Book Description

Michael Jack Schmidt, in the minds of many the greatest third baseman of all time, was a Philadelphia institution. From 1973 to 1989 he led the Phillies to five National League championship series and two World Series. Twelve times an All-Star, Schmidt was perhaps baseball's premier power hitter during the 1970s and 1980s. His 548 home runs are seventh best all-time. In the field he was just as exceptional, winning ten Gold Gloves, more than any other third baseman besides Brooks Robinson. A three-time N.L. Most Valuable Player (1980, 1981 and 1986), Schmidt was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, his first year of eligibility.This book is the first serious account of Schmidt's celebrated career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Concentrating on contemporary newspaper accounts, periodicals, biographies by Schmidt's teammates and baseball histories, this long-overdue work is the full story of one of the game's greatest sluggers, and one of its true heroes and role models. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Greatest Third Baseman of ALL TIME- PERIOD!
I recently had the opportunity to purchase and read this fine book. While nothing in it was earth shattering for those of us who grew up as fans of Mike Schmidt - a great guy, not involved in any of the scandals that are the hallmark of many of today's "heros" - it was a fine read recapping the baseball history of a great athlete and a fine person. While many ignorant people booed him through the inevitable slumps (I'm sure they "hit a home run" every time at bat throughout their daily personal and professional lives) and laughed at the tears he shed, on and off the field, he was an inspiration to many of us for his work ethic, outstanding achievements on and off the field and his community spirit. I remember him being out of the line-up with a severe injury - knee or groin pull? - and coming off the bench to win the game with a three run pinch HR. As great a home run hitter as he was he was a great base stealer and a super glove and arm man at the hot corner - simply the best. And what Philadelphian can forget hearing Harry Kallas and Richie Ashburn in the broadcast booth when Michael Jack hit one out of the Vet? Kudos to the author. Buy the book - its a fine addition to your Philadelphia sports library.

Nothing Much New Here
The author does a nice job recounting Schmidt's career -- that is to say, his research was good. That being said, there's a temptation when someone writes about his boyhood hero (and the author expresses his admiration for Schmidt in the introduction) to put the subject on a pedestal no matter what, to apologize for perceived problems, or, worse, both. Unfortunately, the author falls victim to both temptations, and the book suffers because of it. The book will serve those who don't know much about Schmidt fairly well. For those who know more about him, you won't learn much that is new. The book also lacks meaningful analysis about Schmidt's career. In summary, I expected more on this subject and from this author, and I was disappointed.

Nothing Much New Here
The danger when someone writes about a childhood hero (which the author admits in his introduction) is that the author can idolize the subject without question, apologize for certain aspects of his baseball life, or worse, both. Kashatus' book is well-researched, but it falls prey to both temptations. The result is a somewhat saccharine effort whose goal is to lionize Schmidt without much critical analysis regarding Schmidt's approach to the game and the fans. If you don't know much about Schmidt, then the book might be helpful, but if you do, you'll be disappointed.

Awww, Schmitty
As far as the book itself goes, it is a very factual, general account of Michael Jack and his career. Mostly gleaned from old newpaper clippings and quotes, it reads more like a history book than anything. (although I was able to skim through it in just an hour at the library). Not being a fan of baseball whatsoever, this biography actually did nothing for me. So why the 4 stars?

I'll tell you why. I am from the Philadelphia area and am very familiar with our reputation as fans. I am a Flyers, Sixers, Eagles and Phillies fan, I will never sell out no matter how bad those clowns are and no matter where I live. Schmitty always whined and cried about the treatment he received there and there's one little passage in this book thats worth your time to read.

One snowy morning, Michael "2 Bad knees and a dream" Jack was chasing after his daughter when 2 kids saw him and excitedly started yelling his name. Turning to happily acknowledge the tykes, he was then proclaimed a, "choker." He cried. Now thats funny stuff.

I Miss The Game
"Although I have not personally attended a game in well over 35 years, I can appreciate the personal heroism and character attributed to Schmidt by Dr. Kashatus. ... Read more

Book Description

Minor league baseball has long been the heartbeat of the sport in America and no one exemplifies the pulse of minor league baseball better than Leo "Muscle" Shoals.

Shoals crushed 362 home runs from 1937 to 1955 and he is often referred to as the Babe Ruth of minor league baseball.

Shoals' career nearly came to an end in 1939 as he was shot in a barroom brawl, but he recovered to become one of the most renowned sluggers in minor league history.

Shoals' greatest accomplishment came in 1949 when he hit 55 home runs, a Carolina League record which still stands. ... Read more

Book Description

During his playing career, a baseball player’s every action on the field is documented—every at bat, every hit, every pitch. But what becomes of a player after he leaves the game? Some do, in fact, continue to be involved with baseball in some capacity, but many do not, following a different calling and fade into obscurity.

This exhaustive reference work presents information that has never before been available in one source. It briefly details the post-baseball lives of some 7,600 major leaguers, owners, managers, administrators, umpires, sportswriters, announcers and broadcasters who are now deceased. Each entry tells the date and place of the player’s birth, the number of seasons he spent in the majors, the primary position he played, the number of seasons he spent as a manager in the majors (if applicable), his post-baseball career and activities, date and cause of his death, and his final resting place. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A labor of love for the baseball world
Bill Lee should be dubbed "Baseball's Undertaker." Maybe there is even room in Cooperstown for a plaque to that effect. In his book, "The Baseball Necrology," he gives brief (sometimes all too brief) paragraph synopsis of what happened to baseball players after they left baseball. This book is a reference book, not necessarily a narrative, but if you are a baseball fan or historian, consider your collection incomplete until you've added this gem.

When a baseball player leaves the major leagues, they often have 40 or 50 years of life ahead of them. How many times have you asked the question, "I wonder what happened to..." or, "I wonder where he's buried..." This book solves that question for those baseball players who have passed on to the big green diamond in the sky.

