Baseball List

Having posted the list of baseball books earlier this week here is a recap of the highlights on the list which I'd recommend anyone to take a look at in advance of opening day:

FIVE GREAT ADDITIONS TO ANY BASEBALL FAN'S LIBRARY:

The Fireside Book of Baseball (Volumes 1-4, Charles Einstein, ed.)

My favorite one of these books was the Second Edition which included a range of items from the Ring Lardner classic "My Roomy" to the actual newspaper reports of the first night game played in New York.  What's so important about that - well it ended Cincinnati 6 - Brooklyn 0, the winning pitcher for the Reds was Johnny Vander Meer - and it was his second consecutive no-hitter.  On any given page you can find a scientific review of what makes a curve ball curve, a Peanuts cartoon featuring Charlie Brown being undressed by a line drive or an article by Bill Bryson on "Mid Career Tragedies".  Um - not that Bill Bryson - his dad - who was one of the greatest sportswriters of his era. Expertly edited, full of great photos, housing the best writing that has ever graced the sports pages the Fireside collection heats up the hot stove better than any set of books or videos ever created.

"The Impossible Dream" CD

The second one of these items I'd list would be something a bit off the beaten path.  Baseball suffers from (or is blessed by) the fact that in an age of television it remains the ultimate radio sport.  Football dominates the modern era not because it's a better sport, but because it's a better televised sport - better for advertisers, better for programmers, better for Super Bowl parties - but not, despite what ESPN would have you believe, a more complex, better designed, game.  Baseball is the sport where you have the game on as the background noise to a thousand picnics, or while you're fishing or painting the garage.  It's playing in the car as you make the trek back to college, or to visit the grandparents.  Its broadcasters remain in our heads long after the games have ended and their best calls are played again, and again, and again.  "I don't believe what I just saw", "The Giants win the pennant!, The Giants win the pennant!", "Long drive, left field - IF IT STAYS FAIR IT'S GONE- HOME RUN!", "Ground ball to Foulke - HE HAS IT..."  You can listen to baseball like no other sport.  So I picked a slightly different item for the list.  In 1967 the Red Sox completely transformed themselves from a team that drew no fans, was thinking of moving and really had no great hold on the populace, to the franchise we know today.  This is true - no 1967 - no Red Sox as we know them.  The team that year, for whatever reason, captured the region's hearts and they've never let go.  Believe it or not, the number one album in Boston, for weeks after the end of the season, was this compilation of highlights from the year, from Bill Rohr's near no-hitter against the Yankees, to Tony Conigliaro's beaning, to Yaz's incredible finish (7 for 8 over the last two must win games, with several key hits and great fielding plays). It includes the famous "Carl Yastrzemki Polka" as well as Ken Coleman's oft quoted poem:  "This is really a love story, a tale of a town and a team, a town that had waited and waited, for what seemed an impossible dream". Given what would come in later years this was both timely and prophetic at the same time.  Don't miss this album if you get a chance to listen.

3.  "Baseball" and "The Tenth Inning" - Ken Burns

Ken Burns makes documentary films and has, particularly with his three biggest and most ambitious projects, tried to define the range of things that makes Americans "Americans".  He seems to have identified three major challenges that run through the entire history of the country - the continuing struggle to overcome our problems with race, the ongoing struggle to control the power of wealth without infringing on individual freedom (labor v. capital) and the difficulty faced by a nation of immigrants when attempting to identify something that is uniquely, collectively, "theirs". "The Civil War", his best known work, certainly addressed the topic of race (after all, the war was about black slavery), and also sort of touched on the other two topics (the government wanted to tell people that a certain type of "ownership" was wrong and the war forged a new idea of a country "of the people, by the people and for the people" as opposed to a group of co-equal States), "Jazz" dealt with the growth of an art form that was uniquely American in its history and that was predominantly created and fostered by blacks; but only "Baseball" squarely deals with all three issues.  The history of race in baseball shows the game consistently at the forefront of the issue, both for the good and the bad.  Jackie Robinson's story, as told in the documentary, is an epic in and of itself.  Combined with the story of baseball's labor wars surrounding the "reserve clause" and the identification of baseball as "our sport", the documentary serves as a virtual microcosm of America's history and the country's various struggles.  But the reason why it's truly great is because while telling this story it also serves as a repository for all the game's great moments.  You can pop in one disc to see actual footage of how Walter Johnson looked to opposing hitters and the next to see the same re: Sandy Koufax.  Watch Babe Ruth call his shot or Bill Mazeroski defeat the Yankees in 1960.  It's like the Smithsonian of videos - you can spend days watching it and still find something new to enjoy each time.  Just the thing to watch to get you psyched for opening day.

