Baseball Books

A GREAT BOOK FOR A TRUE DODGER OR BASEBALL FAN. I REALLY WONDER WHERE THEY GOT ALL THE WONDERFUL MATRIAL FOR THIS BOOK. A GREAT DISPLAY OF NOSTALGIC MEMEROBILIA FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BELOVED BUMS, TO THE BOYS OF SUMMER, TO THE MOVE TO LA, AND LIFE SINCE THEN. A GREAT JOB. WELL RECOMMENDED.

In a easy going, flowing style, the authors trace the history of the Dodgers from pre-history to around the early 1990's.

I thought that I knew the Dodgers pretty well until I read this book! The photos and memorabilia are just fantastic.

However, I was given pause on the 1950's section. The authors make some statements that are just plain wrong!

The #1 Pacific Coast League team in LA was the Los Angeles Angels NOT the Hollywood Stars. Further, while the Hollywood Stars rented and shared LA's Wrigley field from/with the Angels for a few years but it was NOT their park, it was the Angels.

I was also astounded that the authors failed to point out that Walter O'Malley purchased the LA Angels in 1956 in anticipation of the Dodger's move to LA and then, to add insult to injury, stole the Angels cap logo for the 1958 Dodger AFTER he had moved the club to Spokane, Washington. In doing so he destroyed the PCL's chances of every being merging into MLB - a dream that had lingered since 1902. In a sentence, the man was greedy to the core and didn't give a rip about the fans! It is no wonder he is so despised in Brooklyn to this day.

Despite these small flaws, I believe that you will love this book as much as I did! It is wonderful.

/fwa

Satchel Paige is an enigmatic figure in american histroy. Mention his name, people inevitably think of the negro leagues,or thta terrible bingo long movie.In fact, Paige was ,in many repects, the first modern ballplayer. He played for a percentage of the gate, would only pitch a couple of innings in these contests,had no compuction about jumping from team to team{or country to country}The minstel show,stephifetchit aura that he calculated with the all too eager white press was, of course, a huge ruse. He was a sometimes bitter man{quite understandably so}He knew, instinctively, that he was the best pitcher in the world{although,curiosly, his peers voted Smokey Joe williams better in a 1950 vote in the Pittsburgh Courrier} He despsed the Jim Crow laws, and what he had to do to get around them. HIs civil rights stands were taken in the 20's 30's and 40's, when such things often meant death. He pitched for what might have been the greatest team of all time{the Pittsburgh crawfords of the early 30's] Dimaggio called him ethe toughest pitcher he ever hit against.All of these nuggets are in this book. Mr. Ribowsky did a fine job here. Paige is a figure who should be celebrated for what he was:an american original,a species often sighted but rarely seen. A wonderful book!

After reading this book, I am utterly convinced that Satchel Paige is as much of a baseball legend as a Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth. This book not only entertains but it fascinates, so much that I would'nt be suprised if someone mistook this biography for a peice of baseball folklore or a non fictitious work designed to capture the imaginations of baseball fans. This book portrays the life of Robert Leroy Satchel Paige in a most interesting way. In some cases he stands biggerthan life portrayed as a demi-god in the face of the gods of Major League Baseball and in some cases his mortality is revealed in the very midst of his immortality, and this is what makes this portrayal so unique.

I followed the Mets faithfully that entire dream season and this book went over it faithfully. It was a joy to read all about it, especially the play offs and Game 6 in particular!

I read this book every few years to go back to a time when I first discovered America's past-time. There has never been a more magical team than the New York Mets in 1986. It was more than the play everyone remembers--the ball Mookie Wilson's hit that rolled between Bill Buckner's legs when he "peeked" at Mookie hustling down the line. That play was symballic of the entire Mets playoff run. As you read this book, you sit beside Gary Carter during each game of the Mets/Astros NL Series and the Mets/Red Sox World Series. You get a true behind-the-scenes picture of what happens in the dugout, on the field, and in the clubhouse. Any baseball fan, whether or not you love the mets, will love this book.

A friend showed me this book, I read it and bought it for my grand-daughter. It is full of bright, lively dialog and moves right along. While spending a season on the school softball team the girls encounter a few hardball lessions about growing up, getting along with each other and developing their emotional maturity. I recommend Easy Out highly.

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. I always wanted to know what came next. I recommend this book to anybody. The main character has obstacles to overcome and learns how to resolve her problems.

Karen Ferraro

All the way through the regaling that Joseph McCauley works in his tale of Ebbets Field, you have an inkling of the envy you'll eventually feel when you come to finish this really great story of a truly unique time in the history of man -- when one could trust his eight-year-old daughter to her ten-year-old brother and a fistful of change, alone at a double-header in a major league ballpark, surrounded by what had become to them the family of Dose Bums and their fans! I resolved, as I put down this book, that I wished to be 50 years older, when you had a chance to be a member of that great gathering.