Though the reader is often left wanting to know more about a favorite player, Lee at least gives you an idea where to look (graveyard, obituary, etc.). It is easy to see how a more complete biography on any player would have made the book unmanageable. Heck, as is, the book is over 500 pages long.

This seems to be a great stepping stone for anyone wanting to do more research on baseball players and their lives. Even though some may be disappointed that there wasn't more information, or disappointed that the book wasn't written in a narrative format, this is an extra, extraordinary reference book, and an amazing contribution to America's pastime.

I have never seen anything quite like it in the library or in the bookstores. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great
Fun to read and great pics.Too bad there was whining about the home run record for one season...face itMaris beat the Babe

For all who love the Babe
This is a wonberful book for all who are nostolgic for the time when there were genuine, larger than lfe sports heroes. This wonderful reflection on Babe Ruth includes numerous photyographs. It is not an in depth biography. Rather, it is an evocative collection of pictures and anecdotes that he;p us feel as though we were there when the Babe was in his prime. Great book!!!

The renewed examination of Babe Ruth's life and career
Baseball fans with an affection for the sports history will relish the renewed examination of Babe Ruth's life and career, which packs in almost a hundred photos to supplement anecdotes from those who knew him. Readers will find here an affectionate examination of Babe Ruth's life and times along with a fine visual coverage of baseball history. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A fun and hilarious read...
I read this book, interesting enough, while on vacation in Cooperstown. I am a big fan of baseball and enjoy reading about our national pasttime. This book had me laughing out loud many times, drawing interesting looks from my wife, kids and other guests of the resort we were at. McDermott's recollections in this book are hilarious and was written in a very funny and lighthearted way. When he died a few months ago I felt I had known him from reading this book. If you enjoy reading funny baseball stories from both on and off the field, especially during the best years in baseball (40's-50's), buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

Not Quite!
I had a 3-week gap between the time I finished "A Funny Thing" and the time I wrote this review. In that interim, my enthusiasm for it cooled considerably. My original impression was that it was a howl- a truly entertaining tale of Major League Baseball in its' finest era. That would be the 15 or so years just after WW2 before free agency and most especially talent thinning expansion begot their dual horrors. But upon reflection, the stories of debauchery and wasted ability simply wore out their welcome. I also tired of reading how Mickey tossed away so many second chances. Even with his original skills dimmed by night life and arm trouble, McDermott had three things in his favor Friends, some residue of talent and a few baseball folks who believed in him. He blew those as well. I was almost angered by how he blew his last chance with the Cardinals in '62 or '63. Johnny Keane was right to dump him. Another minor gripe I had with "A Funny Thing" is there was no year by year box of McDermott's pitching career, a very rare -and strange-omission for a sports story. Two minor points: the old Senators catcher was Clint "Scrap Iron" Courtney, not "Cliff". And the real Yankees "Murderers Row" played in the 1920s, consisting of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel etc. However, I do give the author (or his editor) credit for his referring his readers back or forward to specific pages to recount incidents. Those searching for a solid baseball tale in the same time frame might enjoy "Baseball's Natural" by John Theodore. It is the story of the late Eddie Waitkus, who also hurt his career immeasurably with his nightlife. At least Eddie was a serious guy and decorated WW2 vet with "reasons" to drink. Would anyone enjoy "A Funny Thing"? Perhaps the hardest of hard core Red Sox fans that remember Mickey from his '48-'55 stint with the team. Sadly, that's about it.

Certainly Not the Type of Life for Everyone
Mickey McDermott is a name I remember from collecting baseball cards during the 1950's, and I wanted to read about players who were a part of that era in baseball. I found the book to be okay, but it became tiring reading about his alcoholic episodes with teammates and others during his life. Call me square, but I see little humor in anecdotes involving drinking. McDermott, himself, realized he had to get help and has now been sober for a number of years. I knew that Bob Nieman hit home runs in his first two at bats in the major leagues, but I didn't realize that both were hit off of Mickey McDermott. I did find two mistakes in the book. He mentions on page 17 that Walt Dropo's record for twelve consecutive hits over a three game period may never be broken. Mike "Pinky" Higgins shares this record with Dropo. Maybe Higgins did it over more than three games. Also, on page 103 he twice refers to his old catching teammate on the Washington Senators as "Cliff" Courtney. Old Scrapiron, as we all know, was Clint Courtney. I'm sure this may have been an oversight, but to mention it two times made me wonder. As I said, the book was okay, but I certainly didn't find it to be "uproariously funny" as it states on the cover.

A great book by a great character
Mickey McDermott is one of the funniest men in baseball and his book is wonderful. Unfortunately, there are few if any McDermotts and "Spaceman" Lees left in the game and we are left to read about their antics, and pine for the day when baseball was a game and not a business. Fortunately, we are able to do that this summer, as both Red Sox eccentrics have written books. I'd love to get these two guys in a room and just listen! ... Read more

Book Description

Through the figure of Harry Hooper (1887-1974), star of four World Series championship teams and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Paul Zingg describes baseball's transformation from an often rowdy spectacle to a respectable career choice and entertainment institution. Zingg chronicles Hooper's rise from a sharecropper background in California to college and then to the pinnacle of his sport. Boston's lead-off hitter and right fielder from 1909 to 1920, Hooper later played for the Chicago White Sox, managed in the Pacific Coast League, and coached Princeton's team. When he retired in 1925, he held every major fielding record for an American League right fielder. Hooper's diaries, memoirs, and six decades of letters offer a rich and colorful commentary on the evolution of the game, as well as insight into the tensions between a player's public and private lives. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The book is as boring as Hooper was.
I suppose that when your subject was notoriously known for being boring and bland, it would be a monumental effort to write without getting caught in the web. Sadly, and despite Paul Zingg's best efforts, This book only solidifies the obvious...Harry Hooper, although a very good ballplayer, was also a very boring ballplayer. This was a difficult read because interest was so sporadic. Lets face it, Hooper is boring and so is the book. No fault of the author, moreso it is the subject.