Baseball When the Grass Was Real - Donald Honig

There is a whole class of books made up of interviews with players from given eras - oral histories that seek to convey through the words of the players what it was really like to be a ballplayer in a certain time. Two stand out - Lawrence Ritter's "The Glory of Their Times" which used interviews with ballplayers from the first two decades of the 20th century to describe how the "major leagues" came to be major, and Honig's less well known book about players through the depression era up to World War II.  Both are great but I like Honig's a bit better.  The interviews with Wes Ferrell and Cool Papa Bell, Spud Chandler and Lefty Grove (and many others) bring the game from the point where teams travelled on trains to the edge of the jet age.  It's a great read that can be dipped in to at any page numerous times.

The Summer Game - Roger Angell

Roger Angell's stepfather was E.B. White.  Amongst most of us E.B. White is famous for "Charlotte's Webb" and "Stuart Little".  Amongst teachers E.B. White is famous for helping produce Strunk and White's "Elements of Style", the ultimate guide on how to construct sentences in the English language.  Since Roger Angell embodies pure style when it comes to writing about baseball it's obvious he paid attention to what Mr. White had to say.  "The Summer Game" his first collection of baseball essays, was given to me by my grandfather with the simple statement - "Read this - it's the best book about baseball ever written".  He was right, and in my mind it still hasn't been eclipsed.  Angell analyzes baseball from 1962 to 1972, beginning with the expansion of baseball to include the Mets and finishing on the edge of the era of free agency.  It's an incredible snapshot of the times (one of the reasons a "Glory of Their Times" type review of the 60's in baseball wouldn't really work is that Angell has already done it so much better) - but more than what it's about it's the way the book is written that is transformative.  His description of baseball as a game without a clock is one of the best bits of writing - baseball or otherwise - that has ever been done.  Angell has written other books, almost as good, but to me this is the gold standard - like I said, Grampa got it right. 

Other Authors to Check Out:

Read any of David Halberstam's books and you'll be a better person for it, Thomas Boswell's stuff is great and if you want to read a good baseball biography, Richard Ben Cramer's DiMaggio book is really good.  The book called "You Gotta Have Wa", about baseball in Japan, is quite entertaining, and the Bill James Abstracts are worth checking out to understand the new statistical revolution in the game.

Play Ball

I'll be using this space to update people on different projects/interests that I have going on, links I've found, general statements that go beyond Facebook size snippets, etc.  First up would be the soon to come baseball season and the (surprisingly good) chances that we'll see the Red Sox back challenging for a pennant this year.  Last year's team was doing quite well until they had one of the worst runs of injury luck I've ever seen, with both Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youklis going down within days of each other.  Now both are back, with the added presence of Messrs Gonzales and Crawford in the mix.  While Gonzales is the best fit for the team I'm most excited about Crawford's addition.  Players who make you sit up and watch every time they get on base add much more to the game - and that's what Crawford does.  With his addition the Sox automatically become not just better, but more fun.  Can't wait for the season to start.

In honor of the new season I'm attaching my list of current baseball books and videos.  I believe this to be the largest collection of baseball related material in all of Ireland, which is a bit like saying I hold the largest collection of tapas recipes in all Antarctica.  Still - it keeps me amused.  Here's the list:

Non-Fiction

 

