great bookabout th time baseball had real meaning for those ...
929610
great bookabout th time baseball had real meaning for those growing up in that period, like myself. when both players and the game were real
1168341
I got this book so I could share my love of baseball with my friend's sons. I enjoyed going over the stories in the book with them and I actually learned a couple of new things as well. The comic strip format seemed to popular with them.

I was familiar with some of the stories in this book. One was about famed New York Yankee and New York Met manager Casey Stengel who, as a player, found a sparrow in the outfield and put it under his hat. When he went to bat he tipped his hat to the umpire and the sparrow flew away. That story gave me a chance to share some other stories about Casey with my friend's sons.

Another story talked about a Jim Abbott who, despite being born with only one hand, played in the major leagues for 11 seasons and pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees.  I saw Abbott pitch and was able to share stories about him with my friend's sons who could not believe it possible. There are stories also about two other players, one who lost a leg in World War II and one who lost his arm in a tuck accident, who had brief appearances in the majors.

I actually learned a thing or two myself.  I learned about a fan who, in 1934, sued the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball to keep a foul ball he caught off the bat of Lou Gehrig.  Prior to that fans were expected to throw the balls back onto the field.  I also learned that the last year a major leaguer player played ball without a glove was 1901. I was not aware of either of these things.

There are some great anecdotes in this book done in the form of a comic strip or a single drawing with information under it. It covers stories from the 1800's to present day baseball. The end of the book has four pages of odd facts about the players.

My friend's sons enjoyed the book and I enjoyed it with them. My only complaint is I wish this was longer.  This is a great book.
4504094
I bought this book in an airport and read it over several days on airplanes.  It held my interest pretty well.  It compares well to some of the best baseball writers and is a mix of story-line and analysis.  Basically it covers a 3 game series between the Cubs and Cards in August 2003.  There are several excursions into timelines of various players and events, but mostly the book is an analysis of the players and the games in this series.

One strength of this book is how it portrays the character of the teams involved.  Teams and stadiums have very distinct characters.  For example, when I lived in Chicago the Cubs games at Wrigley field were fairly laid back.  They were almost always day games because the community restricts how often the lights can be on.  This meant you had to take a day off work to see them.  Tickets were easy to come by, and you parked on some guys lawn for 5 bucks.  On the other hand, I never came home from a game at Old Comiskey Park without being drenched with beer.  The gestalt of a game at Wrigley vs. a game at Comiskey was completely different.

But the funny thing about this book is that I keep remembering parts of it as I watch games and the insights in it are incredibly useful.  I live between a rookie league team (Ogden Raptors - Dodgers) and an AAA team (Salt Lake - Angels).  Over and over some insight in this book will come to mind as I watch some future major-leaguer.  Ex-manager Tommy Lasorda is at the Ogden games fairly frequently and after reading this book I can more often figure out just what it is in some minor-leaguers play that gets Lasorda swearing.  And as I see the bonus babies from Ben Sheets to Prince Fielder come through the rookie league I can better evaluate the players and see what their managers are looking for.  The net result: the game is more enjoyable.

I'm not into fantasy leagues.  I don't pay attention to the new esoteric stats.  I just love to spend summer evenings watching baseball with my sons with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop to some awesome minor league stadiums.  In the book, the author uses a phrase - "Beautiful.  Just beautful baseball."  And after reading this book, I find myself muttering this to myself as I watch a well-executed bunt or a heads-up base-running play that brings in a run.

This book is not a statistical primer.  It does almost have a little too much hero worship of Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa.  But you don't have to be a fanatic to enjoy this book which has the pacing of a good ball game - sometimes up, sometimes down but just right in the end.
1781965
Back in the 50's and 60's, Sis and I were rabid baseball fanatics. Sis kept meticulous box scores of all the Yankees and Dodger games (the 70's were ok... but once 8 teams and two leagues were nothing but a memory, and free agents dotted the baseball map, we felt, with much sadness, that the classic days of baseball wuz over....).

However, this exceptional book leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the incredible careers of Bob Gibson and Danny McLain-- and.. the end of Baseball's Golden Age (for sure). Great in depth narrative, down to the nitty gritty. Exceptional verbal portraits of these two pitching legends and those who surrounded them at that time. At times I felt like I was standing on the grass near the dugout, listening to the muted hush of the early crowds while players started to warm up on the field.

The Year of The Pitcher takes the reader deep inside the lives of these two greats.  The black and white photographs look like they came right off the pages of our beloved NY Daily News sports section (forget the comics! Us kids went for the greater stuff!!)

One thing that surprised me was the very real segregation even into the 60's -- I was a kid-- what did I know -- I would have been shocked back then (had I known about it) just as I was shocked when I read about it, in this book. The coverage of the RFK Assassination, the Assassination of The Rev Martin Luther King and the ensuing  riots back in the late 60's was equally in depth, and lent a somber note to the narrative.