Harry Hooper
Very informative and very interesting account of the life of Harry Hooper (my great-grandfather). This book helps put into perspective just how significant Harry's life was for the development of baseball in America. It was full of lots of facts that brought to life the greatest baseball players in the early 20th century. It is more than just baseball, but an account of one man's life. I would recommend this book for anyone who is a baseball fan. ... Read more

Book Description

Nineteen-twenty was a crucial year not just for the Chicago White Sox but for the game of baseball, in the aftermath of the 1919 World Series scandal. This work is both a collective biography of four individuals whose careers in baseball were forever altered in 1920 and an examination of the 1920 baseball season as a whole. It highlights four legendary personalities-Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the longtime commissioner of Major League Baseball; Babe Ruth, the great pitcher and slugger who changed the game forever; Buck Weaver, the true lone innocent among the Black Sox players who threw the 1919 World Series; and Rube Foster, the fine pitcher, imaginative manager, and great administrator of blackball who founded the Negro National League. Key events that affected the season and the history of baseball are discussed. Nineteen-twenty was the year that Ruth shattered his own home run record and began a hitting spree that brought in record numbers of fans to the ballparks. It was the year that Rube found a way for large numbers of African-Americans to play the game meaningfully, before loyal crowds, despite Jim Crow laws that kept them out of the majors and minors. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Like being transported to 1920
This is an excellent book covering one of the most interesting baseball periods in history. It really evokes the era, and what it was like to witness Babe Ruth's ascension. The Rube Foster story is just amazing and I can only imagine what a genius like him could accomplish today. The Black Sox sections are probably the least interesting, simply because the story has been covered so extensively in the last few years. What's here is very well done, however, and if Buck Weaver was half the person/player this book claims, he was done a bigger injustice than I thought. Definitely recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

During his 25 years covering baseball for the Daily News, Bill Madden met heroes and scoundrels, such as Joe DiMaggio and Darryl Strawberry and witnessed stunning upsets and miraculous victories, such as the 1984, ninth inning, two out home run by Boston's Dave Henderson to win Game 5 of the ALCS over California - and he wrote about them all. He covered World Series, All-Star games, trades, hirings, firings, scandals, debuts, record-setters, Hall of Famers and the loss of legends. Bill Madden: My 25 Years Covering Baseball's Heroes, Scoundrels, Triumphs and Tragedies is a collection of Madden's most memorable stories, compiled and narrated by the famed News baseball writer, complete with black and white photographs from the archives of the Daily News. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Madden's Collection from The Daily News
New York Daily News sportswriter Bill Madden has provided us with a collection of his columns from the past 25 years. I like that the book is divided into chapters such as Remembered Friends, Scoops and Exclusives, Villains and Scoundrels, Tragedies and Travesties, and Colorful Characters to mention a few. I enjoy reading about events and people who were once part of the baseball scene that I remember. Most, but not all, involve the Yankees. You don't have to be a Yankees' fan, I'm not, but I still enjoy reading the articles of sportswriters in different parts of the country. If you are a fan of the Yankees, you will especially enjoy the book.

Great Sports Writing
This is an awesome collection of baseball articles and columns from Bill Madden, New York's best sports writer. Baseball fans will love this book.

There is a very interesting story on DiMaggio's relationship with his "long time friend and attorney" Morris Engelberg, who became the sold trustee for DiMaggio's estate when Joe passed away. Also, there are some good stories on Darryl Strawberry, Billy Martin, Fay Vincent, and, of course, George Steinbrenner.

I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A compelling presence on the field, Orlando Cepeda is equally compelling off of it. The only player to win unanimous Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player titles, the former slugging first baseman for the Giants and Cardinals was part of the first wave of Major League stars to come out of Puerto Rico in the 1950s, yet it's his postcareer that supplies Baby Bull with its power. After the fullness of a baseball life lived in the spotlight, Cepeda spiraled downward in the late '70s into shadows of his own making. Tapped out financially, carousing in discos, and deep into drugs, he served a prison sentence for smuggling marijuana before finally finding and righting himself through Buddhism: "All the records and cheers and the celebrity do not, and did not, create inner peace," Cepeda admits candidly. "Buddhism ... gave me the tools to turn my pain into medicine." Now back in baseball with the Giants as a kind of goodwill ambassador, and content as a husband and father, Cepeda looks back on a life worthy of a novel. Mercifully, he relates the story of his life without defensiveness, self-pity, or second- guessing. If it is, in part, a cautionary tale, it's at least a cautionary tale with a happy ending. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Cepeda vs. Franks: He said/he said
I tend to prefer my baseball books pure, untainted by "larger" themes (as though there were any).

I knew that this book, billed as a frank autobiography of Orlando Cepeda, would deal with his conviction for smuggling marijuana. But I am interested purely in his baseball career and was planning not to take much interest in what happened afterwards.

And yet, it must be confessed that Orlando's story of the disgrace that he suffered among his fellow Puerto Ricans after his arrest and conviction and how Buddhism helped him to overcome his difficulties and make peace with the world and find his way back into major league baseball was a moving one. Especially touching is the story of his reunion with a son sired out of wedlock.

But the story of his personal experience with weed is uncomfortably vague. He acknowledges having smoked it as a youth in Puerto Rico and that he picked up the habit again in 1965, while still with the Giants, to relieve stress after a particularly bad run-in with The Evil One, Manager Herman Franks.

Yet Orlando appears to have become as happy as a clam after having been traded to the Cardinals in 1966, and this is certainly reflected in his performance while with the Cardinals and in the championship seasons that "El Birdos" compiled with him on the roster.

So with the stress gone, did he continue to smoke pot as a Cardinal? And with the teams that he played on afterwards? How did this affect his performance at game time? Orlando simply does not tell us.

