You Can Observe A Lot by Watching - by Yogi Berra

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a big fan of Yogi Berra - both the ballplayer and the person, which is why I was excited to read his new book, You Can Observe A Lot by Watching.

In this book, Berra draws on his 19 seasons in the Majors to focus on what it means to be a team player - which is something he should know quite a bit about. As a player, Berra made it to 14 World Series and won 10 of them, including five in a row with the 1949-1953 Yankees. He bridged some tremendous ballclubs, from the days of Joe DiMaggio to the Mantle and Maris years. Yogi saw the best, played with the best, and worked himself into being the best.

Which is what this book focuses on - albeit not in the typical self-help or business book fashion. Yogi is quick to dismiss the book as something that would fall into either of those two categories. He readily admits that’s not his area of expertise.

What he does know though is teamwork - and what goes into taking a group of individuals and getting them to work together for a common goal.

When you think about the talent level that Yogi Berra played with, it’s almost hard to fathom. Throw in the tremendous amount of success that his teams had, and it becomes even more impressive. Look around and see how many great players there are in sports today - and how many of them don’t have a championship on their resume.

Yogi takes his wealth of experience and translates it into terms that almost anyone could apply to their daily lives. Whether it’s a simple reminder of understanding your role within an organization, or taking the high road and owning up to a mistake, the 15 chapters each contain a nugget that can be taken from the baseball world to the business world.

By readily admitting what this book is and isn’t, Berra sets a light hearted tone from the get go, even though the book is talking about what could be considered a pretty serious subject. Go to your local bookstore and see how many books are written on teamwork, and you’ll see that there’s a lot of energy and money being put towards trying to improve this area.

There’s plenty of baseball in there as well - a nice recap of Don Larsen’s perfect game, a good amount on how Yogi got to the majors and plenty of Yankee stories.

You Can Observe A Lot by Watching is a good pickup that I think you’ll enjoy both from a baseball perspective and from what it can add to your life. It’s a great book to read, sit on for a little while, and then flip back and read the blurbs that begin each chapter. They do a great job distilling the message, and give you something easy to take with you and implement into your life.

Baseball’s Greatest Hit - by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson and Tim Wiles

It’s the third most sung tune in America – performed every single day of the year in one place or another. But you know it best as the song that’s sung after the 39^th out is recorded - the song that proclaims where we want to go, even though we sing it when we’re already there – Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

It’s a song that is so intertwined in the current game that it’s easy to think there’s a simple story behind how it got to be so big.

And that is anything but the truth – and that is where the new book Baseball’s Greatest Hit by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson and Tim Wiles comes in.

Baseball’s Greatest Hit does a wonderful job explaining how the song came to be, chronicling it’s suspect origins, the battle to stand out from the over 1,000 other baseball songs that have come out, and even a movement to create a new baseball song – organized by none other than Major League Baseball. It all makes for quite an interesting journey for this song that has become a staple of Americana.

Not only is it a wonderful explanation of the history of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but it’s also a wonderful resource about the correlation between music and baseball. The rhythm of music and the rhythm of baseball go hand in hand - and the roster of songs that is included in the book is clear proof of that, even if you haven’t heard of most of them.

At times, the short chapters in the book make it feel a bit disjointed — as my one critique of the book would be not taking the reader on enough of a structured storyline of how the song came to such prominence. While it’s not a critical fault, it’s something that I wish could be revisited.

But that’s not to fault the authors. Tim Wiles works for the Baseball Hall of Fame, overseeing all the artifacts that the museum has ownership. Bob Thompson is the founder of the Baseball Music Project, which you may have seen in your town, and Andy Strasberg has worked for the San Diego Padres and is a well respected marketing executive around baseball.

They know what they are talking about and have a wealth of information to draw from. They do a great job dissecting the story of the song and presenting in bite size pieces that will ultimately give you a tremendous appreciation for and wealth of knowledge about this staple song of baseball.

