Baseball Books

Two books with similar titles came out within weeks of each other. Which one should you buy?

The books are:

DAY BY DAY WITH THE BOSTON RED SOX by Bill Nowlin

RED SOX JOURNAL by John Synder. Snyder's book is subtitled "Year by Year & Day by Day with the Boston Red Sox Since 1901."

Nowlin's book looks like the better one to me, but anyone who can afford both should buy both as they complement each other well. Both books try to look at interesting things that happened on given dates in Red Sox history.

If you want to look up a given year, say 1958, Snyder's book is better because it's organized by year. If you want to look up a given date and see everything that happened on that particular date, Nowlin's book works better because it's organized by the day of the year.

Nowlin's book costs $17.95. Snyder's book costs almost twice as much, a full $12 more: $29.95. Snyder's book has 92 more pages, but the pages aren't as densely packed with information. At first glance, the two books seem to have about the same amount of information.

The Nowlin book is easier to handle, given its size and shape. The Snyder book is a little unwieldy.

Both books offer incredible, almost unprecedented amount of detail. Snyder's book sprinkles a dozen or so photographs throughout. It's going to take weeks to read through the two books for content, but there's one troubling gaffe right on the back cover of the Snyder book. His publisher cites the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 on January 5, 1920. The sale actually occurred in 1919 on December 26, and the price was an even $100,000.

The amount of work that went into these books is staggering. It's too bad they both came out at practically the same time. Both books merit five stars.

Bill Nowlin has created something very special here: surely the most complete day to day history of the Boston Red Sox ever written. The book was inspired by the comprehensive 1978 compendium This Date in Boston Red Sox History,authored by my friend and mentor, the late Ed Walton. Nowlin's book may be the greatest literary tribute one could pay to Ed.
In order to write a book such as Day by Day, you have to have two characteristics:
- an abiding, all-consuming love of the Boston Red Sox
- an almost obsessive need to document, with painstaking accuracy, every aspect of their history
Nowlin possesses both of these "qualities" in spades. He is obviously a tireless researcher, yet he manages to bring a sense of humor to what could be a very dry and lifeless project. Day by Day brings Red Sox history alive in a very unique way. Turn to any date - your birthday perhaps - and you will doubtless discover something interesting, if not fascinating.
I can't imagine a Red Sox fan not having this book in her or his library. It is definitive.
Teddy Ballgame

Unless you are a Red Sox fan, you may not know about the Curse of the Bambino. In the early part of the 20th century, the Boston Red Sox dominated the American League. One of their best players was a pitcher named Babe Ruth. The owner traded the Babe to the New York Yankees in exchange for the money to invest in the Broadway production of No No, Nanette and it's been no cigar for the Red Sox ever since.

Jonathan Schwartz has one of the worst cases of Red Sox addiction that I have ever heard of. He has been a radio announcer in New York for over 30 years (that's enemy territory for Red Sox fans). To stay up with his beloved Red Sox, he spent almost $15,000 in long distance charges from 1970-77 to listen in to the air check for WITS in Hartford of the games (calling in from Paris in some cases).

This is a story first published in Sports Illustrated in 1978 and covers one of the worst periods in Red Sox history: The season when they blew a late 14 game lead to the dreaded Yankees. I lived in Boston at that time, and it was painful to recall the swoon. Yet at the end of the season, they pulled a comeback and tied the Yankees. There was to be a one-game playoff in Fenway Park (determined by a coin toss) on October 2, 1978. In a prior playoff against Cleveland in Fenway in 1948 (also on October 2), the Sox had lost 8-3.

During the slide, the worst time had been when the Red Sox lost four in a row in Fenway to the Yankees with less than a month to go. Schwartz recounts his reaction. In a funk, he impulsively walked out of his apartment with $50 and a credit card, and flew to California. Only after arriving did he remember to call his live-in girlfriend and tell her what he had done.

With the big game coming up, Schwartz thinks he should take it easy and watch the game on television. At the last minute, he cannot resist and calls in some markers to get a press pass.