1.                  The New Bill James Baseball Abstract – Bill James

2.                  A Dollar Sign On The Muscle – Kevin Kerrane

3.                  The Prophet Of The Sandlots – Mark Winegardner

4.                  The Short Season – David Falkner

5.                  Pen Men – Bob Cairns

6.                  The Crooked Pitch – Martin Quigley

7.                  The Head Game – Roger Kahn

8.                  The Boston Red Sox – Henry Berry

9.                  The Boston Red Sox – Milton Cole, Jim Caplan

10.              The Red Sox Fan Handbook – Leigh Grossman

11.              The Red Sox Fan Book – Neft, Neft, Carroll & Cohen

12.              The Red Sox Reader – Dan Riley Ed.

13.              Red Sox Nation – Peter Golenbeck

14.              When Boston Won the World Series – Bob Ryan

15.              Lost Summer – Bill Reynolds

16.              The Boys Of October – Doug Hornig

17.              The Long Ball – Tom Adelman

18.              Impossible Dreams – Glen Stout Ed

19.              Win It For – SOSH

20.              Why Not Us – Leigh Montville

21.              A Tale Of Two Cities – Tony Massarotti and John Harper

22.              The Yankees vs Red Sox Reader – Mike Robbins, ed.

23.              Now I Can Die In Peace – Bill Simmons

24.              Baseball Anecdotes – Dan Okrent, Steve Wulff

25.              Baseball’s Even Greater Insults – Kevin Nelson

26.              Baseball Hall Of Shame – Nash & Zullo

27.              Baseball Hall Of Shame #2 – Nash & Zullo

28.              Baseball Hall Of Shame # 4 – Nash & Zullo

29.              The Devil Wears Pinstripes – Jim Caple

30.              The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty – Buster Olney

31.              Ty Cobb – Charles Alexander

32.              Cobb – Al Stump

33.              Babe – Robert Creamer

34.              Stengel – Robert Creamer

35.              The Big Bam – Leigh Montville

36.              Luckiest Man – Jonathan Eig

37.              The Catcher Was  A Spy – Nicholas Davidoff

38.              Joe Dimaggio – Richard Ben Cramer

39.              Hitter  (Ted Williams)– Ed Linn

40.              The Mick – Mickey Mantle w/Arch Gluck

41.              Sandy Koufax – A Lefty’s Legacy – Jane Leavey

42.              Hank Aaron  The Man Who Beat The Babe– Phil Musick

43.              White Rat – Whitey Herzog w/Kevin Horrigan

44.              Seeing It Through – Tony Conigliaro w/ Jack Zanger

45.              Tony C. – David Cataneo

46.              Yaz – Carl Yastrzemski w/Al Hirschberg

47.              Yaz: Baseball, The Wall And Me – Carl Yastrzemski and Gerald Eskenazi

48.              Yastrzemski – Carl Yastrzemski

49.              The Wrong Stuff – Bill Lee and Dick Lally

50.              El Tiante – Luis Tiant and Joe Fitzgerald

51.              The Summer Game – Roger Angell

52.              Five Seasons – Roger Angell

53.              Late Innings – Roger Angell

54.              Season Ticket – Roger Angell

55.              The Complete Armchair Book Of Baseball – John Thorn, Ed.

56.              The Fireside Book Of Baseball – Charles Einstein, Ed.

57.              The Fireside Book Of Baseball Vol. 2 – Charles Einstein, Ed.

58.              The Fireside Book Of Baseball Vol. 3 – Charles Einstein, Ed.

59.              The Fireside Book Of Baseball Vol. 4 – Charles Einstein, Ed.

60.              Official World Series Program – 2004

61.              Keep The Faith – 2004 World Championship Commemorative Magazine

62.              The Greatest Of All / The 1927 Yankees – John Mosedale

63.              The Teammates – David Halberstam

64.              October 1964 – David Halberstam

65.              Summer Of ’49 – David Halberstam

66.              Big Sticks – William Curran

67.              The Complete Baseball Handbook 1974 – Zander Hollander

68.              Baseball And The Color Line – Tom Gilbert

69.              Moneyball – Michael Lewis

70.              Out Of Left Field – Jeffrey And Douglas Lyons

71.              Wait ‘Til Next Year – Doris Kearns Goodwin

72.              Baseball In America – Robert Smith

73.              The Unforgettable Season – G. H. Fleming

74.              The Glory Of Their Times – Lawrence Ritter

75.              Baseball When The Grass Was Real – Donald Honig

76.              The Heart Of The Order – Thomas Boswell

77.              Why Time Begins On Opening Day – Thomas Boswell

78.              Ball Four And Ball Five – Jim Bouton

79.              I’m Glad You Didn’t Take It Personally – Jim Bouton

80.              I Managed Good But Boy Did They Play Bad – Jim Bouton

81.              The Boys Of Summer – Roger Kahn

82.              The Baseball Chronicles – David Gallen, Ed.

83.              Cooperstown – Editors Of The Sporting News

84.              You Gotta Have Wa – Robert Wahlberg

85.              The Greatest Game – Richard Bradley

86.              Clemente – David Maraniss

87.              Baseball Between the Numbers – Baseball Prospectus/Ed. Jonah Keri

88.              Game Six – Mark Frost

89.              Extra Innings Baseball – Armchair Digest (Adomites, Mark, et al)

90.              162-0 – The Greatest Wins in Red Sox History - Mark Cofman

91.              Behind the Green Monster – Bill Ballou

92.              Satchel – The Life and Times of an American Legend – Larry Tye

93.              Odd Man Out – Matt McCarthy

94.              A False Spring – Pat Jordan

95.              Once More Around the Park – Roger Angell

96.              The Last Boy – Mickey Mantle – Jane Leavey

97.              Tales from the Impossible Dream Red Sox – Rico Petrocelli w/Chaz Scoggins

98.              The Impossible Dream Remembered – The 1967 Red Sox – Ken Coleman

99.              Baseball: Our Game – John Thorne

100.          Fenway Park: 100^th Anniversary – John Powers and Ron Driscoll

 

Fiction

 

101.          Fielders Choice – Baseball Fiction – Jerome Holtzman, Ed.

102.          The Iowa Baseball Conspiracy – W. P. Kinsella

103.          The Dixon Cornbelt League – W. P. Kinsella

104.          The Thrill Of The Grass – W. P. Kinsella

105.          Shoeless Joe – W.P. Kinsella

106.          Hoopla – Harry Stein

107.          The Conduct Of The Game – John Hough

 

Audio Books

 

108.          The Great Chase - The 1951 Pennant Race – Harvey Rosenfeld

109.          Bums – Peter Golenbeck

110.          Ted Williams – Leigh Montville

111.          Legends of Baseball Audio Series – (Interviews w/ Baseball Players)

112.          The Summer Game – Roger Angell

113.          Walter Johnson – Baseball’s Big Train - Henry Thomas

114.          Honus Wagner – A Biography – Dennis and Jane Burke DeValeria

115.          Steinbrenner – Bill Madden

 

     Videos/CDs

 

116.          Baseball – A Film By Ken Burns

117.          The Tenth Inning – Ken Burns

118.          100 Years Of The World Series

119.          100 Years Of The Boston Red Sox

120.          Impossible to Forget, The Story of the 1967 Boston Red Sox

121.          Yaz – Career Highlights

122.          Keep The Faith – 2003 Boston Red Sox

123.          Faith Rewarded – 2004 Boston Red Sox

124.          Still, We Believe

125.          Still, We Believe (Bonus Edition)

126.          The 2004 World Series

127.          2004 ALCS Games 1-7

128.          2004 World Series Games 1-4

129.          Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino

130.          History Rings True

131.          Champions Again – 2007 Boston Red Sox

132.          The Impossible Dream – The 1967 Boston Red Sox (CD)

133.          Super Sox ’75 – The 1975 Boston Red Sox (CD)

134.          Red Sox Memories- Greatest Moments In Boston Red Sox History

135.          Four Days in October – ESPN 30 for 30 Directed by Gary Waksman

136.          Major League Baseball World Series Film Collection 1943-2008

137.          Fenway Park – 100 Years as the Heart of Red Sox Nation

138.          Rooters – The Birth of Red Sox Nation Vol. 1&2

139.          Fenway Park 100 –Season Highlights 1955, 1957, 1967, 1975, 1978

140.          Fenway Park 100 –Season Highlights 1986, 1990; Greatest Rivalries Sox-Yankees

141.          Fenway Park 100 –Season Highlights 2004

142.          Fenway Park 100 –Season Highlights 2007

143.          Fenway Park 100 –Game Film Sept. 30 1967

144.          Fenway Park 100 –Game Film, Game 6 1975

145.          Fenway Park 100 –Game Film 1986 ALCS Game 7

146.          Fenway Park 100 –Game Film 1999 All Star Game

147.          Fenway Park 100 –Game Film ALCS Game 4

148.          Fenway Park 100 –/Game Film ALCS Game 7

149.          2013 World Series Official Film

150.          Band of Bearded Brothers – 2013 Red Sox

Welcome!

Just testing this out to see if it works.  The first attempt I've ever made at blogging and I'm only about a decade behind the curve this time.  So I'll post this, see if it works and then see where this goes from there.