As much as Take Me Out to the Ballgame is a fixture of baseball – so should Baseball’s Greatest Hit be a fixture on your bookshelf. Throw in a bonus CD with several different versions of the song being performed – and you’ve got a winner.

Far From Home: Latino Baseball Players in America - by Tim Wendel and Jose Luis Villegas

There are books that you find yourself spending a lot of time with — some because they’re just long, others because the thoughts and concepts contained within are difficult to understand and process. But once in a while you run into a book that you spend a good amount of time with simply because it’s good, engaging, and it stimulates your mind.

I would add Far From Home by Tim Wendel and Jose Luis Villegas to that list.

It’s not often that I get to review books from National Geographic, which is a shame because they are generally some of the nicest ones I get to read. The first thing you notice about this book is how great it feels to hold — it’s thick, sturdy and just appears to be full of great content.

At only 160 pages, it’s by no means overwhelming - and with over 100 photos, you don’t find yourself plowing through page after page of text. The words share the spotlight with the pictures - which I think you’ll find yourself spending quite a bit of time looking at. Each looks like it was scrutinized thoroughly before being added to the book, as they each capture an essence of the subject that you will be able to read and ponder just as if someone had tried to translate it to words.

The story of the Latino ballplayer is one that has been part of the baseball narrative for over a century - yet it doesn’t seem to garner the public’s attention. I certainly won’t use this venue to make a cry for more public attention towards the Latino story — nor do Wendel and Villegas use Far From Home for that purpose.

What it does is provide a relatively brief but still worthwhile synopsis of the numerous Latino experiences in baseball, dating back to the 1870s. While there is a historical aspect to the book, it doesn’t approach the subject with the approach of a typical history text.

If anything the book results in a story of humanity - individuals who battled a prejudiced America, language barriers, cultural differences and other hurdles to become not just star players, but men who put on the jersey and became part of the baseball lore of numerous cities across America and in their home countries.

If names like Clemente, Cepeda, Minoso, and Marichal were part of your vocabulary, you’ll enjoy this book. If you cheer for players named Rodriguez, Pujols, Cabrera and Ramirez, this book will provide the backdrop for what brought baseball into these players’ lives and what in turn they bring back to baseball.

The story of Latino ballplayers in America is a rich and fascinating one, and one that if you know it will make you appreciate what you see on the field that much more. Far From Home makes that story accessible and engaging to anyone who picks this title up, and while it might not warrant a permanent spot on your bookshelf, it is one that definitely warrants time in front of your eyes.

What do you think about Far From Home? Log in and post your comments!

The Code: Baseball’s Unwritten Rules and Ignore-at-Your-Own-Risk Code of Conduct - by Ross Bernstein

If you’ve played baseball, you’re undoubtedly familiar with The Code…the unwritten rules about how the game is played.

But a lot of us aren’t as familiar with how the game works beyond hits, runs, and errors, and that’s what makes Ross Bernstein’s new book, The Code a worthwhile read.

Bernstein covers how the game is supposed to be played when it comes to fights, arguing with umpires, life in the clubhouse and more, providing a thorough explanation to the code of conduct that governs baseball.

The book is highlighted by lots of quotes and thoughts from current and former big leaguers about who explain how the code gets carried out on and off the field, and share insight on some famous breaches of the code that a lot of us remember from recent years - such as Robin Ventura charging Nolan Ryan after getting hit by a pitch, or Ben Davis breaking up Curt Schilling’s perfect game with a bunt.

However, an almost over-reliance on player comments could also be seen as one of the big drawbacks. The abundance of the shaded gray boxes definitely help to provide color to the context, but at the same time almost become distracting because it breaks the path that Bernstein is taking the reader down.

The book will definitely help fans understand and appreciate the hierarchies and protocols that help set the tone for what you see happen between the white lines. While baseball is played with a gameplan and certain strategies, there is a good amount that has to be improvised, and oftentimes according to the long standing code. If you’ve ever started to sense the tension on the field at a ballgame increasing, chances are it gets covered in this book.