McCauley tells the story of more than merely a structure. His is the story of a place and a time when professional ball players talked with you and you talked with them as friends and co-admirers, not combatants; when the players lived in your neighborhood and, at times, even knew you by name; when you heard not only the crack of the bat at the crack of dawn, but often the closing of the bar with some of the team, much later after the game, win of lose. As McCauley tells it, you went to Ebbets not merely to support your Dodgers but 'cause that's what there was to do 'round Brooklyn -- and what there was to do there was lots of fun!

And was there a lot to do! McCauley spins the stories out nearly faster than they can be caught -- of games won and lost, championships had and missed, players coming and going and always remaining memorable, of Holy Name Society gatherings and college football matches and circuses and side shows and hot-dog venders and amateur musicians, and more variants thereon than I had thought possible, finally coming to conclusion 'midst the mess of a demolition derby preceding the demolition ball.

When the grand ole' place finally meets her demise, you lament not only for what was but for all those who partook, as performers whether on the field or in the stands -- and you wish you could've been there, too!

Buy this book, wade through the publisher's abysmal punctuation, and really enjoy the author's great recounting of a place and time to be envied!

Joe McCauley has researched and written a complete history of a storied and revered baseball "shrine," as he calls it. For Brooklyn Dodger fans of an earlier era, this is an invaluable chronology of the ballpark -- and the team -- over 47 unforgettable years.
"Ebbets Field" is written with expertise and affection, unusual qualities found together in a serious history.
The book is easy to read for fans of any age, and will have special impact on all those who are old enough to remember. It is well illustrated with color and b&w photos.
It's a one-of-a-kind treat. Add it to your coffee table, at least!

A great baseball book. Very well written. This is a must for baseball fans who enjoy the history of the game.

Many people think that by just purchasing Babe Ruth from the Red Sox that created the Yankee Dynasty. This book is a great history of the man who really created the Yankee Dynasty. The first 50 years of his life he was not involved with the Yankees but was involved with other teams as a manager and also served as the President of a minor league struggling against the odds of survival. Until Terry Francona, Ed Barrow was the last manager of the Red Sox who won a World Series with Babe Ruth as one of its stars. This is a must read of a tough man who built the first of many Yankees dynasties. The Red Sox fans curse the day the Red Sox owner sold the Babe to the Yankees, but they should be aware the most damaging blow was losing their manager, Ed Barrow to the Yankees. For the students of the game, this is a must read. Even the Red Sox Nation should read this book to understand more of their history.

If you are a Cardinals fan this is a dream book. One of the most in-depth books on the Cardinals and baseball in general in late 60's. A great read.

AM ALMOST FINISHED WITH THE BOOK, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST
BASEBALL BOOKS THAT I HAVE EVER READ, AND I HAVE READ NUMEROUS
BASEBALL BIOGRAPHIES, AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, AND SEASON HISTORY BOOKS.
"EL BIRDOS" ALSO GIVES THE STATE OF THE NATION AS THE 67 AND 68 SEASONS
PROGRESS.ALSO THE INSIGHTS WITH INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS AND TEAMS WOULD GIVE
A UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO THE 60'S, FOR THE ONE'S OF US THAT EXPERIENCED THIS
TIME, AND THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THE 70'S ARE ABOUT.

this was a x-mas present for my uncle who said he'll be busy w/ this for months. it also weighs about 50lbs.

Reviews and presents the 'greats' and the not so 'great' in an apostolic and alphabetical order by career importance and also by relevant statistics. This is the sign-off item for any MLB argument and for the Prevention--of any dubious 'know-it-alls' as labeled by the conformist's predilections. Retorts even the neophyte to the game's roots of the 'movement' of the players of all times and of all creeds and nations. Introduces an ingenious formula for including in the documentation those numbers not usually graphed or figured out that any fan would like to know, i.e., "sabermetrics". Who was pitching, hitting and circling the bases when records, both good and poor, were being tallied and posted on the center field boards, and now in the hand-held instruments of reprisal (cell-phones, iPods, whatever's). No sports fan can be without this volume: three strikes--you're out the plate! If you don't get this tome.

This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I just could not put it down. It reminded me of "Catcher In The Rye" however I thought it was even better.It was exciting, sad, funny,it had everything. With all the great reviews I have seen on this book, I can't imagine that I have not heard about this character or this author. This character, I believe, will join all the other great American characters in literature.

This is an American tragedy. It is truly one of the greatest books I've ever read. The writing is so rich and so funny, it reminds one of "Catcher In The Rye" only I feel it is even better. The whole time I kept wondering if a movie is going to be made about this, because I believe this character, Darrel Skaitts, will be remembered with all the great characters in literature.It was one of the great reading pleasures of my life...

Every word Whitford writes is a marvel. Not too late to put this under your Christmas tree!

David Whitford captures the second spring of these aging ballplayers with his excellent eye for story and ear for dialogue. The man (Whitford) is a national treasure.