Still, it's "Baseball Forever", and baseball purists will be glad to know that most of this book is set in between the foul lines. This is a familiar-sounding story of a youngster who grew up in poverty, despite having been born the son of Puerto Rico's most celebrated ballplayer, the great Perucho Cepeda. Perucho was known as "The Bull", and Orlando's nickname, which is the title of this book, was naturally passed onto him.

He used his natural ability (presumably also inherited from his father) and effort to overcome prejudice in the United States and build a storybook career.

The year-by-year recapitulation of his performance and that of the teams he played on is interesting but unremarkable and gives the reader a chance to reacquaint himself with the players from that era. What I primarily wanted to hear was Orlando's version of his alleged refusal to move from first base to left field in order to enable the Giants to get both his big bat and that of Willie McCovey into the lineup in a way which would not sacrifice too much defense (McCovey was not mobile enough to play left field effectively).

It is remarkable that a team laden with as much talent as the San Francisco Giants of the 1950's and 1960's won only one National League pennant, and many blame this on Cha-Cha's alleged refusal to make the switch to left.

In interviews conducted by Steve Bitker for his book, "The Giants of '58", Herman Franks repeats this charge, and Orlando sidesteps it. But even Bill Rigney, revered by Orlando as a father figure, states that he thinks that the Giants would have won the pennant in 1959 (McCovey's Rookie of the Year season) if Orlando would have been more cooperative.

Again, Orlando is uncomfortably vague in dealing with this issue, stating only that by 1966, he was ready to try to become the best left-fielder in baseball but that Herman Franks was already set on getting rid of him. But McCovey and Cepeda had played together for six years before 1966 (Cepeda was hurt for virtually all of 1965). What of those years?

The statistical comparisons from those years of how often Orlando played the outfield and of McCovey's at-bats and Orlando's might provide a slightly better defense of Orlando than he does of himself.

After 1959, 1962 seems to be the only year in which McCovey, while healthy, might have been deprived of at-bats because of Orlando's possible resistance to playing left field. Yet the Giants won the pennant that year and so this resistance appears not to have cost them.

But while McCovey does not appear to have been deprived of at-bats during those other years, he mostly played left field in 1963 and 1964, and played it poorly, while Cepeda was anchoring first. Would a switch have made enough of a difference to mean a Giants pennant? The statistics show that Orlando played creditably in left field in 1960 and 1961.

Cepeda also responds to Herman Franks's charge that he was a poor clutch hitter by pointing to his 553 RBI's garnered over his first five seasons. It's an astounding number, but it includes a monstrous 1961 season in which Orlando produced 142 "ribbies", which staggers the five-year total somewhat. From 1958 to 1960, he averaged slightly under 100 RBI's a season.

100 RBI's is usually a sterling number, but RBI's, by themselves, do not a clutch hitter make. Runs batted in during the early stages of a close game might make a difference later but are not the stuff that heroes are made of.

And runs produced when one's team is hopelessly ahead or behind are meaningless. But situational statistics weren't kept in Orlando's day so the case for him having been a good or a bad "clutch" hitter can only be made through anecdotal evidence, which is lacking in both the Cepeda and Franks accounts.

So to this day, it remains unresolved whether Orlando's complaints about being under-appreciated are valid - or just a lot of Baby Bull.

Amazing story
Orlando Cepeda is one of the greatest baseball players of our time. His personal life story is even more inspiring than any of his professional achievements. I was so moved by his accounts of overcoming drug addiction and other tribulations. I was also inspired by his encounter with Soka Gakkai and Buddhism. I recommend another book filled with wise quotes from the Buddhism Orlando Cepeda practices titled "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Book of Eastern Wisdom." by Taro Gold. Wonderful.

Nice re-read the day that Cepeda went into the BBHoF
I saw Orlando Cepeda play throught his career (mostly in person during the time he was with St. Louis). He was my hero then, he is a hero now. The book captures it all. I just wished that its publication could have waited to include a chapter on his 1999 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (maybe the paperback will). But with all the times he just missed out on the honor, who can blame the man for writing his story now.

Is an upbeat, worthwhile book.
If you are a real fan of Cepeda or any of the teams he played for, you will probably enjoy this book. It does not fit the "tell all" biographies that have flooded the market, but it gives the man's honest interpretation of his life. Many references are made to all of the people who were "in my corner from the very beginning" but overall it is an enjoyable reading experience. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A VERY INTERESTING BOOK
THIS IS A VERY NICE BOOK TO READ. I DIDN'T KNOW BIRDIE PERSONALLY SO I CAN'T COMMENT ON WHETHER HE WROTE THIS OR NOT. BUT I AM FROM CLEVELAND, AND REMEMBER HIM AS MANAGER DURING THE MIDDLE 1960'S. HE DID A GOOD JOB AND WAS WELL RESPECTED BY THE PLAYERS AND MEDIA. I ENJOYED THIS TALE OF HIS LIFE IN AND OUT OF BASEBALL. I AGREE WITH ANOTHER REVIEWER THAT I THINK MORE TIME WAS NEEDED ON HIS MANAGING CAREER. ALSO I WOULD HAVE RATED THIS 5 STARS IF THIS BOOK WAS LONGER. BUT VERY WELL DONE AND QUITE INTERESTING.
VERY RECOMMENDED.

Catch this Birdie
Unlike a couple of other reviewers (....), I never knew Birdie, and cannot attest whether these pages seem written by the real man. What does stand out, however, is that any fan of baseball before the present - swing for the fences, no strategy needed - era will enjoy this book. James Morrison has culled many, many delicious stories from Birdie's diaries. Some stories are not brand new to baseball literature, but Birdie's viewpoint on them is worthwhile. Except for some quotes using swear words, I cannot see what Birdie's friends can object to here. The player-manager-scout's humanity and delightful humor ring out on every page. Perhaps the best chapter reviews player-umpire relations in the "old days," but the anecdotes throughout make it hard not to read out loud to others.