Most of the book recounts the game. It is interspaced with pre and post game comments from the key players.

The ironies continue to abound. You'll have to read the book to get them all. The Sox took a 2-0 early lead, but the faithful were fearful. Bucky Dent, the light-hitting shortstop, fouled a ball off his leg and play was stopped temporarily while he was treated. On the mound, the delay cost Torres (the Red Sox pitcher and former Yankee) his concentration. You guessed it. Dent hit a home run. Gossage replaced Guidry later on and stops the Red Sox from rallying back.

The final score: New York 5, Boston 4 (or as Schwartz puts it "Destiny 5, Boston 4).

Required reading and rereading for all Red Sox fans until the Curse of the Bambino is lifted!

Overcome your disbelief that anyone team could have so much bad luck with so much talent by reading this engaging story of baseball tragedy!

Jonathan Schwartz captures the sweet sadness of being a lifelong Red Sox fan (at least until 2004).

"Day By Day In Cincinnati Reds History" is chock-full of more statistics and trivial facts than you can shake a stick (of the Hillerich-Bradsby variety) at!

The book, published in 1983, covers a period dating from the club's beginning in the late 1800s through the 1982 season. Tons of interesting pieces of info are in store for Reds' fans inside this 336-page paperback volume. Many black-and-white photographs of Reds' greats also are spread throughout the book.

Chapter One (entitled "This Date In Cincinnati Reds History") reveals Reds' team and individual highlights, arranged chronologically by calendar date, month-by-month, with all 12 months of the year included. If something of a fairly big nature happened on a certain date, you're likely to find it lurking within these pages. Even a few smaller (more "average") Reds' accomplishments are covered here, such as the entry for May 20, 1969. Anybody know what happened that day in Reds' history? Well, pitcher Tony Cloninger spun a two-hit shutout vs. Philadelphia in a 4-0 Reds' victory. Not Earth-shaking news I suppose, but it's in the book nonetheless. :)

Cloninger, you might recall, is probably best known for setting an almost unbelievable record -- becoming the only pitcher to ever hit TWO grand-slam home runs in a single big-league game! It wasn't as a Red, however. He hit the slams while in a Braves' uniform, on July 3, 1966, in a 17-3 romp for the Braves against the Giants at Candlestick Park. Tony launched five total HRs that year, while driving in 23 runs (an amazing total of ribbies for a hurler)!

A "Chronological Index" in the back, arranged alphabetically by Reds' player's last names, is a nice cross-referencing tool to use in conjunction with Chapter 1.

Let's say you had a burning and uncontrollable desire to know what happened in Reds' history (of a fairly major nature, that is) on January 8th. No problem -- you'd simply find the "January 8" area of the book, and if a major occurrence took place on that date revolving around the Redlegs' club, you'll find it listed there (next to the appropriate year within the "Jan. 8" area).

A good "January 8" example -- in fact the ONLY event listed for that calendar date (which makes some sense, since January is the off-season for baseball) -- is a fact about former Reds' first baseman-outfielder Larry Biittner. I'll bet not many people know, even amongst baseball fans, that Biittner was the very first "re-entry draft free agent" ever signed by the Cincinnati Reds. And Biittner officially signed his contract with the Reds on January 8, 1981. You'll find that data in this volume. And heaps of other little-known facts about the team and its players as well.

It's fun to just start leafing through these pages and stop on any date to see what transpired on that date in Cincy history. E.G.: On August 12, 1966, Reds' outfielder Art Shamsky hit three home runs at Crosley Field vs. Pittsburgh. This particular hunk of Reds' trivia isn't exactly of a history-making nature, I guess (since many players have hit 3 four-ply wallops in a single contest). It's not overly remarkable until you read on -- and discover that Shamsky did not enter that game until the EIGHTH INNING! And each of his 3 homers either tied the game or put the Reds out in front! The game lasted 12 innings, with the Pirates outlasting Cincy, 14-11. We also learn in the book that two days later Shamsky tied a big-league record by swatting yet another long ball, making it 4 HRs in 4 straight at-bats! Like on August 12, Shamsky didn't enter that August 14th game until late in the contest, and his homer, once more, erased a Pirates lead. But the Reds lost that game too.

Other Chapter-One tidbits that I found very interesting (and perhaps you shall as well)....................

>> On May 30, 1883, the Reds played games in two different cities on the very same day. In the morning, the team played a contest in New York; then travelled to Philadelphia for an afternoon game, completing a unique doubleheader.

>> On July 27, 1930, Reds' pitcher Ken Ash threw only one pitch in a game vs. Chicago, which resulted in a triple play, and wound up the winning pitcher in the game.

>> Pete Rose, certainly NOT known as a long-ball threat, clubbed THREE home runs in a game at Shea Stadium in New York on April 29, 1978!

>> Babe Ruth hit 2 homers against the Reds in a Reds/Yankees exhibition game at "Redland Field" on July 25, 1921.

>> August 21, 1894 was a BAD day for the Reds. Cincy hurlers permitted (*gulp*) 43 runs (!) in a doubleheader at Boston. Cincinnati lost 18-3 and 25-8 that day. What added insult to injury that day was that the Boston club scored its 43 runs in just 14 total innings at bat! The 2nd game went on so long, it was called due to darkness. (Whoever pitched those games must NOT have been related to Tom Seaver.) :)

The above is just a sampling of the type of intriguing stuff that can be located in this fascinating book.

And there's more to this publication than just the "Day-By-Day" section (as the cover might suggest). In addition, there are sections on Reds' leaders in just about every statistical category you can imagine.

Other cool fun facts you can investigate in this book include ..............

> Data on EVERY single post-season game the Reds ever played in.

> A list of every Grand-Slam home run ever hit by a Reds' player (since 1901), including date hit, pitcher that served it up, and inning in which it was struck.

> Reds' All-Star Game participants, year-by-year.

> Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak is chronicled, game-to-game.

> List of all "Opening Day" results.

This is really a fun book to browse through. Well-constructed and easy to follow. A seemingly never-ending resource for Reds' stats and trivia.

For serious (or even casual) Cincinnati Reds' baseball fans, this book is a must. There are a few misspellings of players' names throughout the book, which is a bit annoying. But these errors are minor, and certainly not a reason to avoid this publication.

And, btw, always keep this important fact in mind, Redlegs' fans --- On July 2, 1961, Reds' first sacker Gordy Coleman stroked eight base hits in a doubleheader at Milwaukee vs. the Braves! Hey, you don't believe me? Look it up! It's right here! *wink* / *smile*

This book gives you a great history about the Cincinnati Reds. It gives you great stats and commentary on all the Reds greats. If you are a Cincinnati Reds fan, this is the ultimate book to have.

Dear Ichiro is a gentle and enjoyable picture book illustrated by Doug Keith and written by Jean Davies Okimoto that celebrates baseball as a sport cherished in both America and Japan. A young boy gets into an angry fight with his best friend, and vows to hate his former friend forever... but when he sees his grandfather, a World War II veteran, cheering for Japanese baseball players then the boy learns that it's possible for enemies to become friends again. A welcome addition for school and community library collections, Dear Ichiro is a heartwarming and enthusiastically recommended picture book story.

This is a great children's book with a terrific message for both children and adults. Henry and his friend Oliver have a terrible quarrel, and then Grandpa Charlie comes to take Henry to a Seattle Mariners game. Henry tells Grandpa Charlie that Oliver is now his enemy. Grandpa Charlie and Henry both very much admire Ichiro Suzuki, and Grandpa Charlie tells Henry that at one time he thought of Japanese people as the enemy. Henry asks questions and Grandpa Charlie explains about World War II and says that people want to put the past behind them and live in peace. In the end Henry and Oliver resolve their differences. Because children already feel an affinity for Ichiro this story will be of high interest. The lovely writing and beautiful illustrations make this a very high quality picture book. I've read Dear Ichiro to both second and fourth graders, and they all loved it.