Maybe a hitter took a little too much time admiring his home run, or a runner went into second a little harder than would normally be expected. Some things are subtle and can’t be picked up from the stands, while others are clear as day - especially if you know what to look for.

At 272 pages, it feels just a bit longer than it should be, given the topic. The code is pretty cut and dry - it could probably fit on a single sheet of paper. The explanation and how it gets carried out take up the majority of the book, along with commentary from all the players and coaches that Bernstein brings to the book. But the chapters are fairly short, and you can easily jump around and move to the topic that most interests you.

From bean balls and brawls to bunting to break up a no-hitter, it’s all covered in Ross Bernstein’s The Code, something that wouldn’t be a bad read if you’re looking for a different topic of baseball to read about. It’s not one that I would clear off the bookshelf for, but you’ll definitely have a better appreciation for the game after reading it.

Living on the Black - by John Feinstein

Most of us have probably dreamt of being a ballplayer for a day. But what if you could be a ballplayer for a whole year?

Of what if you could be two ballplayers?

Now before you think I’m nuts – this is just what John Feinstein allows you to do with his new book Living On The Black.

It’s the 2007 season, spent with Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina – chronicling their ups, downs, trials and successes.

What makes the book interesting is the contrasts that these two veterans bring to the game. Glavine, the “crafty lefthander” and Mussina, the previously hard throwing righty who learns to adjust to life without a power fastball.

While they play just five miles apart, their teams couldn’t be more different – the pressures of Mussina’s Yankees to always be in the playoffs, versus the resurgence of Glavine’s Mets who seemed to have the NL East locked up until – well, you know what happened.

At over 500 pages, the book feels a bit lengthy at times…which is a shame, because there are some really interesting and insightful parts that most any baseball fan can benefit from. If you can get through that, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Much like an updated version of Roger Angell’s A Pitcher’s Story, which chronicled David Cone, Living on the Black provides an interesting insight into the lives of two of the current game’s best pitchers.

Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Legends

One of the best parts of baseball - at least as far as I’m concerned - is the stories. The anecdotes, legends, and tall tales that define the game add a richness to the history of the game, that otherwise would be just numbers and play-by-play recaps.

But what do you do if those stories aren’t 100% accurate?

Well if you’re ESPN’s Rob Neyer, you write a book about it. Some would say you ruin those stories by muddying them with the facts, but I’ll save that judgment for later.

I was initially won over by the introduction, where Neyer advises you why you shouldn’t buy or read the book. If you want to keep the legends and stories of baseball as they are in your mind, don’t read it. It will definitely spoil, or at least take some of the luster off some of baseball’s best stories.

But - that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read the book…there’s lots of stories that you probably have never heard, especially if you’re to the younger side or new to the game. Most of the stories come from before 1980 - which is interesting in itself…since that is when information about baseball started changing due to the widespread availability of information, the dawn of the Internet and changes in record keeping which made the numbers of the game much more valuable and sought after.

In a way - Neyer highlights a deficiency of the modern game - the lack of great stories. It certainly doesn’t seem like many great legends are talked about from the current era - and I think it’s due to the availability of numbers and facts that we have today. It’s kind of a shame if you ask me. People will still talk about seeing great moments of the game - the McGwire/Sosa home run chase, Bonds breaking the single season and career marks, Ichiro breaking the single-season hits record and so on, but the legend factor doesn’t seem to be as prevalent.

The book wins points thanks to short chapters that make it easy to pick up and put down, and each story is really its own, so you don’t necessarily need to read them in order or have the most recent one fresh in your head to appreciate the rest of the book.

I think this will definitely appeal to the older fan who has memories of the stories that Neyer dissects; however without a desire to learn about baseball’s history, the younger fan may not be as into the book.

I don’t think it’s a must-add to the book shelf, but if you enjoy debunking myths and legends, you’ll definitely get a good read out of Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Legends.

What do you think? Post your comments!

Anatomy of Baseball - edited by Lee Gutkind and Andrew Blauner

A while back I wrote about It Takes More Than Balls by Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney, otherwise known as The Savvy Girls. While I wasn’t totally a fan of the book - the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I’m a fan of what they’re trying to do, which is get people to love and appreciate what a great game baseball is.

With no disrespect to the above mentioned work, I think I’ve found a book that accomplishes that mission.

Anatomy of Baseball is a collection of 20 essays, 17 previously unpublished and three classics from Roger Angell, Frank Deford and George Plimpton, all about why the writer loves baseball. From the popularity of the baseball cap beyond those who wear it on the field, to playing baseball and its derivatives in Slovenia or Finland, this is the book that I think would get the casual fan who likes to baseball to understand why so many people love it.

It’s tough to pick a favorite — so I won’t. But it’s sure easy to find the ones I can identify with — the love of the first glove you ever had…catching pop-ups until the sun went down…or that immaculate feeling that comes when you pick up a baseball. It’s all there — and it will encourage you to find what you love about the game.

This is a book that definitely has a place on your bookshelf, but I think even more importantly, it has a place in conversation between you and your friends. Not that I think you’ll spend a lot of time discussing the book, but I think that it will serve as a jump off point for some really good discussions.

What did you think about Anatomy of Baseball? What’s you favorite baseball memory? Post your comments!

Vindicated by Jose Canseco

It should be no surprise that this was one of the books that I eagerly dove into — from the minute I found out that it would be published, to the original publisher dropping it and the book moving to a new publisher, to the early leaks from the book — all of it made me really want to get my hands on it.

And maybe that was mistake number one — I’ve learned not to get my hopes up more than once…but like Speed 2 or Caddyshack 2, we all make mistakes.

Think back to how you felt when you read Juiced - assuming you read it, of course. I’ve heard people say they’d never read it because it was full of lies, they didn’t want to believe Canseco, or they just didn’t like the guy. But when I read it - it was a mix of page turning suspense with a dose of disbelief and disgust.

I didn’t get the same emotions when I read Juiced however. The first chunk — seemingly almost half the book — is Canseco saying “I told you so!” in one form or another. I can see why he’d do that - especially after the Mitchell Report came out between his two books. Canseco throws out polygraph tests that he took as proof of his testimony - yet there is never anything official referenced by the people who administered the tests. Would it be too much to get a scan of a certified letter of performance? While I think Canseco should treat his books like sworn testimony, he certainly does not.

As Rob Neyer of ESPN.com points out in his Big Book of Baseball Legends, Canseco wasn’t accurate about  the information he put in the book about his playing time with the Yankees…when you can’t be accurate about the little things, you have to wonder about the big things.

Unless you really don’t. I think Canseco would be more accurate when he says he injected other players with steroids. Look at it this way — I remember most of the girls I ever went out with…but I don’t remember what we did, what they were wearing, what I was wearing, or their phone number. Some things you remember, some you don’t.

And that’s really the crux of the argument — do you believe Canseco? Personally, I do - but I think there’s a lot of muck in the water to sift through before we’ll really know what lies on the ocean floor. There’s a lot of my word versus his word going on…and I think that the majority of evidence needed to convict one side or the other probably doesn’t exist. You’d like to think that the guys who did use steroids wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave a paper trail - but as we saw in the Mitchell Report, that’s not the case.

Canseco does manage some interesting points in the latter half of the book…he creates a pretty interesting conspiracy theory about what Major League Baseball did to cover their own backsides, which is likely a whole different mess that will need to be untangled, and could really be the most damaging of them all. It’s one thing when members of an organization break the rules - it’s another when the organization condones and even encourages it, as Canseco suggests MLB did.

He also decides to share his theories about Roger Clemens — which are pretty far-fetched if you stop and think about them, but then again, aren’t a lot of things that happen in the world? Most of the news media wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t for far-fetched things happening in the world.

