Rumor In Town - by Matt Dahlgren

Baseball is full of stories – many we know, but many more which go untold. One of those untold stories is that of Babe Dahlgren – the man who replaced Lou Gehrig at first base for the Yankees when he took himself out of the lineup – and who also had a career tarnished and held back by a vicious rumor.

Rumor In Town, written by Matt Dahlgren, is a chance for the grandson to finally tell his grandfather’s untold story.

The rumor, from which the title gets is name, painted Dahlgren as a user of marijuana, an offense at that time that would have you banished from baseball. While Dahlgren never found out who started it, and never got any help from the commissioner’s office, he had his suspicions and ended up with one of baseball’s most famous managers as the one whose malice resulted in both lost salary and opportunity for Dahlgren – considered to be one of the best defensive first baseman ever. And all because Dahlgren took off-season hitting lessons from someone that manager didn’t like.

This book captivated me as it brought to life the story of a player who I only knew by name. Matt Dahlgren does a tremendous job telling his grandfather’s story, and had me turning the pages to read more. His writing isn’t overly biased - while he’s writing from the position of trying to finally clear his grandfather’s name, it doesn’t come across as such. Compiling records from numerous sources, his approach results in a much more balanced book, and one that is enjoyable to read His use of original documents, such as letters from his grandfather to former teammates, the Players Pension Fund, and other correspondence, combined with pictures from his playing career tie everything in together nicely, and show just how much this false allegation bothered Babe Dahlgren, all the way from when he found out about it until his dying day.

Stories deserve to be told - and Dahlgren does a commendable job telling his grandfather’s - one that Babe Dahlgren had hoped to tell himself. Rumor In Town is a surprisingly good read by taking a player who ended his career some sixty years ago and bringing his life into the present day.

Rumor In Town gets a wholehearted recommendation as a great book to read - history is a major part of baseball, and given the movement with instant replay to get calls right on the field, a replay of Babe Dahlgren’s life is more than worthwhile with the goal of getting his story right.

Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs - by Bill Chuck and Jim Kaplan

Even though there are still a few weeks to go in the season, the end is coming, and so I’ve gravitated to a few titles that deal with putting a season under wraps.

The first is Walkoffs, Last Licks and Final Outs, by Bill Chuck and Jim Kaplan, a title from the good folks at ACTA Sports that looks at how some of the biggest games and names called it a wrap.

The book, which has chapters looking at pennant races, World Series, perfect games, streaks, stadiums, final goodbyes, Hall of Fame farewells and “The Last Chapter,” does a fairly nice job of summarizing how some big games ended and some big names walked away from the game.

As it recaps some of these stories, the book can lean a bit to the dry side - simply recapping the basic notes that made the games memorable. With stories dating back to the early 1900s, there is a decent amount to sift through, since almost every year is represented.

It took a while to find something a bit deeper that reached my philosophical side — it was page 86, which highlights game 6 of the 1975 World Series between the Reds and Red Sox, where Carlton Fisk hit a 12th inning homerun to win the game, and created a lasting replay of him bouncing up the first base line waving his arms in an attempt to keep the ball fair. It worked, and the game became known to some as the game that saved baseball, as it brought the entertainment value back to the game that had been angering fans with rising free agent salaries.

The authors deflect some of the attention from that game, saying baseball “always survives the sins of those who play it, the men in blue who umpire it, those of us who cover it, those of you who watch it, and especially those who run it.”

It was a shining moment in the book that got me through the balance of it; the lack of analysis or explaining the importance of some of the games left me wanting to understand more about them. Sometimes I want to see major historical importance in every event, even though it’s not always there.

The book came across a bit dry to me just too much - there are a lot of games that just don’t have the significance I look to provide deeper thought and analysis about the game.

