Category: Reviews

Movie Review : Knuckleball!

Knuckleball! is a documentary film that chronicles the 2011 season for the only two active members of the exclusive fraternity of knuckleballers, R. A. Dickey of the New York Mets and Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox.   As Dickey finally enjoyed some success at the major league level after 15 seasons of one-year contracts Wakefield was wrapping up a 19 year major league career by chasing his 200th win.

The film alternates between the two pitchers; telling the stories of their development as ballplayers in high school and college through the minor leagues and into the majors.  Before achieving major league success both had to make the decision to adopt the mostly misunderstood knuckleball.

Former major league knuckleballers Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, Tom Candiotti, Wilbur Wood and Jim Bouton are also featured offering advice and sharing baseball tales that only a knuckleballer could appreciate.

Knuckleball! is a must-see for serious fans of America’s pasttime and offers a glimpse at the human side of professional athletes that non-baseball fans can appreciate.  Make no mistake, however, this film is a baseball film.

Available for rental or purchase through iTunes and YouTube.

 

Summer 2012 Baseball Book Recommendations

With the "unofficial" start of summer upon us, here are some recommendations for your summer baseball reading enjoyment (when you’re not watching games, of course):

Connie Mack – the Turbulent and Triumphant Years 1915-1931 by Norman L. Macht (Univ. of Nebraska Press) – in the second volume of Mack’s biography, Norman exposes truths and debunks fables about the Tall Tactician.  The reader is also transported back in time to the days of the World War, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression.  A must-read.

Out of Left Field – Jews and Black Baseball   by Rebecca T. Alpert (Oxford University Press) – the story of Jewish promoters, businessmen, and sportswriters and their deep involvement with African-American baseball.  An enlightening story, with a special meaning for the "left" in left field.

Kenichi Zenimura – Japanese American Baseball Pioneer by Bill Staples, Jr. (McFarland) – a biography of "Ken" Zenimura, the Japanese/Hawaiian-American player, manager, and promoter of baseball among Japanese Americans.  Zenimura was instrumental in the organization of Japanese-American leagues in California, the promotion of tours between Japanese and American teams, and the organization of sports leagues in the internment camps during World War II (he and his family were held at a camp in Arizona).  An inspiring story. 

56 – Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports by Kostya Kennedy (Sports Illustrated Books) – a look at DiMaggio’s streak in the context of early-1940s America.  An interesting and entertaining read about DiMaggio’s personal realtionships and American society at that time.

The Wonder Team in the White City by Tom Simon (Gardner-Waterman Press) – the story of the University of Vermont baseball team of the 1880s and 1890s.  This book paints a great picture of the early days of collegiate baseball, culminating in the first "intercollegiate championship" held at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  An insightful quote from this book (from the March 2, 1892 issue of the U. of Vermont student newspaper) has special meaning for SABR members:

"Base ball is indispensable to our well-being."

Book Review: Las Estrellas Orientales

Las Estrellas Orientales

The Eastern Stars – How Baseball Changed
the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris
 
by Mark Kurlansky
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            “What do Rico Carty, Alfredo Griffin, Pedro Guerrero, George Bell, Julio Franco, Juan Samuel, Sammy Sosa, Alfonso Soriano, and Robinson Cano all have in common? They all come from the small sugar-mill town of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. Coincidence? Hardly.”   — NPR
 
            Las Estrellas Orientales (in English, The Eastern Stars), is a story about baseball in the Dominican Republic, and much more. The title is taken from the name of San Pedro’s professional baseball team in the Dominican Winter League, but the story is really about the history of this Dominican town and how it has come to pass that 86 major-leaguers have come from this small city.
 
            The book has a good dose of Dominican history, from pre-Columbian settlement through Spanish colonization, the Trujillo dictatorship, and up to the 21st Century. San Pedro’s development as a sugar mill center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and its subsequent economic decline, set the stage for a baseball boom fueled by the drive of destitute Macorisanos to escape a life of poverty. Coupled with MLB’s search for cheaper and more plentiful labor, baseball becomes a “be-all-end-all” for a better life for ball-playing youngsters and their families.
 
         This book is an interesting cultural and economic history with a baseball theme. It’s also a very current look at Latin American baseball, having been just recently published. SABR members should enjoy it, especially if you’ll be following the Caribbean World Series in 2012 from Santo Domingo (just an hour to the west of San Pedro de Macoris).
 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: Las Estrellas Orientales (the Eastern Stars) – How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris
Author:  Mark Kurlansky
Author’s Credentials: Kurlansky has written extensively on history, food, and culture. He was a Chicago Tribune reporter on Caribbean topics for seven years.
Published: 2010, Riverhead Books; ISBN: 978-1-59448-505-3
Length: 332 pages.
Price: Retail list – $16.00; Online – from $1.00 (used) + shipping.
 