Vindicated doesn’t get a whole-hearted recommendation from me…there’s just not enough in there to really make it a must-read, and the amount of stuff you have to sift through to get to the really engaging parts is pretty sizable. If you’re like me, you’ll probably come to a point where you’ll want to put the book down, simply because the self-congratulating Canseco wears you down with reminding you he was right.

However…since Juiced could end up becoming a book similar in stature to Jim Bouton’s Ball Four, it would be worth skimming through this if you want to keep up with the discussion on the Steroid Era of baseball.

What do you think about Jose Canseco’s Vindicated? Post your comments!

It Takes More Than Balls: The Savvy Girls’ Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball - by Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney

If you’re not familiar with the Savvy Girls (formerly Of Summer, now just presumably savvy in general) - I have a feeling you will be.

What started as two women who met through soccer and found a common enjoyment of baseball is on the verge of becoming a brand name in the marketing of baseball towards women, and even more so towards the common fan who isn’t into stats, history, and the inner workings of a ballgame.

The Savvy Girls (or SG’s, as I’ll refer to them) have been on my radar in Seattle for a while now - hosting an event at Safeco Field last year and getting their names known through the local baseball world with word of their upcoming book. In that time, they’ve also managed to get on the radar of several other MLB clubs - so they may soon be making an appearance in your city. If you’ve been to Spring Training in the past year or two, you might have run into them collecting your thoughts.

So now that said book is out - let’s take a look at it.

Let’s get something out of the way early — I am definitely not the target demo for this book. As referenced several times throughout their work - the SG’s wrote this for people who can’t or don’t pay attention to every pitch and really don’t have a feel for the strategy and nuances of a baseball game, a group that happens to skew female. However - plenty of guys didn’t play baseball at a competitive level and therefore didn’t learn the ins and outs of the game, so it’s not totally skewed towards the fairer sex.

If anything - the book is written at a level that is by no means insulting to the average person’s intelligence. I went into it thinking of it as a Baseball for Dummies type work - but it’s really not. You won’t feel like you need a set of crayons to enjoy the book. The writing is fun without being overly cutesy. I managed to never hear a Valley Girl laugh while reading this.

The SGs are thorough — covering much more than I would have expected, given what I presumed the book to be. Almost anyone should be able to pick up something from this book  - regardless of how much you know - or think you know - about baseball.

The more I read though, the more I wondered if the Savvy GIrls had started to move over to the more serious fan side of the population. They certainly put a lot more in the book than the casual fan would know - or seemingly even care to know about. It almost seems as if they’re professional casual fans…if that makes sense.

I really couldn’t help but think “why would the average fan care about the history of the American League?” Or how Paul RIchards chose to deal with Ted Williams in the 1951 World Series. Great stories and part of the history of baseball - but something that seems trivial to those dealing with juice boxes, coloring books and runny noses.

As i let my mind race about this book — I wondered if it is ultimately contributing to an inevitable backlash by the hardcore fan who doesn’t want Stitch & Pitch night or family-friendly sections at the ballpark. I keep thinking of the articles I’ve read recently about the fast food industry and how they’ve shifted from trying to please everyone to focusing on super-serving their most frequent customers. This could veer off into a topic that needs to be discussed on another blog - probably BaseballOnMyBrain.com before you know it.

If anything - the book seems to try and mesh validation for those fans who are at a game for any reason other than to focus on the game, while creating a feel-good tie in with a baseball memory from a first-name-only female at the end of each chapter and trying to inform the reader of some of the finer parts of the game throughout it all.

There’s a lot going on - which is fine, although like a weekend full of errands, you feel like you went a whole bunch of places without having a true sense of direction.

I can’t say I had a warm and fuzzy feeling at the end of the book, nor did I feel like I’d just read something I’d like to pass on to the more casual fans in my life. In the end, I’m not really sure what I was left with.

It Takes More Than Balls is a solid first effort for a pair that I’m sure has a good amount to contribute to the baseball landscape. Most Major League teams have embraced the idea of marketing more to women and families, and there is still a lot of unchartered territory to navigate, which I think the baseball world will find the SG’s to be a valuable asset for. If you poke around their blog, I think you’ll get a much better idea what these two have to offer. The post titled “Pink It and Shrink It” was particularly insightful and enjoyable - and worth a read.

But getting back to the book - would I recommend it? I’d like to, but I’m not sure to who and why. Maybe it’s because I’m not the person who would read this on my own. If you are that person - post a comment and share what you enjoyed from the book.

Keep your eyes and ears open for the Savvy Girls though — they seem to have a good amount to offer, and I think their best contributions are yet to come.

The Bill James Goldmine 2008 - by Bill James

Still basking in the new-season smell of Opening Day 2008, I thought it best to start with a book that certainly has the power to affect how you look at baseball past, present and future: The Bill James Goldmine 2008.
If you’re not familiar with Bill James, well, shame on you. OK, enough with the chastising.

James - currently the Senior Baseball Operations Advisor for the Boston Red Sox, and who some consider to be the architect of the Red Sox’ two World Series victories - has been in the baseball numbers game since the late 1970s. (Not that numbers game…the stat numbers game.)

He first began by doubting the numbers that the baseball establishment had considered to be indicators of talent — win-loss records, ERA, batting average and so forth. While he passed time as the night watchman for a food manufacturing plant in Kansas, he crunched numbers and looked for trends that other people weren’t seeing.

Fast forward to 2008, and James has kept at the number crunching, revisiting topics and exploring new ones - which thus has produced The Bill James Goldmine 2008, a 317-page volume that will definitely give you something to think about.

For instance - which team had the best batting average in games that they lost? Or which team had the worst batting average when they won? James will tell you - and he’ll also share what he thinks it means - which is of course subject to change with more research and analysis.

There are lots of topics that James discusses - which are interspersed among team-by-team analysis, which bring James’ work home to your favorite club. Sometimes he’ll confirm your suspicions, sometimes he’ll deny them, but most times he’ll give you new things to be suspicious about. Or at least some fodder for the next rain delay you find yourself sitting through.

Did you ever find yourself wondering if players try and reach certain numerical plateaus? For instance, hitting .300, driving in 100 runs, or striking out 200 batters? Are there certain ones that matter more than others? So has Bill James - and the answers are in the book.

Likewise — which players accumulated the most “Cigar Points” in history — an unofficial award given to the player that comes “close, but no cigar” to as many significant statistical numbers in a season.

The information in the book is not only thought provoking, but it’s insightful and for the first-time Bill James reader, will expose you to a new way at looking at the game with an eye for statistical analysis.

This is definitely not something that will appeal to the casual fan. If you don’t know what the score is without having to looking at the scoreboard when you’re at a game - most of James’ writing will be met with a “huh” or “so what?” And that’s fine — there’s nothing wrong with that. But if after reading some of the questions above and you don’t find yourself interested in the answers, this isn’t the book for you.

However, if you are interested in the answers — you’ll get a thoroughly enjoyable read out of The Bill James Goldmine. As like most of James’ work - this will appeal to the seamheads and stat freaks that want to delve into the numbers and look at trends potential relationships between the way players perform and ultimately their team’s results on the field.

If you lean towards the casual fan end of the spectrum, I’m challenging you to at least take a look through the book and see what you think and if it interests you. Some, maybe even most of the book won’t make sense right out of the gate - and that’s fine. But maybe one of the articles will peak your interest, and you’ll delve into the topic a little deeper. I think you’ll find that if you’re ultimately interested in determining why teams win ballgames and what each individual does to contribute to those wins, you’ll enjoy this book at one level or another.

For the stats fans - this is a definite addition to the bookshelf. For the casual fan who isn’t afraid of some numbers and analysis, it’s my hope that you’ll pick it up and peruse the pages.

Jump in and join the discussion!