Just an incredible read, a book filled with riches and narrative, the pages failry scream with line drives, missed pitches, triumph, and frustration.
1807517
This was an enjoyable book. It explores one of the most thought of and talked about baseball historical events of all time. George Herman Ruth called his shot to center field on the third inning of the third game in the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. He stuck his left hand in the air and pointed to the center field bleachers and called his shot. I like how the author of this book Dan Gutman challenges the called shot it makes you feel like you are at that game it gives you a perspective the no film footage or pictures could ever give you. Reading this book made me have a stronger perspective of his called shot it shows how you can take a little known opinion and turn it into one of the most exciting cliff hanging books ever and if you've only known about the called shot for a little bit like me I suggest this book to anyone who doesn't know about the called shot or still want to know more about it. Dan Gutman gives a look at what it would be like to be one of George Herman Ruth's friend what it would be like to hold his bat be in his house and be a thought in his mind. I give credit to Dan Gutman for writing this book I enjoyed the first person look at George Ruth's life and the way he played ball. If you liked this book I also suggest the rest of the books in this series including ones that have not yet been published.
461373
Arthur Daley was a New York sports journalist who began in 1926, was the first reporter sent to cover the Berlin Olympics ten years later, and won a Pulitzer in 1956. Hidden among his many books is this " Inside Baseball" (originally called "Times at Bat"), Written originally for young adults in the Big League Baseball Library, once a well known series of books for 'kids', originally published by Grosset and Dunlap in the 1950s. The book focused on well-known and colorful figures from 1900 through the then-current 1950 season. As an eager Little League pitcher, these were my first stories about Cobb, Ruth, Cy Young, et al and I read the book until the hard cover became loose with wear. Being reunited with this book (and with a chunk of my childhood)revealed that the quality of the writing was high indeed, and only the basic nature of the information shared indicates that these sometimes oft-told tales were directed toward a younger audience. Now, the majority of these tales feel new again, and there is a whole generation of younger fans who have probably never heard them at all. Regardless of team affiliation, the players' personalities shine through, and it is all to easy to read about Giant pitcher Rube Waddell chasing fire engines or wrestling alligators as a normal part of the activities of a player in the first decades of baseball's popularity. Still a great book. Wish someone would bring the narrative  to the present day.
2668616
This is a great baseball book and a good reason to admire wall street guys at a time they have been vilified.
4952974
ENCREDIBLE. If you thought baseball was something special during the 1950's this is this  book for you.  Mr. Marazz has done a great service to those of us who grew up in the 1950'.i
2084168
The author knows how to bring baseball down to earth and give an historical perspective.  A nice departure from the modern day baseball of million dollar baseball players.
2018658
With all the trouble baseball is in today, this book provides an outlet for the fan who loved the game before agents, Selig, Don Fehr, astroturf, overpaid performers, etc.  You can browse through it again and again, and still enjoy the stories of these players.  It is a great supplement to the statistics that we have for all the players of the past.
2568367
Pesonally I really enjoy books about baseball before 1930.  Back when baseball was more America's pastime.
The book itself was very well written and gave some real insight into the St. Louis-Chicago rivalary.
It was also interesting to read about the labor problems of baseball from 125 years ago.  Odd to see really not much has changed just the dollar amounts the player's receive.
It was also neat to see how the beer makers of the 1800's were involved with the game and how without beer St. Louis probably doesn't have a team now.
4271936
Great book and very well written. Bouton had a big influence on baseball owner player relations. He was a great player.
4117517
This is a great book written about one of the greatest World Series (1947) ever played.  The author tells the story from the perspective of four players and two managers who weren't great stars of the time.  Although Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson are in the story also, the main characters are Cookie Lavagetto, Stuffy Sternweiss, Al DiGionfriddo and a pitcher with the last name of Bevens.  These unlikely heroes made a great catch, had a clutch hit, almost had the first World Series no-hit game and led both teams in batting average during the series.  The book covers their lives before, during and after the World Series of 1947.  The author does a great job of sharing life as a baseball player of the era and you can share their joys and sorrows.  I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in baseball history.
4630301
A great look back at baseball in another era. I realy enjoyed the book with the only detractor being how long it drags on. Lots of minutia that I think wasn't white necessary. Of course it wouldn't be the same book without all those details so who am I to talk? The epilogues (yes, plural) are great follow ups to hear what Jim is up to post retirement. A jack of all trades, I think the most fascinating part is that he invented Big League Chew gum!
467425
Fun and insightful read about the early era of pro baseball...No gloves, no substitutions, no games on Sundays...if you are a fan of the game I would highly recommmend.
2574504
Pardon my brevity, this is a great book!
If you were a baseball fan in the 1970s, this is a MUST READ!
1502528
I've been a Cub's fan in earnest since 1984.  My father's loyalty goes back to the 1950's as well.  It was great to read this book and recount the memories my father shared as well as those I've witnessed first hand.  I also enjoyed the great details that I did not know about Cub's history.  Sandberg was my hero growing up in the 80's and Banks, Williams, and Santo were some of my father's most talked about favorites.  This is truly a great book and I highly recommend it to any fan of the Northsiders and baseball in general.