One major benefit of the book - it provides a tremendous amount of trivia and “do you remember?” moments. As someone who is always in need of more trivia and talking points, this did provide a nice addition to my inventory and will keep a place on the shelf close to my work area. I don’t doubt for a minute that I’ll be able to reference this book regularly with good results.

Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs would be a fun read for history buffs and those wanting to be reminded of the ways that games, players, and even stadiums ended throughout baseball. I wouldn’t say it’s a must read, but I don’t think you’d be disappointed if you did.

But Didn’t We Have Fun? An Informal History of Baseball’s Pioneer Era, 1843-1870 — by Peter Morris

Peter Morris is back after writing the two volumes of A Game of Inches, which were some of my favorite books in 2007, and he takes us back to the early days of baseball - before it was even called by that name, and chronicles how the game got its footing throughout the country and made its progression from recreational sport played by children, to ultimately a competitive game that was reshaped by the Civil War and made its foray into a professional game.

Divided amongst 13 chapters, Morris starts by admitting that the reader has to maintain a certain skepticism throughout the book. Few texts deal with the subject, and as he got into the topic, found that there was a significant gap in the chronicling of this time period. Some works are too detailed; others take an approach that glosses over too many important details and leaves readers with the impression the Abner Doubleday gave the game to the Cincinnati Red Stockings and we all lived happily ever after.

The first two-thirds of the book deal mainly with history - looking at the nature of the game and those who played it, from the difficulty of finding someone who could produce a baseball to the organizations that gave rise to the first baseball teams. For someone who isn’t a history buff, this is a bit more of a topic than I cared to get into, and unfortunately I found that I glanced over more pages than I probably should have.

However, come to chapter 12, which provides a reflection of the time that has passed, which includes the conclusion of the Civil War, and more to chapter 13, which analyzes life in the new professional era of baseball, and the words and pages suddenly came alive for me.

Change was rampant in baseball, most notably the idea of the enclosed stadiums and people paying to watch a game. This radical departure from recreation to profession set baseball on a new course, and the resulting backlash of a reinvention of the amateur and recreational games rings true to this day.

Morris makes clear the struggle of baseball as an inclusive versus exclusive game, and to this day that idea still prevails. Are you a fan of baseball in general, or do you lean to a certain level or style of baseball? Do you only follow Major League games, or are you a Minor League or collegiate fan?

The glue of this book to me came in the final two chapters, and it’s because of those that I make a wholehearted recommendation to read it. Morris brings the development of baseball full circle, and shows how the struggles and discussions that were had over 100 years ago mirror those we have today.

Morris has an amazing ability to take a topic that can seem so distant and almost irrelevant to the modern era of baseball and have the words be almost entirely applicable to the current day. The text takes a dramatic turn from a primarily historic narrative in the first two-thirds of the book to an analysis of the factors that changed the game irreversibly and launched the sport on the track that has gotten us to where we are today.

To say that Morris reminds the reader that history repeats itself is an understatement; much like a baseball game, the direction of the sport has been a battle between two teams: one of seeming progression and another who seeks to keep the game as it has been.

But Didn’t We Have Fun? is a book that sat in my “to read” pile much too long, and I am glad that I plucked it from it when I did. With the current discussion of instant replay, the timing of the book was fitting, and I would encourage you to pick it up sooner than later. To see baseball in its modern era and read a book such as this, provides an easy way to gain an appreciation of where the game has come, while making it clear that history does indeed repeat itself.

Biggio: The Final Game — by Michael Hart

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To be a franchise player for a team is something not seen much these days – guys like Edgar Martinez, Tony Gwynn, and Cal Ripken, who spend their entire careers with one club are almost as much of a rarity as a perfect game.

Baseball watched another one of these players move into retirement last year – the Astros’ Craig Biggio – and in a new book – Biggio: The Final Game, photographer Michael Hart takes you back to September 30, 2007 – Biggio’s final game with the Astros in their home park of Minute Maid Field.

It’s a tremendous collection of sports photography – Hart goes light on the words in favor of letting the pictures tell the story. He captures Biggio’s emotions throughout the game – from his last hit, to his last at-bat, to his final time walking off the field.There are some great sequence shots of him turning a double play in addition to a few plate appearances.

What disappointed me was some of the shots that were left out — arriving at the stadium, putting on the jersey for the final time, and leaving the ballpark, for instance. There are so many things that are done “for the last time” that it would be nice to see that entire final day.

Biggio had his number retired on August 17^th – and this book is a fitting tie-in to that event. It captures the love that Astros fans have for Biggio, and Biggio’s love of the game as he chooses to walk away from it.

It’s a book worth picking up and thumbing through if you come across it – and would be a great addition for Biggio fans to have a lasting collection of his final day.

Deep Drive - by Mike Lowell with Rob Bradford

Listen to my interview with Mike Lowell by clicking here.

I never really know what to expect when getting into a book authored by a player - or at least told by a player and actually written by someone else, as is the case with Deep Drive.

There’s no question that Lowell is a tremendous ball player; and many associate him with being a pretty decent person as well. I had always thought he was a pretty good guy; if nothing less I never had reason to think he wasn’t. I knew he had an accounting degree from Florida International University…and a player with a college degree scores a point in my positive column.

What I ended up learning as I read the book was not just life details like Lowell’s battle with cancer at 24 years old, but that the events in Lowell’s life has given him not just a unique perspective on accomplishments and priorities, as well as that there seems to be a thread of people not always estimating Lowell to be all that he is.

The second point is the one that sticks out most to me — the most glaring omission of most people’s assessment of Lowell is his Latino heritage. Born in Puerto Rico and with a family of both German and Cuban lineage, most don’t expect a guy with the last name Lowell to be able to speak Spanish, let alone able and willing to associate with Latino guys on his ballclub and be able to bridge the cultural divides that often occur in clubhouses when multiple language and cultures are present.

The first point regarding Lowell’s perspective on life and the events that have shaped his perspective is one that is not as readily evident as you read the book, but it does come out as you read about the hurdles that he has overcome through his life.

As Lowell readily admitted in my talk with him, he doesn’t think his life has been that difficult, and he doesn’t want to be one to harp on the low points. This is where Bradford seems to coax Lowell into bringing out and analyzing some of the tougher times that he’s gone through, and the results are successful.

Lowell never gets too high or too low on himself - which is one of the biggest reasons I liked Deep Drive as much as I did. While it’s not full of life lessons or motivational words per se, it is even keel enough to help shape the reader’s perspective on his own life.

While I wouldn’t necessarily push Deep Drive into your hand with a stern order to read it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you read it.  Red Sox fans and longer term Marlins fans will certainly be able to pick up the book and get a lot out of it having, watched Lowell succeed with their clubs. The average baseball fan who knows who Lowell is will certainly enjoy reading the pretty good story of a pretty good ballplayer.

The Greatest Game Ever: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of ‘78 — by Richard Bradley

Few topics seem as unresolvable as what was the greatest game ever played. As I sit at Safeco Field today, the Mariners are playing their 5,000th regular season game - imagine trying to pick the greatest out of just that group.

But Richard Bradley contends that the playoff game to determine the 1978 American League East Division champion ranks as the greatest ever - and he’s going to tell you all about it in his new book.

The book works because Bradley doesn’t make the case for one team or another — he manages to play it pretty much down the middle. Not being a fan of either team, nor old enough to remember the game or invested enough in the relationship to care about it currently, I wasn’t interested in being swayed to one side or the other, and luckily I wasn’t.

As I’ve read other critiques of the book - something I’ve noticed is a handful of errors in the work, ranging from incorrect game scores to incorrectly identifying whether a player was right-handed or left-handed. I’m the first to admit that my eye wasn’t looking for errors when I read it, and I haven’t gone back and fact-checked everything, something I’m becoming inclined to do when I have a bit more time on my hands.

