Play Ball!

A beloved baseball writer (The Image of Their Greatness) and an accomplished novelist, Honig gives us a lyrical account of growing up in New York City besotted with baseball, his own abbreviated pitching career, and his passion for the greats and near-greats of the game. This nuanced, pitch-perfect memoir will make readers appreciate the nuances and permutations of the game itself. Stats, salary statistics, and free-agent greed are (thankfully) absent, replaced by warm recitations of bygone games and now-departed characters both on the field and off. A rich and engaging book; a keeper for all baseball or memoir collections.

McCarthy, Matt. . Odd Man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit. Viking. Feb. 2009. 295p. ISBN 978-0-670-02070-6. $25.95. SPORTS

As his book's promo promises, McCarthy—he's the titular misfit—captures "the gritty essence of our national pastime as it is played outside the spotlight." McCarthy entered the Angels' farm system when he was drafted out of Yale for his southpaw possibilities. Here, he narrates the story of his year in Class A baseball with a roster of lively personalities. A great memoir for baseball fans in all public libraries.

To many it must be surprising that the stoic and classy Torre, who managed the Yankees for 12 years, should decide to publish a book about his time in Gotham. Perhaps Torre's sense of rectitude is why the book is in coauthor Verducci's voice, describing Torre in the third person and quoting other parties almost as much as the man himself. Although there are the publicized criticisms of A-Rod, this is a sober study of the full trajectory of the Yankees under Torre and of his role in that story. It will be in demand at all public libraries. [See Major Audio Releases, LJ 1/09.]

This impressive study draws extensively on late 19th-century American newspapers to examine more than baseball scores and statistics. Brunson (visual culture, Northern Illinois Univ.) studies riverboat culture, artistic renderings of the African American sporting set, and other representations of black males to discuss "the grim reality" confronting black Americans then, even as an 1865 Harper's Illustrated Weekly characterized baseball as embodying racial emancipation. For baseball history collections.

These two books invaluably shed light on the legal, cultural, and gender-based obstacles to the equality of the sexes on the diamond. Cohen addresses these issues from a scholarly perspective and situates the travails of female athletes within a precise sociocultural context with significant attention paid to legal developments, but not without making plain the day-to-day struggles of female players over the last 125 years. Ring adopts a more personal perspective, although she is as much a scholar as Cohen. The views and hopes of a parent shine through. The organization of the material is no less impressive than for Cohen, but greater attention is paid to related sports such as cricket and softball. Both books contribute greatly to our understanding of gender bias and the beliefs underpinning sexist assumptions. Both point to positive advances in society at large and on the ball field in particular. Public libraries should consider both, while Cohen is essential for academic libraries.

This detailed analysis of Walter O'Malley and his financial affairs, based on newly available documentation, does much to dispel myths about the man who moved the Dodgers. D'Antonio provides objective context for O'Malley's era-transforming decision to move the Bums to California, situating the story within that of broader trends in American migrations west. A splendid account, enriched with anecdotes; recommended for all public libraries, especially those near any past or present Dodger dugout. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/08.]

Gentile (Berkshire Eagle) presents a baseball book that succeeds on all counts: it's original, fun, and colorful. Every imaginable element of the sport, from the split-finger fastball to the home-run trot, is analyzed and explained within seven baseball categories directly and simply. A marvellously enchanting study of the national pastime that will make all its readers experts on baseball lore. For all public libraries.

Covering the last years of the Yankees' golden age, 1949 through 1964, former Sports Illustrated photographer Newman's images, many shot in color before it was routine to do so, are transfixing. Whether capturing the players, the game, the locker room, or the fans, Newman's details and nuance took sports photography to a new level and are also valuable as social documentation of an era that didn't seemed so imbued with character at the time. Silverman's (former editor, Sport magazine) considerable and heartfelt text is the perfect complement to the images. For all public libraries.

Shapiro (Columbia Sch. of Journalism; The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together) artfully tells a story of backroom ambitions ultimately defeated by the front offices of the MLB. After the 1958 series, William Shea, Branch Rickey, and Casey Stengel announced their plan to build a third major league, the Continental League; it was fated never to field a team. Shapiro ties the arc of his story to the decline of baseball as America's favorite sport. As much a business history as a baseball story; recommended on both counts.

New York Times reporter Weber attended the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring and takes readers into "umpire nation," a land like no other realm of baseball. However, through no fault of Weber's, it's not really such a fun place to visit. Weber relates his encounters with umpires across leagues, amateur and pro. Umpires in detail turn out to be no more appealing than we guessed, but there's little on this topic, so sports collections should have it.

WEB EXCLUSIVES

BIOGRAPHY
Doxsie, Don. Iron Man McGinnity: A Baseball Biography. McFarland. May 2009. 224p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7864-4203-4. $29.95. pap. 

In 1903 he started both games of 3 double-headers in one month—and got six wins. He went 35-8 in 1904. (But his nickname referred to his off-season work in a foundry!) His brief, but hall-of-fame-honored career—in which he mentored the more iconically popular Christy Mathewson—was followed by many more years in minor league pro-ball. Sportswriter Doxsie isn’t a prose stylist, but he sources the newspaper record from Mcginnity’s era to fill a gap in baseball historiography. All libraries with comprehensive baseball collections should have this.

Martin, Jay. Live All You Can: Alexander Cartwright and the Invention of Modern Baseball. Columbia Univ. Jun. 2009. 192p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-2311-4794-1. $22.95.

Nucciarone, Monica. Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend. Univ. of Nebraska. Jun. 2009. 304p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8032-3353-9. $27.95.

These two Cartwright biographers not only agree that Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball, but they demonstrate that any role by Cartright has been overstated, a reality check that’s not really new. Martin relies on a previous Cartwright biography whose reliability Nucciarone disputes. Hers is the more thorough work, convincingly presenting Cartwright’s final long decades in Hawaii (1943 until his death in 1892) as barely involved with baseball at all, a conclusion that may not expand baseball readers’interest in the book. Academic and large public libraries should acquire Nucciarone, which has a foreword by Total Baseball’s John Thorn. Martin’s is optional for public libraries.

Rhodes, Jean & Shawn Boburg. Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball’s Most Enigmatic Slugger. Scribner. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-1-4165-7706-5. $25.

This one’s sure to gain some attention because it’s authorized by Manny Ramirez himself. Although he didn’t speak with the writers, those most important to him, including his wife, mother, grandmother, and Little League coach, did. Rhodes (psychology, Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston), billed as a “leading expert on youth mentoring,” and Boburg (reporter, The Record, Bergen Cty., NJ) cover Manny’s life thus far, on and off the field. Standard game reporting is backed with sensitive analysis of the man behind the pure hitting and the complex persona. Strongly recommended for all public libraries.

MEMOIR
Milano, Alyssa. Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic. Morrow. Apr. 2009. 256p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-06-162510-7. $22.99.

Actor Milano (Charmed) has been in love with baseball for years and has become a devoted fan of the L.A. Dodgers—the team that broke her Brooklyn-born father’s heart when they left the borough. In this memoir she intertwines stories of her own coming of age as a singer and actor with the abiding love of baseball that was a gift from her father. Milano is not a drama queen: her memoir is sincere and authentic and filled with moments that other baseball fans will recognize in their own lives. She also offers some common sense advice tied into incorporating the game into your life, and “Wild Pitch”sidebars with fun historical details about the game. This one’s a good bet for memoir and baseball collections in all public libraries.

Strawberry, Darryl with John Strausbaugh. Straw: Finding My Way. Ecco: HarperCollins. May 2009. 256p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-0617-0420-8. $26.99.

