most notably helping his mother, who was astute in business, by working at her bakery. Hiring a Jewish woman as his manager and getting married young and having a daughter is also important to his story as McRae illustrates how much the women in Toney’s life affect him so much both in and out of the ring.  Since this book is best read in pieces, one person at a time, Toney’s story is one that should be digested fully as the reader will come away mesmerized. These are just a few examples of the fantastic prose shared by McRae in this book that is now in its third publication and should be read by every person with any interest in the sport. It is one that I will come back to for re-reading sections time and time again. I wish to thank Hamlicar Publications for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Excellent basketball memoir Usually a sports memoir will follow the same pattern. An ex-athlete will talk about his childhood, his career while playing his chosen game and his life after retiring. While some of this is true for Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), his story takes on extra meaning because of his willingness to talk about his mental health issues so candidly. He does verify some of his more off beat moments, such as working at Circuit City while still a player. He does Book Format Read: Hardcover Buying Links: https://hannibalboxing.com/boxing-books-by-hamilcar-publications/dark-trade-lost-in-boxing/  https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Trade-Boxing-Donald-McRae/dp/1949590054/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr