Category: Reviews

Joe Black:  More Than a Dodger
354 pages
Chicago Review Press, 2015

One wouldn’t think a book about a "single-season wonder" could hold enough information to fill 350 pages. But this engaging life story written by Joe Black’s daughter, Martha Jo, and AP/UPI sportswriter Chuck Schoffner, captures the essence of a determined competitor in sport as well as life.  Joe was raised in the integrated town of Plainfield, New Jersey, but beginning in his university years, he faced life’s toughest curves from the challenges of Jim Crow.  As a young man in 1944, he aspired to pitch in the major leagues but was surprised to learn that he would probably never have that opportunity.  Not only did he achieve his dream in 1952, but he led his Brooklyn Dodgers to the pennant, leading the club in wins, earning Rookie of the Year honors, and finishing third in the MVP race.  That season he became the first African-American to win a World Series game.

But Joe Black was so much more than a one-dimensional sports figure.  Joe had an over-sized, magnetic personality that matched his later-in-life physical presence, allowing him to become a beloved school teacher and the first African-American Vice-President of a corporation of its size, when he worked at and later consulted for Greyhound.  From the 1980s until the end of his life he worked hard on behalf of major league baseball to aid retired ballplayers who had fallen upon hard times.

After divorcing Martha Jo’s mother, Joe was determined to win sole custody of his daughter, perhaps his biggest life challenge.  After all, the odds were clearly stacked against a black man in conservative Arizona during the early 1970s, especially considering that Martha Jo’s mom was also a "fit" parent.  But Joe miraculously prevailed and Martha Jo, who today works for Jerry Reinsdorf with the Whitesox, penned this labor of love to honor a top athlete, a great humanitarian, and an exceptional dad.

Though a great portion of the book has to do with his career leading up to, and during, his days with Brooklyn, you need not be a Dodger fan at all to enjoy this uplifting biography.

Title:  Baseball’s Great Hispanic Pitchers – Seventeen Aces from the Major, Negro and Latin American Leagues

Author:  Lou Hernandez

Published:  2015 by McFarland, ISBN:  978-0-7864-7975-7; $39.95 new, $13.99 ebook; 306 pages

Lou Hernandez deals us a winning hand of 17 aces with this review of baseball’s greatest Hispanic pitchers.  He covers the standout Hispanic pitchers of each era or decade, beginning with Ramon Bragana and Martin Dihigo in the Negro and Latin American leagues and wrapping up with current star King Felix Hernandez.  Along the way, the book has indepth coverage of Ramon Arano, Ruben Gomez, Orlando Hernandez, Juan Pizarro, Adolfo Luque, Camilo Pascual, Juan Marichal, Luis Tiant, Mike Cuellar, Dennis Martinez, Fernando Valenzuela, Pedro Martinez, Mariano Rivera, and Johan Santana.

The biographical chapter on each lanzador is loaded with facts, stats, and anecdotes.  Although the author admits upfront that he is a fan of the "old school" views that pitcher wins, innings pitched and complete games are important, he also effectively weaves in the use of sabermetric measurements to compare and contrast pitcher effectiveness across the decades.

Mr. Hernandez also offers his opinion as to the greatest season ever by a Hispanic pitcher.  His two finalists are Pedro Martinez in 2000 and "Dolf" Luque in 1923.  You’ll have to get the book to find his choice among the two, and rationale therein.

I enjoyed this book and learned a lot.  I think most SABR members will. 

Author(s) background: Lou Hernandez is a fellow SABR member and lifelong baseball fan.  His recent books include:  Memories of Winter Ball – Interviews with Players in the Latin American Winter Leagues of the 1950s (2013, McFarland) and The Rise of the Latin American Baseball Leagues, 1947-1961:  Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela (2011, McFarland).  Lou lives in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Title:  Houston Baseball – The Early Years 1861-1961

Editor and Contributors:  

Mike Vance (editor) with Bill McCurdy, Bob Dorrill, Joe Thompson, Steve Bertone, Marsha Franty and Mickey Herskowitz

Published:  2014 by Bright Sky Press; 368 pages; ISBN – 978-1-939055-74-3; $49.95 new

Special purchase offer:  While they last, SABR Hornsby Chapter members can purchase this book for $40.00, delivered.  Send a check made out to "Houston Baseball – The Early Years" c/o Bob Dorrill, 2318 Crimson Valley Court, Kingwood, TX 77345.

This book is a project of SABR’s Larry Dierker Chapter and chronicles baseball in Houston prior to the arrival of the Major League Colt .45s in 1962.  Individual chapters cover different eras of baseball in Houston – including:  Ante-bellum early baseball (1836-1861); pre-professional ball (1861-1887); early professional baseball (1888-1905);  the Texas League and affiliation with the Cardinals; and the Post-WWII era and transition to the Majors.  

Other chapters portray Houston’s ballparks, the Dixie Series, Black baseball, Amateur and Semi-Pro ball, and Spring Training/Exhibition baseball in Houston.  

No matter your particular interests in baseball, this well-researched and richly illustrated book has something for everyone.  Details of ante-bellum baseball (yes, there was baseball in Houston before the Civil War helped the sport to expand), the Buffaloes’ long relationship with Branch Rickey and the Cardinals, and the machinations that brought major league baseball to Houston, all offer revealing insight into the history of baseball in the Bayou City.

Whether or not you’re from Houston, a Buffs or Astros fan, a SABR member should enjoy this outstanding book.   

Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil Rights, and the Deep South’s Most Compelling Pennant Race

by Larry Colton, 321 pages, published-2013

As a sabermetrician examines statistics in context, author Larry Colton examines baseball and civil rights in the same way with his well researched book on The Birmingham Barons’ 1964 season.  This was a particularly critical time in the history of our nation.  It’s one thing to be in the midst of the pressure of an exciting pennant race.  But if you were of Latin or African-American descent during 1964, playing baseball in the deep south, then that takes on quite a different dimension of pressure.  The players of color weren’t only targeted by the fans, but by other players, the police, politicians, and business owners.  After baseball had been disbanded there for two years for reasons directly related to segregation, Birmingham was granted a AA franchise by The Kansas City Athletics.  With the Civil Rights movement as a backdrop to baseball (or is it baseball as a backdrop to the Civil Rights movement?), the reader can view a turbulent time in American history through the eyes of the players, manager, and owner. 

Many of the "players" are well-known.  You will, of course recognize the names ‘Blue Moon’ Odom, Tommie Reynolds, Paul Linblad, Haywood Sullivan, Campy Campaneris, Ken Sanders, Charlie Finley, The 16th St. Baptist Church, The KKK, Bull Connor, and George Wallace.  Others such as Albert Belcher and Hoss Bowlin are not not so well known, but pivotal characters in their own right.  

The book by Larry Colton, who made his own barely-brief big-league appearance, is a quick read.  Anyone with any interest in minor league baseball and how the game affected and was affected by the social climate of those times will enjoy learning about these subjects through the eyes of those who lived them.

Title:  Lost in the Sun, Roy Gleason’s Odyssey from the Outfield to the Battlefield

Author:  Roy Gleason as told to Wallace Wasinack with Mark Langill

Published:  2005 by Sports Publishing LLC; 242 pages; ISBN – 1-58261-944-1; $24.95 new, used from $1.00

This book is the amazing true story of Roy Gleason, an LA Dodgers "bonus baby" who was a September, 1963 call-up for the pennant- and World Series-winning Dodgers.  Gleason appeared in eight games, primarily as a pinch-runner, scored three runs and hit a double in his only plate appearance.  He never appeared in the majors again, but his story doesn’t end there.  He is subsequently drafted, served in combat in Vietnam, and was wounded.  Gleason claims to be the only player that, after playing in the majors, saw combat duty in the Vietnam War.

Gleason’s story reads like part Roy Hobbs (The Natural) and part Crash Davis (Bull Durham).  He was a promising high school and minor-league baseball star, was signed for $55,000 in 1961, but had difficulties breaking onto the strong ’60s Dodger rosters.  After serving in Vietnam and recuperating from serious injuries sustained in combat, he was making progress on a baseball comeback.  But then, he was hurt again in a car accident, effectively ending his baseball career.

A quote from the Roy Hobbs character in The Natural certainly applies to Gleason:  "My life didn’t turn out like I’d planned."  But the book does have a feel-good ending of sorts.  SABR members would enjoy reading about it.

Author(s) background: Roy Gleason was born in Illinois and grew up in Los Angeles.  This is his first book and he has written several articles for newspapers and online.  Wally Wasinack is a business writer, educator and consultant.  Mark Langill was publications editor and team historian for the Los Angeles Dodgers.     

Title:  Pete Rose, American Dilemma

Author:  Kostya Kennedy

Published:  2014 by Sports Illustrated Books; 341 pages; ISBN – 978-1-61893-096-5; $26.95 new, from $11.88 used

This is a balanced, objective and lively account of Pete Rose’s life and career.  It portrays Rose as a man of contradictions, obsessed with winning, gambling, and making money; capable of kindness, engaging with fellow players and fans, and yet lacking of any moral compass.  Rose comes across as not a bad nor mean person, but lacking in compassion and basic sensitivity for the feelings of others.

Rose’s upbringing is explained and the reader will see how his "win at all costs" attitude came to dominate all other aspects of his personality.  His bitter war with baseball’s hierarchy is explored in depth; as well as his relationship with wives, girlfriends, and children.  A quote is illustrative of his insensitivity to his family — he returns a call that his wife had placed to his hotel room during a road trip, responding, "Karolyn, I knew it was you calling earlier, but I had a girl with me in the room." 

The author ends the dust-jacket summary with the following:  "Where has his improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steriod world?  Do we feel any differently about Pete Rose today?  Should we?"  SABR members will enjoy this book and exploring whether or not their opinions about The Hit King might change.

Author background:  Kennedy is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated.  His most recent sports book is 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, a New York Times best-seller and winner of the 2011 Casey Award.

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