Straw begins his new memoir by saying “This is not a book about baseball. It’s a book about life.” Displaying the self-knowledge of a person who has found his way to recovery (and here also to faith), Straw writes of his hard times after his glory days with the Mets: marital discord; domestic assault charges; arrests for drugs, tax fraud and solicitation. He recalls flinging $100 bills out a limousine window with Doc Gooden, simply to watch them float away, neither seeing what their futures would hold. Strawberry writes with devotion about his mother and those who stood by him, and of the further chances he got—and we all can get—in life. For public libraries, both for Strawberry’s many fans and for some spiritual living collections as well.

THE GAME AND ITS HISTORY
Fountain, Charles. Under the March Sun: The Story of Spring Training. Oxford. March 2009. 352p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-19-537203-8. $24.95.

Fountain(journalism, Northeastern Univ.; Sportswriter: The Life and Times of Grantland Rice) writes here that “Spring training is tastiest in small portions.” Readers may find that notion reflected well in how they approach this detailed study of the evolution of spring training over the last hundred years, with the author noting the front office trends and business credos behind the particulars of those six-week stints in the South and Southwest. Focusing on the pre-season histories of specific teams, e.g. the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Indians, and their owners’ political and economic relationships with particular cities, Fountain’s book may be better for academic sports business or urban studies collections than for general baseball shelves.

Frascella, John. Theo-Logy: How A Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land. Cambridge House: Sterling & Ross, dist. by PGW/Perseus. Apr. 2009. 208p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0981453699.$14.95. pap.

First-time author Frascella, a recent college graduate and longtime baseball fan, analyzes the ascension of the youthful grey eminence, Theo Epstein, the MLB’s youngest general manager, and the concurrent rise of the Red Sox into double series champs. Frascella did not have Epstein’s cooperation, but spoke with former Theo colleagues and others to gain an understanding of the man’s approach to work and game strategy, providing lessons especially on the subject of mastering a rocky situation. Great for readers interested in climbing the corporate ladder with satisfying work, whether or not they love baseball, and for the baseball fanatic in all of us.

Morris, Peter. Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero. Ivan R. Dee. Apr. 2009. 372p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-56663-822-7. $27.50.

“You have to have a catcher, or you’ll have a lot of passed balls,” explained Casey Stengel. Esteemed baseball historian Morris (A Game of Inches) goes back again to the game’s early years, before Stengel was even born, and shows in detail how the role of catcher, after and arguably because of the Civil War, evolved into one in which physical prowess and hand speed were not sufficient: the catcher became a strategist who could think on his feet—while in a squatting position. The catcher was a glamour role in 19th-century baseball before evolving into the stoic model we know today, but it’s no coincidence that many of the sport’s great managers have been catchers. For all extensive baseball history collections.

Remy, Jerry with Corey Sandler. Jerry Remy’s Red Sox Heroes: The RemDawg’s All-Time Favorite Red Sox, Great Moments, and Top Teams. Lyons: Globe Pequot. Mar. 2009. 288p. illus. ISBN 978-1-59921-406-1. $24.95

As fans, we all construct a “book” of our all-time favorite players, games and teams, but Remy, former Red Sox second baseman and long-time color voice of the team on the New England Sports Network, goes one better with Sandler (Watching Baseball): they have published their compilation of Sox greats in a beautifully illustrated and stats-filled book. Every baseball fan will enjoy this summation of what has made Red Sox Nation one of the most populous on the planet. For public library baseball collections.

Reynolds, Bill. ’78: The Boston Red Sox: A Historic Game, and a Divided City. New American Library: Putnam. Apr. 2009. 320p. ISBN: 978-0-451-22602-0. $24.95.

Reynolds (Providence Journal) tells a marvellously engrossing story of the love and adulation for a ball team by a city united in its passion for 25 men of all creeds while paradoxically seething with rage over mandatory busing. There are better accounts of the October ’78 “Bucky Dent game” itself, at the center of this book, but no better recitation of how baseball may transcend the world around us. Highly recommended for social science and sports history collections.

Ryczek, William J. Baseball’s First Inning: A History of the National Pastime through the Civil War. McFarland. Jul. 2009. 224p. photos. bibliog. index. ISBN: 978-0-7864-4194-5. $39.95.

A veteran McFarland sports historian (The Yankees in the Early 1960s) reveals a further dimension of baseball prior to the last century in a superbly researched and written study of the original innings of the sport—back when it was without question the National Pastime. Of interest are the discussion of the evolution of the rules and of the development of the game in various settings, particularly and as influenced by the Civil War. A sound choice for anyone seeking to understand how the game emerged from its modest beginnings. A worthy companion to Peter Morris’s estimable But Didn’t We Have Fun and A Game of Inches.

Stewart, Wayne. Name That Ballplayer: The Ultimate Baseball “Whodunnit?” Quiz. Skyhorse: dist. by Norton. Mar. 2009. 160p. ISBN 978-1-60239-319-6. pap. $6.95. sports

Stewart (Hitting Secrets of the Pros) goes deep with some serious baseball trivia. There are three tiers of clues for each question, and the questions get harder as you move back in the book. Get the answer after the first clue? You get five points. After the second, you get three. Take just one point if you need all three clues, or else you strike out. Fashioned after the old TV show Name That Tune, this will be popular with kids and other baseball fans wanting to stump their friends. Recommended for school and public libraries.

BRIEFLY NOTED
Fingers, Rollie and Christopher Ritter. Rollie’s Follies: A Hall of Fame Revue of Lists and Lore, Stories and Stats from Baseball’s Most Famous Moustache. Clerisy Press. Mar. 2009. 224p. illus. ISBN 978-1-57860-335-0. $14.95. pap.

Gutlon, Jerry M. It Was Never About the Babe: The Red Sox, Racism, Mismanagement, and the Curse of the Bambino. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. Apr. 2009. 352p. photogs. ISBN 978-1-60239-349-3. $24.95.

Loeffler, Paul. Underdogs to Wonderdogs: Fresno State’s Road to Omaha and the College World Series Championship. Craven Street Books. Apr. 2009. 152p. photogs. ISBN 978-1-933502-27-4. $34.95.

Luke, Bob. The Baltimore Elite Giants: Sport and Society in the Age of Negro League Baseball. Johns Hopkins. May 2009. 200p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8018-9116-8. $29.95.

McGee, Ryan. The Road to Omaha: Hits, Hopes, and History at the College World Series. St. Martin’s. May 2009. 320p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-312-55723-2. $25.95.

McGuiggan, Amy Whorf. Take Me Out to the Ball Game: The Story of the Sensational Baseball Song. Univ. of Nebraska. Apr. 2009. 160p. illus. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-8032-1891-8. $24.95.

Price, S.L. Heart of the Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America. Ecco: HarperCollins. May 2009. 320p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-060167130-2. $24.99.

Prince, Greg. Faith and Fear in Flushing: Life, Death, and New York Mets Baseball. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. Apr. 2009. 320p. photogs. ISBN 978-1-60239-681-4. $24.95.

Sugar. Bert Randolph & Bruce Curtis (photogs.). The Baseball Hall of Fame: The Definitive Guide to the Cooperstown Experience. Running Press: Perseus. May 2009. 320p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-7624-3024-6. $35.

REVISED EDITIONS
Dickson, Paul. The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. 3d. ed. Norton. March 2009. ed. & augmented by Skip McAfee. Norton. Mar. 2009. 900p. illus. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-393-06681-4. $49.95.

Epting, Chris. Roadside Baseball: The Locations of America’s Baseball Landmarks. 2d. ed. Santa Monica Press. Apr. 2009. 312p. photogs. ISBN 978-1-5958-0041-1. $16.95. pap.

Zachofsky, Dan. Collecting Baseball Memorabilia. 2d. ed. McFarland. Jul. 2009. 208p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7864-4166-2. $29.95 pap.