As a die-hard fan for almost 50 years, I could relate to the many stories of the personal attachment to our beloved White Sox. Highly recommended for all true Sox fans!

Like many other Sox fans, I went to the cemetary to "tell" my father about the White Sox winning the World Series. I like to think he knew, but just in case, I wanted to share it with him. To my surprise, there were many other graves decorated with Sox flags already-obviously by other families with similar intent ! Love for the Sox is an obsession, almost a religion. If you don't believe it, read all the dedications, mostly to older relatives who introduced the writer to the Sox. I found the book touching, humorous. You need to be a hard core older fan to appreciate it, however. The kind of fan who uses the web site. My dedication is to my Dad, George J. who died 10 years before the championship. The games he took me to at old Comisky are my best memories. Nellie Fox, Louie Apparicio to Wilbur Wood, Jack McDowell, and Ozzie Guillen, have been my heroes. I only wish we could have shared the Championship season, Dad. I'm sure you find joy in the way your grandsons and I play, coach, and cheer on the Sox.

This is absolutely a "must-have" for any Detroit Tigers fan! Not just a book of statistics, "Detroit Tigers Lists and More" is about every fascinating and obscure trivia you ever wanted to know about the Tigers. Everything from Tigers in other Halls of Fame to player nicknames to fantasy teams to miscellaneous info too good to pass up (like notable fights, forfeits and family relations) - it's here, all neatly cataloged and indexed for easy reference. Pick one up for your favorite sports fan!

This is absolutely a "must-have" for any Detroit Tigers fan! Not just a book of statistics, "Detroit Tigers Lists and More" is about every fascinating and obscure trivia you ever wanted to know about the Tigers. Everything from Tigers in other Halls of Fame to player nicknames to fantasy teams to miscellaneous info too good to pass up (like notable fights, forfeits and family relations) - it's here, all neatly cataloged and indexed for easy reference. Pick one up for your favorite sports fan!

I wish to inform potential readers that DIAMONDS AROUND THE GLOBE has been announced as winner of the 2005 SPORTING NEWS-SABR BASEBALL RESEARCH AWARD. The Sporting News-SABR Award annually honors/recognizes outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year which have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball. The official award announcement will come in August at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) annual convention in Toronto.

Peter C. Bjarkman's "Diamonds Around the Globe" is the early-season candidate for baseball book of the year honors. It picks up where Total Baseball and other tomes leave off, and makes it clear that baseball is much more than just an American pastime
There are chapters on the game in Japan, Canada, Venezuela, Cuba and elsewhere. Bjarkman adds the history of baseball in Europe, the Pacific Rim countries and Africa.
"DAG" includes historical information on professional and amateur programs around the globe. Want to know the yearly champions of Belarus or San Marino? Or Korea's MVPs? It's all here, along with information on baseball in the Olympics and other global amateur competitions.
One of the most fascinating sections of the book is a timeline that includes a potpourri of baseball facts, feats and firsts - details of an 1857 game on Australia's Ballarat gold rush fields; the birth of professional teams in Cuba and Japan; and much more.
There's even an appendix that provides names and addresses of baseball federations around the world. Want the e-mail address for the Osterreichischer BaseballundSoftballverband (Austria)? A website for the Hrvatski Baseball Savez (Croatia)? Or the name of the current president of the Republic of Marshall Islands Baseball Federation (Danny Wase)? It's all here.

when I started to read this book I read the whole thing in one sitting.

Perhaps because he's Canadian (so am I, but I'm completely objective here), Kinsella has a superb understanding of the psyche of baseball -- which is truly America's national sport.

It's not all that odd. Alexis de Tocqueville, from France, wrote "Democracy in America" in (1835 and 1840), still the most penetrating and insightful view of the character and core values of American democracy. It took Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw to best understand the English -- no Englishman could write "Pygmalion" upon which "My Fair Lady" is based.