My only regret is that short space was given to Birdie's managing years. I suspect he was too busy then to post lengthy diary entries. Perhaps Birdie would have edited the finished product differently, had he lived, but this book will stand out with that of his Tiger teammate, Elden Auker's, as one of the best books on baseball from the '30s through the 50s.

I couldn't agree more
...I knew Birdie well and know a lot of people who also knew Birdie well and none of us believe that Birdie authored this book. The man we all knew is not represented by the words on these pages. For example, Birdie wrote an article titled, "I'd Rather Catch". This was written by Birdie himself and Birdie spoke about it many times. In the article he praised Newhouser. Having known the man, I never heard him ever criticize another player. On the contrary, he was one of baseball's biggest fans. And he most certainly did not talk like the blue collar, swaggering, swearing person represented on these pages. This is a book published many years after his death. I would keep that in mind as the pages are turned.

Birdie Speaks His Mind
Birdie Tebbetts' career in baseball covered nearly his entire life and he expresses his opinions on a number of things, oftentimes in strong terms. A New England native Birdie says his best years in baseball were with the Boston Red Sox. After having spent a number of years in Detroit with the Tigers, Birdie says he was booed out of Detroit. Tebbetts says pitcher Hal Newhouser of the Tigers begged his way into the Hall of Fame. Newhouser, he says, had his best years when the stars were off fighting WWII. Could this be sour grapes for his not being in the Hall of Fame himself? As an executive for the Milwaukee Braves during the 1960's Birdie says it was a job he detested. Such things as deciding on a hospitalization plan for the groundscrew and who is to get the contract for paving the parking lot at County Stadium were meetings he had to sit in on. He does provide us with some interesting tidbits in regard to what scouts look for in baseball prospects. I may be wrong, but at times Birdie seems to come across as a braggert. I also didn't feel it was necessary for him to be so flippant in using God's name in vain so many times.

Not the Birdie I knew
Birdie was a great storyteller. This book was not written with Birdie's sense of humor,intelligence, or respect for the people in the baseball industry. I knew him well and do not believe that he wrote it. Unfortunately, since he died three years before he supposedly wrote this book, we can't hear his side of the story. This book is just not worth the paper it's printed on. ... Read more

Book Description

"My Time At Bat" is one man's tale of success in a career where the odds were clearly not in his favor—in Major League Baseball. Chuck Hinton, an All Star, takes us down the road to the big league, over every bump and hurdle along the way. He took a chance and hitchhiked 300 miles for a baseball tryout and made it. He reveals his secrets about how he stayed there for eleven years.

But this book offers much more. Chuck Hinton persevered just as much off the field. He offers many principles to live by that will benefit everyone, male or female, in any walk of life. After all, it was important to him to be more than a Major League player. He strove to be a Major Person in everything he did.

In the early '60s, he led the Senators in batting three out of the four seasons he played for the team. He also led that team in stolen bases and triples all four years. His Minor League career highlights include 1959 Rookie of the Year, back-to-back league batting championships and league Most Valuable Player.

As you embark on his journey, you will see what it was like to be in the Major Leagues—and what it took to stay there. With the book's behind-the-scenes stories, words of encouragement and life lessons, this book is sure to be a hit for players and fans alike. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Nice, pleasant Summertime Reading
"My Time at Bat" is the biography of Chuck Hinton, who played in the American League from 1961-1971.Most people identify Chuck as a former Washington Senator, though he also played for the Indians. It is no poor reflection on Hinton that MLBB was just then starting its' decline from the "Golden Era" of 1946-1960. Expansion had begun the inevitable dissolution of the talent pool. However many fine players from the 40s and 50s were still in uniform during Chuck's career. MTB is a leisurely account of Hinton's days in the minors, majors and the US Army. MTB is filled with helpful on the field and off the field tips to survival. One point is crystal clear: The pressure is intense-players must bear down, not get distracted.Few mistakes are tolerated on the Major League level. There are some minor detractions: The photos are not of a high quality and a tad too much time is devoted to Hinton family matters. These matters are common to many sports' tales. Perhaps players wish to impart the point that they are people too. Mr. Hinton struck this reviewer as a highly principled guy and a real family man. After his ML days, Chuck was the baseball coach at Howard University. His players must have had high graduation rates! This offering will not reach the piinacle of great sports literature.However, MTB is a nice pleasant leisurely read, just right, as it says above, for the Summertime.

A BOOK WELL WORTH READING
CHUCK HINTON WRITES ABOUT HIS LIFE AND CAREER IN BASEBALL. HIS STORY HAS A WHOLE LOT OF EXCELLENT INSIGHTS HOW TO PLAY AND IMPROVE YOUR ABILITIES AS A PLAYER. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY HE SHARES HIS LIFE AS A PERSON AND BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN. CHUCK HAS SOME GREAT OPINIONS, INSIGHTS, AND EXPERIENCES TO SHARE. I SAW CHUCK PLAY AS A MEMBER OF THE CLEVELAND INDIANS, HE WAS A SOLID AND RELIABLE PLAYER. HIS BOOK IS FROM THE HEART. THE ONLY COMPLAINT IS, TOO BAD THERE WASN'T MORE. CHUCK'S BOOK IS VERY HEART WARMING AND A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FROM TODAY'S SELF CENTERED AND GREEDY ATHLETES OF TODAY. BLESS YOU CHUCK.

Chuck Hinton...one of my favorites
Chuck Hinton is, to date, the best African-American ballplayer in Washington Senators history. He and Frank Howard are the two most remembered position players from the expansion years.

USA Today Sports Weekly
This autobiography looks back at the struggles and achievements of Chuck Hinton as a young African American ballplayer in the early 60's. He played a total of 11 seasons with four teams (and remains to this day the last Senator to bat over .300). Away from the playing field, Hinton founded the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association while guiding the Howard University baseball team to more wins than any other coach in school history. Through it all, Hinton has retained his warmth and enthusiastic spirit, an effusive nature that emanates throughout the book." -November 6 - 12, 2002

One man's drive to follow his dream
My Time At Bat: A Story Of Perseverance is the memoir of Chuck Hinton, a successful African-American player in Major League Baseball and the founder of The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. Very highly recommended reading (especially for baseball fans), My Time At Bat is highly recommended as an insightful story of one man's drive to follow his dream and make the most of what life to offer... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Best Damn Book on Ted Period.
This revised edition of Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures is even better than the original which was terrific. If one is not moved to tears by David Pietrusza's account of his last meeting with the Splendid Splinter, you have no heart. This book is a wonderful combination of genuine straight-from-the-hip anecdotes and commentary by one of the most opinionated men in the history of the game and brilliant editing of pictures and text by co-author Pietrusza. Coming on the heels of Pietrusza's excellent biography of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, this book establishes him as one of the top baseball writers of his generation. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Baseball for the Soul
I think Jack Walsh, and Marshall Cook have captured the heart and soul of Baseball's greatest players. Baseball Good Guys is a book that will inspire the reader to learn more of the Character and Integrity of these players. The statistics are there, but their ability to overcome adversity, personalproblems, prejudice and more, will inform the readers of the real skills of these players.

Be forewarned, some of the pages come to life, in such a way that splinters (possibly from the bats) seem to leap into your eyes.

Good book, should be a must read for school athletes and those of us who lived during some of those years. ... Read more

Book Description

Between 1876 and 1960, nearly 100 northeastern Pennsylvanians played, managed, coached or umpired in the major leagues. Many were the sons of immigrant coal miners and living and working conditions in America were quite different from what they had been used to. Baseball became an important part of the assimilation process and it thrived as a church-sponsored form of recreation and entertainment for the coal miners and their families.

This work explores the childhood, and minor and major league experiences of Christy Mathewson, Stan Coveleski, Stanley "Bucky" Harris, Hughie Jennings, Ed Walsh, Nestor Chylak, Joe Bolinsky, Jake Daubert, John "Buck" Freeman, Mike Gazella, Pete Wyshner, John Edward Murphy, Steve O'Neill, John Picus, Joe "Lefty" Shaute, Steve Bilko, Harry Dorish, Bob Duliba, Joe "Professor" Ostrowski, and Stan Pawloski-21 players, managers, and umpires who exemplify the great talent, dedication, humility, and hardship that many northeastern Pennsylvanians experienced ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Diamonds in the Coalfields
"Diamonds in the Coalfields" is a documentary of life in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's. William Kashatus has done an excellent job of organizing the history of the mining communities, from a perspective of how baseball affected everyone's lives in those happy, glorious years. You can get an estimate of his effort by looking at his detailed reference notes and bibliography at the back of the book. He has devoted a huge amount of time in research and interviews in the writing of this book.
The accuracy of his descriptions is uncanny, for a person who did not "live it", except vicariously, through the eyes of others. My father pitched for the Glen Lyon Condors, in the 1920's. I lived through the era of Zig Najaka, Stan Pawloski, and Bob Duliba, at Newport Twp. High School. This is a personalized view of early baseball history, a meaningful picture for all baseball fans. My complments to William Kashatus for giving us such an accurate picture of those happy times in our lives. He has done a great job of documentation with an entertaining accent to this portrayal of life in the coal towns. I am purchasing additional books for my uncle, brother-in-law, and three sons, who also share an interest in the nostalgia for sports in the Wyoming Valley. (Pennsylvnia) ... Read more

Book Description

Gabby Harnett is believed by many to be the greatest catcher of all time. This work chronicles Hartnett’s life from his early years in Millville, Massachusetts, through his twenty-year career with the Chicago Cubs as player and manager, his time in various capacities in the minor leagues and with the New York Giants and Kansas City Athletics, to his post-major league career as a businessman in Chicago.

His childhood, early baseball experiences with the local team and with a nearby prep school, and his first professional baseball season with the Worcester Boosters of the Eastern League are covered in detail. Hartnett’s major league career as the catcher for the Cubs is well-documented, including his near career-ending arm injury in 1929, the 1932 World Series that featured Babe Ruth’s legendary "called shot," and Hartnett’s famous "homer in the gloamin" against the Pittsburgh Pirates that propelled Chicago to the 1938 National League pennant. The author also compares Hartnett’s statistics to those of his famous contemporaries, Mickey Cochrane and Bill Dickey, on a year-by-year basis. ... Read more

Amazon.com

So, how does a whole sport write an autobiography? With wit, grace, and insight--thank you--if the sport has seen as much, lived as much, and contributed as much verbiage as America's national pastime. Wallace, who also assembled the beautiful Baseball Anthology, has collected bits and pieces of obscure autobiographies and other written arcana from some of the best who ever played. This literary montage--stitched together with flowing narrative--is a remarkably clever, lively, and, at times, quite moving account of what it's like to play big-league ball, and just how hard a craft the game is. For the fan, that may be the equivalent of going yard, but it barely rounds first in the entirety of what Autobiography offers; a coffee-table volume in size, it gathers a spectacular lineup of photographs, from Cap Anson booting a grounder in the 19th century to the immediacy of Tony Gwynn's sweet swing, with baubles in between, like Lou Gehrig as a boy, Cy Young milking cows, a great catch by Roberto Clemente, and an amazing sequence capturing submarine pitcher Carl Mays's startling delivery.

The book's unique format allows players to compare notes on subjects as varied as the skills required for individual fielding positions to chasing a record to the difficulty of hanging up your spikes when it's all over. Gwynn and Babe Ruth weigh in on hitting with Hank Aaron and Jimmy Foxx; Bill Dickey and Johnny Bench trade catching tips; and Mickey Mantle, Honus Wagner, and Lou Gehrig share the nerves they experienced breaking into the show. These virtual dialogues across time form a skilled double-play combo with the photos that accompany them. They are Autobiography's strengths, but there's a weakness in the format, as well: nothing is examined too deeply. Still, that's not really the book's intent. Like any life story, it sets out to cover as much ground as it can, establish its own agenda, revel in what's good, air out some dark corners, and not dwell too long anywhere. To that end, Autobiography certainly scores. For fans who care about the game and adore its history, it should score pretty big. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Reviews (3)

over one hundred years of oral history/ amazing rare photos
This is one of the most informative(from the player perspective) books on baseball I've ever seen.Good narrative riddled with excerpts from interviews and autobiographies of the players who've made this the most beautiful sport around.Highlights include Willie Stargell's harrowing brush with Texas racism in the minors, psychological terrorism tips from Ty Cobb, playing through agony with Gary Carter and Roberto Clemente, what if's from Judy Johnson and Monte Irvin and dealing with the loneliness of language barriers in a strange land by Juan Marichal.
Humor comes from a bit on illegal pitches featuring Gaylord Perry and Burleigh Grimes, as well as Joe Sewell's innovative way to deal with a bunt down the third base line...that one led to an overnight rule change.There is also an amusing debate over who threw the first curve ball and how corn cobs made Paul Waner a better hitter.
There is also tragedy.The Carl Mays fastball that killed Ray Chapman is dealt with in these pages.
The oral history is striking and wonderful, but the rare photos are even better.Clear photos grace nearly every page, many of which I have never had the pleasure of seeing.If you love baseball with even half the passion that I embrace it , you must own this book.It's time to see what was going on before sportscenter.

Despite claims to the contrary by previous reviewers there are no stories related by Barry Bonds and this book is not in chronological order.It is, however, made to order.Slip off the dust jacket and enjoy.

Great book
This book is a unique approach to examining the
national pastime of the USA. It is a picture book
that visits various eras of the game in chronological
order, along with quotes from the era's greatest stars,
many of whom are enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, New York. You get to see the quotes of some
great players. The photography alone makes the book a
treasured keepsake. If you love baseball history, this
book is for you. The photography mixed with comments

about the game itself from those who participate in it
is a great concept in itself.

An "All-Timer" Hit
This is a different sort of "best" book and takes the concept of oral history to a new level. Previously the players in such collections shared a common theme, like a team or time frame. But Wallace wonders whatit would be like to sit down old-timers with contemporary players for adiscussion of their craft. Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds . . . Bob Feller andGreg Maddux . . . brothers of the diamond shooting the breeze. Usingexcerpts from old interviews, Wallace seamlessly blends the generations asthey regale us in tales about the pressures a rookie faces, the joy of thecheers, and the heartbreak of realizing it's time to hang 'em up. Thechoice of illustrations works extremely well in enhancing the stories. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Baseball and Christianity all in one
This book includes the stories of about twenty baseball players, their life experiences and the main focus, their Christian backgrounds. You'll find how God helped them get where they are today and how they found their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and lived for Him. For any Christian who loves baseball, this book is for you. ... Read more

Book Description

Among baseball players, few have the respect and adoration that Cal Ripken Jr. has earned throughout his career. With dignity and class, Cal has played on, and on, and on, eclipsing Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games in 1995. And on he went, finally calling the record quits in 1998 and moving into exclusive baseball company with his 400th home run and 3,000th hit. 2001 will mark the end of his extraordinary career, which has been captured in Cal.

The Sporting News, in conjunction with the writers and photographers at The Baltimore Sun, will brings you the commemorative celebration of a celebrated career, from his sensational rookie season in 1983 to his 2001 All-Star Game heroics and his final moment on the field.

Nine chapters recap Ripken's amazing career. The Sporting News senior writer and former Baltimore Sun columnist Ken Rosenthal looks at Ripken The Icon, finding Ripken's rightful place in baseball history. The Sun's Joe Strauss recaps Ripken's final playing days, from his retirement announcement to his final curtain call at Camden Yards to his final game at Yankee Stadium.

Other chapters recall Ripken's spine-tingling run into baseball history, Cal's coming of age on the national scene, his mold-breaking play as a shortstop and the role his family, especially his father and brother, played in his career.

It's the ultimate keepsake of a player for the ages. ... Read more

Book Description

A dual biography tracing the convergence of the lives of two of baseball's most influential individuals in a special moment in sports and cultural history. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

A MUST READ! = WEAA, NPR Baltimore
"A vivid account of how Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey shattered baseball's age old color line. A must read for baseball fans everywhere. A wonderful book so ably pulled together by noted baseball historian and journalist Harvey Frommer."

*A TERRIFIC BOOK ABOUT A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC
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"Just a terrific book. It fills in so many of the blanks about the story of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. It's like a history lesson. And the intro by Monte Irvin puts it over the top."- - -Billy Sample, MLBRadio
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FABULOUS BOOK BY A NAME BASEBALL WRITER
Pinstripe Press
Rickey and Robinson
The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Barrier
Blending exclusive interviews with Rachel Robinson, Mack Robinson (Jackie's brother), Hall of Famers Monte Irvin, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Ralph Kiner and others,
- The Pinstripe Press

Celebrated author Harvey Frommer evokes the lives of Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey and heralded baseball player Jackie Robinson to describe how they worked together to shatter baseball's color line.
"This book clearly illustrates the elegance and class that BOTH men showed on the field and off. Frommer has provided a fresh perspective and a testament to overcoming adversity in the face of ignorance. Rickey and Robinson is a must read for hardcore baseball fans everywhere."

TREMENDOUS DETAIL. BUY THIS BOOK NOW.
The Story Of Rickey And Robinson
by Russ Cohen
BASEBALLOLOGY.COM

If you have never heard of Branch Rickey or Jackie Robinson, boy do I have a book for you, it's called Rickey and Robinson: The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Barrier! Jackie Robinson was one of the greatest multi-sport athletes to ever walk the earth and Branch Rickey was the guy with the guts that gave Robinson his chance to shine, it's a truly amazing story.

Rickey was a lawyer with a rich history that will amaze you in this book. As always author Harvey Frommer goes into tremendous detail to shed even more light on a great story!

Robinson was a true American hero and this book talks to all the right people to give you a feel of how Jackie felt and was feeling during his playing career. The book also points out how he was a civil right's activist as well.

The book talks a lot about the Negro Leagues and mentions even more players that you may not have heard of that unfortunately never made it to the bigs. Anytime you can read about Josh Gibson, Roy Campanella and Satchel Paige you are in for a fun time.

Jackie died a young man at the age of fifty-three-years of age. This great man had to endure more stress, on and off the field, than most people could imagine. His funeral had 2,500 mourners and when you see the names you will see the type of respect that Robinson garnered.

The author does a great job of keeping the final chapter of Robinson's life as upbeat as possible. It was sad but there was so much good to reflect on and the book did that. The afterword was a nice little story and the boxscore of Robinson's first game along with Rickey's player and managerial record are priceless.

Buy this book now

*****REWARDING AND READABLE BOOK***********************
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Professional athletes are probably no more ignorant of history than the rest of us, but there was something especially disturbing about the number of modern players who, in 1997, during the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the baseball color line, revealed that they didn't know who he was. Pollsters probably didn't ask, but it's likely even fewer would have known who Branch Rickey was. That black players in particular, whose careers follow the path that these men blazed, do not comprehend and honor the debt is most troubling of all. Anyone wishing to remedy their own lack of knowledge, and even those who think they already know the whole story, will find Harvey Frommer's Rickey and Robinson an invaluable resource and a truly moving read.

Mr. Frommer had the novel idea of structuring the book as parallel biographies of the two men, their stories overlapping and lives knitting together for that remarkable period of years when they, almost by themselves, integrated major league baseball. Jackie Robinson's is the better known tale, from UCLA to the Army to the Negro Leagues to the Dodgers' minor leagues and then to Brooklyn, with a significant career in business and politics afterwards. And most baseball fans will be familiar with Branch Rickey's reputation as an innovator, his most lasting contributions, besides integration, to the game including the batting helmet and the organized minor league farm system. Met fans too will recall Ralph Kiner's stories about how tight-fisted and patronizing (in both the positive and negative senses) Rickey was with his players. But Mr. Frommer gives us a full picture of the man, of his religious background (which seems to have played no small part in his willingness to be a racial pioneer), his keen mind for the game and for business, and his endless maneuvering to improve his teams. Each man led a life full enough to support a biography of his own. Here we get both and they're fascinating.

But the event that defined their lives was the meeting on August 28, 1945, at Brooklyn Dodgers headquarters, between Rickey and Robinson. It's astonishing to realize that this first time the men ever met, Branch Rickey asked Jackie Robinson to take on the daunting task of being the first black man to play organized white baseball (at least since the color bar had been erected decades earlier). But Rickey had made a true project of the whole idea, had scouted the Negro Leagues and the personal backgrounds of the prospective players thoroughly, and he knew Robinson was uniquely well-suited-- by his ability, his intelligence, his education, his relatively middle-class California upbringing, and his temperament, desire, and will--to bear the burdens. And so "The Meeting" was not just a get acquainted session, but an opportunity for Rickey to probe and to prepare Robinson, even to the point of demonstrating the kind of taunts he should expect to hear, before offering him the bittersweet role of, as he put it: "carrying the reputation of a race on your shoulders."

The whole book is enjoyable but it is this chapter that really sings. The Meeting has been the subject of books, film, stageplay, and more, but it's never been told better than here, with high drama and a sense of history, but also with an immediacy that makes the reader feel like he's a fly on the wall in Rickey's office those sixty years ago. No one can understand what happened in baseball and in American society over those sixty years without knowing the story of Rickey and Robinson and, Mr. Frommer having given us such a rewarding and readable book about the men and their noble achievement, there's no excuse for not knowing it.
***************************************************** ... Read more

Book Description

This is the life story of a man for whom the American Dream dies hard. Born in 1953 in Selma, Alabama, Terry Leach first plays baseball as a Little Leaguer. In college, he stars at Auburn until an arm injury threatens his future. He recovers sufficiently to pitch sidearm and enter the independent leagues in Louisiana, which leads to his first contract with the Atlanta Braves organization. Later, he reaches the major leagues with the New York Mets, and in 1987 he wins ten games in a row and finishes 11-1. The road to the top is filled with turns and potholes, but Leach learns from them, and eventually develops a personal baseball philosophy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An OK baseball book
This book is a short fast read a fairly detailed account of Terry Leach's major league career. While it contains almost no controversy or dirt, espicially when he was a member of the "bad boy" Late 80s Mets, the book is a good read when if you would like to know about the lesser players in baseball.

A nice try, but it comes up short
To be honest, I really wanted to like this book because Terry Leach seems like a good guy and an honest man, but this book isn't one that I'll think of when I think about good baseball books. It's an autobiographical account of his playing days in college at Auburn, the minor leagues, and the big leagues with the Mets, Royals, Twins, and White Sox. It's not a very well-written book. For example, there are a number of grammatical errors. He tends to use the word myself a lot when he could just use I or me. He also makes way too many excuses for his failures (I wasn't used right, I was hurt, etc., etc., etc.,) and he also complains too much about not being treated right by the different teams that unceremoniously dump him. When he does taste success he can't stop raving about himself or praising himself. On the plus side, this book is easy to read and easy to follow. It's possible to finish this book in the amount of time it takes to watch an entire major league baseball game. Another good thing is that he doesn't have anything bad to say about old teammates, managers, etc. The closest he comes to bad-mouthing someone is when he says that he didn't care for some of his teammates in the minors. He seems like a genuinely good man, and that's why it's too bad this book wasn't a bit more interesting to read. ... Read more