I’m not going to be an apologist for errors — the truth is that there shouldn’t be any in a well-written and well-researched book. If you have a vivid memory of that game and those teams, you’ll probably be raising your eyebrows throughout the book.

The format of the book works well - putting each half inning at a time into its own chapter and interspersing a chapter of background story between them. Every game is played with context and history, and this game is no exception. For those of us who weren’t there for the game, these chapters are incredibly beneficial as they help paint the picture that the game action happens within.

Had the book been error free, I would have given it a whole-hearted recommendation, not just for those interested in that particular game or these particular teams, but for those who enjoy well written game recaps and baseball history. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is one of the best in sports, and to see a key game 30 years later captured in such a well-written and well-executed book is a treat. Just read it with a critical eye.

Going, Going, Gone: The Art of the Trade in Major League Baseball — by Fran Zimniuch

Now that we’re in July - what better event to look forward to and start reading about than the trading deadline.

Few topics provide as much discussion as who we could trade for to make the team better.

But as any general manager knows, it’s never as easy to make a trade as it to simply come up with one.

And that’s where Fran Zimniuch’s new book Going, Going, Gone: The Art the Trade in Major League Baseball comes in.

The book provides an almost too thorough job of covering the history of what rules governed players and their contracts. It offers a good background of the reserve clause and the events that spurred both free agency and salary arbitration.

For me, most of this was ground that had already been covered by other books, and while always a good review and something that will most likely be very beneficial to many people who read this book, it was a bit of a recap of what I already knew.

It’s not until the end of the book that some of baseball’s most notorious trades are brought in for example, which may leave you feeling like the subject off the book isn’t really being addressed as advertised. While Zimunich covers the “trade” of Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees in the early goings of the book, he also brings some other big name trades in.

As I read it though, I kept wondering when there would be more substance and examples of trades. Some of this might have just been perception, but as they say perception is reality - and while there are good clumps of trade examples, it does feel at times that I was going for dozens of pages covering backgrounds and the context in which trades happen instead of actual trades.

If anything, Going, Going, Gone falls victim to poor layout. Somewhere between this layout and the way that Rob Neyer lays out his books is a format that would be of tremendous benefit because it would better mesh the tremendous backstory and context that trades occur in with the examples that are used.

One of this book is some noticable errors in names — for instance referring to Seattle Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln as Howard Linder, misspelling sports agent Scott Boras as Boros, and Minnesota Twins’ infielder Nick Punto gets referred to as Nick Punta. Basic errors like these worry me about other factual aspects of the book, which I hope to go back and check at a later date.

Read Going, Going, Gone at your own risk - while it’s a good primer on the rules that govern player transactions, it certainly won’t make you feel like you’re ready to apply to be a GM. However, if you do nothing else than simply learning former GM Bing Devine’s four principles for a good trade, you’ll wind up a much more knowledgeable fan.

If you’re not well-versed in things like the National Agreement, the reserve clause, and the history of arbitration and free agency, this will provide a two-fold benefit for you; giving you that history as well as a good look inside what goes into making a trade happen.

My only request that this book didn’t fulfill is that it doesn’t temper the grandiose dreams of fans of trading away a virtually worthless player saddled with a big contract, or acquiring a star player for a significantly undervalued pakcage. I have a feeling that that kind of grandiose and unrealistic thinking is just something we’re stuck with as a by-product of trades even happening in the first place.

For my NY peoples

A quick message from the folks at GELF magazine, who are hosting an event in NYC on Thursday 7/3 called “Varsity Letters” and will be featuring several baseball authors, including The Savvy Girls.

More info at Varsitylettersseries.com.

The 33-Year-Old Rookie — by Chris Coste

This was a real love-hate book for me, so I’m taking a slightly different approach to the review this time:

What I like about The 33-Year-Old Rookie

-Through telling his story, Coste provides a great reminder that life isn’t easy - and for some it’s harder than others despite having talent, ability and drive. We all need a kick in the pants sometimes that we have to stay focused on the goal, work harder than we currently are, and keep faith in our abilities and that Good Lord willing, things will work themselves out.

-It’s an easy book to read - and by the third chapter I didn’t want to put it down. Coste takes you down his road to the majors with a good mix of speed - 11 years is a lot to chronicle - while stopping to explain what he feels are key points in his career.

-Coste makes it pretty easy to relate to his struggles. While most of us won’t know what it’s like to be a pro ballplayers, it’s easy to substitute your own experience for his, particularly when it comes to gaining trust from your superiors, teammates and others around you.

What I didn’t like about The 33-Year-Old Rookie

-Coste really plays up his own ability and talks a lot about how great he is. I get it - it’s a memoir, and not playing up the highlights doesn’t really make for a great story. But I’m not one to brag about myself, and I don’t like listening to or reading people who brag about themselves. Coste is talented - no secret. But it just wears on me to read someone talking about getting game winning hit after hit, or coming off the bench to pitch or catch in a key situation, and so on. It’s just not my thing.

-On a related note, the whole “everyone says I’m really good and should be playing” thing gets fatiguing.

-Coste doesn’t really turn his story into advice on how to overcome adversity or battle through situations. Having just read and enjoyed Yogi Berra’s new book, I was hoping that Coste would have at least been able to summarize what he’s learned into something I could have taken with me, but no such luck. Maybe he’ll write a book when he retires from playing that will have that in it.

Coste’s is a interesting story and The 33-Year-Old Rookie is a worthwhile summer read. If you’re reading this in Philadelphia, or at least a city in the National League, you might have a little more interest in this since you have a better chance to see Coste play than those in the American League. But regardless, it’s a nice book for the summer that you can get through without too much trouble and come out feeling better about things than when you started.

The Crowd Sounds Happy - A Story of Love, Madness and Baseball — by Nicholas Dawidoff

For some people, baseball becomes an important thread that holds things together in their lives. It fills a void, helps make sense of the world, and provides something to be close to.

For acclaimed author Nicholas Dawidoff, baseball became his refuge during adolescence, filling the gaps between divorced parents, a mentally ill father, and the trials of moving from childhood into adult life.

Davidoff tells his own story in The Crowd Sounds Happy: A Story of Love, Madness and Baseball.

Using a child’s outlook on the mysteries of the world and the language of a highly educated adult and scholar, Davidoff writes a remarkable book – not exclusively about baseball, but about life, and the role that baseball played in his, and how the Boston Red Sox became the men in his life that he looked up to via the radio broadcasts that filled his bedroom.

As you get into the book you might question why it’s listed as a baseball book — I certainly did. It takes a few chapters to really get into why it gets categorized as such, and in retrospect I probably would have been much more open and receptive to the early chapters if I had viewed it more as a coming-of-age novel.

What I kept having to remind myself as I read it was that this book is not fiction — it is the true (or at least as best as memory can recall) story of Dawidoff’s childhood.

The reader is able to relate to many things that Dawidoff writes about almost instantly - while childhoods can differ in the specifics, the broader challenges of finding yourself while learning about your family and environment is a universal theme. Each of us has gone through it in one way or another — which is what makes the book so appealing.

If you grew up in or around baseball and it became something that got you through childhood, you’ll definitely appreciate The Crowd Sounds Happy. The quality of the writing and the intimacy that Dawidoff affords the listener are both the core and the icing to this wonderful work.

But I will warn you - don’t start reading the book thinking it’s a baseball story. Get into it as a coming-of-age novel and you’ll be delighted with the baseball portions, as opposed to doing it the other way around, like I did.

The Crowd Sounds Happy is a tremendous coming of age memoir that thanks to exquisite writing and engaging candor and detail, will fill a tremendous place in your mind and in your heart.