Novelist Bernard Malamud summed it up nicely, "The whole history of baseball has the quality of mythology." In about 150 quotes, this book brings that mythology to life.

Kinsella is a master observer of baseball. His "Shoeless Joe" became the classic "Field of Dreams" in 1989, the best film yet about the spirit that motivates boys and men to play, watch, understand and love baseball. This is a story of redemption and faith in the best American tradition, and the film captures the magic of Kinsella's story.

Baseball is not like other sports. It is a game in which each individual player faces the entire opposing team alone, in batting and base running to score points. Think of Canada's ice hockey in similar terms -- requiring a single player to face nine opponents to score a goal. It's tough enough to "kill a penalty" in hockey when a team is one player short; hockey, like most sports, is a team effort.

Baseball reflects the American spirit, a "lone eagle" against the world. Yet, it is also the poetry in action of superb teamwork; from pitching to fielding, from the subtle grace of a curve ball to a double or triple play, it has the grace of a lyrical ballet perfomed on fresh mown grass instead of a dull indoor stage.

In a world of factoids, sound bites and trivia, "Diamonds Forever" collects the best sayings about baseball by players, fans and others. Kinsella's skill is knowing what to include and what to omit, and he offers up the meaning of life as well as the inner qualities of baseball. Like Tocqueville who understood American democracy before Americans could define it, Kinsella offers an outsider's view of the magic that makes baseball the quintessential American sport.

Baseball isn't automatic success. Thomas Boswell wrote, "If you do everything right, you'll still lose 40 percent of your games -- but you'll also end up in the World Series." Ted Williams said much the same, "Baseball is the only field of endeavour where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."

Tired of being criticized ? Reggie Jackson noted, "Fans don't boo nobodies." It's why, as Humphrey Bogart noted, "A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz." Casey Stengel of the Yankees offered the surest wisdom for a happy life, "The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."

As broadcaster Bryant Gumbel said, "The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love." Or look at it philosophically by Dagwood Bumstead (drawn by Chic Young), "Baseball, my son, is the cornerstone of civilization." Perhaps Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella expressed it best, "You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you."

True enough. Baseball is a game for those who have the enthusiasm and faith of little boys - - who know everything is possible. It's why only Americans have walked on the moon, it's why the US is what it is today.

Kinsella, like Tocqueville, understands the spirit of baseball. It makes this book eminently worth buying. Beg, buy or borrow it, read it, think about it and remember the best of its quotes for a perceptive insight into America and her game.

As for the title of this review, it was originally said by sports writer Red Smith. It's like America itself, as expressed by pitcher Satchel Paige, "Ain't no man can avoid being born average, but there ain't no man got to be common."

Now . . . . . as an afterthought - - - why doesn't some public spirited American do the same for Canada and hockey ?

with a great background already towards pennsylvania history. bill kashatus brings to life a compelling tale about the area's coal history & it's fabric culturally. easy to read with lots of pictures & statistics giving great cultural & baseball information.

"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)

Ian Browne, who so ably chronicles the Red Sox for mlb.com, has provided us with a wonderful inside look at one of the most compelling stories from the team's 2007 season. In describing the acquisition and first season of Japanese pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka, he gives us a clear picture of the business decision making process that brought Dice-K to the team and then thoughtfully interweaves vignettes focusing on cultural diversity, team-building, and the road to a World Series championship. The book is far more than an expanded internet column. Even for those of us who follow the Red Sox all season, this book is a nail-biter. It should provide reading pleasure to both baseball lovers and others interested in the interfaces among business, sports, and intercultural challenges.

There are some players who produce seasons that transcend mere success or failure, and Daisuke Matsuzaka was one of them in 2007. Fortunately, Ian Browne was able to expertly chronicle what became a rivoting story within a story. The book is thorough, insightful and entertaining, more than doing justice to a year-long drama no baseball fan will soon forget.