 

Book Review: The Empire Strikes Out

The Empire Strikes Out

How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy
and Promoted the American Way Abroad
 
by Robert Elias
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            Did you know that Richard Nixon killed Roberto Clemente?  
 
            The Empire Strikes Out is a review of two centuries of U.S. foreign policy thru the lens of baseball history. The book explores baseball’s links to American interests overseas, the export of U.S. culture and products, and support for the U.S. military. The fundamental premise of this book is that baseball (read “organized baseball”) has been a willing proponent and partner of American imperialism and militarism. In a not-atypical linkage, the author asserts that “… Nixon’s support for the Nicaraguan dictatorship was substantially responsible for Clemente’s death.”
 
            This book incorporates a lot of research. There are 96 pages of notes, and they’re worth reading as a supplement to each chapter. The author gets most of the baseball facts and history correct, but his interpretation of their interaction is highly skewed by his political views. The book lacks objective balance. American foreign policy, and baseball’s role in it, is consistently presented as self-serving and hypocritical. Even efforts against totalitarianism are viewed with a jaundiced eye. Regarding World War II, the author states: “What ‘everyone knows’ about the war may not be entirely true. Was the Japanese attack really unprovoked? Was the White House really unaware of the impending assault?” 
 
            This book will certainly make you think more deeply about baseball’s political efforts and motivation. For those fans that may sometimes be annoyed or offended by organized baseball’s jingoism and flag-waving, Elias presents some reinforcing stories. Others will dismiss his views. Regardless, keep an open mind when reading.
 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: The Empire Strikes Out – How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad
Author:  Robert Elias
Author’s Credentials: Author and editor of eight books, most recently Baseball and the American Dream. He teaches law and politics at the University of San Francisco.
Published: 2010, The New Press; ISBN: 978-1-59558-195-2
Length: 418 pages.
Price: Retail list – $27.95; Online – from $6.60 (used) + shipping.

Book review: Steinbrenner

 

Steinbrenner
The Last Lion of Baseball
 
by Bill Madden
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            Steinbrenner, as the title would imply, is the biography of the recently-deceased Yankee owner. Author Bill Madden combines his first-hand interactions with The Boss and Yankees insiders, extensive interviews, and new sources (such as Gabe Paul’s previously untapped audio tape chronicles) to create an interesting, highly readable account of “King George”.
 
            This book reveals Steinbrenner in all his contradictions – great and petty; demeaning and magnanimous; astute but childish; demanding in public but soft-hearted in private. The Boss’ life is chronicled from his troubled relationship with his shipping-magnate father (who was a world-class hurdler), through his early years as Cleveland mover-and-shaker, to his extended reign as Yankees kingpin.
 
            The book is full of candid portrayals of Steinbrenner’s relationships with other baseball figures. The account of Fay Vincent’s investigation of Steinbrenner reveals some of the reasons the owners eventually dumped him as commissioner. The book’s portrayal of Joe Torre is pretty negative as well. The Boss’ love-hate relationship with Billy Martin threads its way through several chapters.   
 
            Whether you love or hate Steinbrenner, or the Yankees, you’ll enjoy this book. It’s a good read and good history of baseball during the last few decades.
           
 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: Steinbrenner – the Last Lion of Baseball
Author:  Bill Madden
Author’s Credentials: Long-time sportswriter for the New York Daily News, covering the Yankees and MLB. He has authored several books on the Yankees. He is the 2010 winner of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Spink Award.
Published: 2010, Harper/Collins; ISBN: 978-0-06-169031-0
Length: 457 pages.
Price: Retail list – $26.99; Online – from $2.00 (new) + shipping.
 
 
                                               
           

Book Review: The Extra 2%

The Extra 2%

How Wall Street Strategies
Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First
 
by Jonah Keri
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            The Extra 2% is the history of the Tampa Bay Rays franchise, with emphasis on the current ownership group and their strategies to improve the financial and on-field results of the club.   
 
            The book recounts the Tampa/St. Pete area’s earlier failed attempts to lure an MLB franchise, the construction of Tropicana Field “on speculation”, the trials of the Devil Rays’ original ownership group, and the current ownership and operations of the club by Stuart Sternberg, Matt Silverman and Andrew Friedman. Also included are a profile of Joe Maddon, background on the club’s sabermetricians, and insight into the politics and demographics of Tampa versus St. Petersburg.
 
            This book compares favorably with Moneyball, although the subjects of The Extra 2% were apparently much more guarded as to what their strategies actually are. The author loves the term “arbitrage”, so almost all player evaluation and game-decision tactics are referred to as arbitrage even when they’re not adequately explained. I felt the Wall Street analogies were a stretch.
 
            Keri is balanced in his treatment of MLB and team ownership, pointing out the pros and cons of topics such as revenue sharing, stadium financing, and opaque financials. The discussion of area politics and attitudes is enlightening – for instance, he posits that most Tampa folks are Yankees fans (due to the Yankees spring training site and the Steinbrenners’ base of operations being there).
 
            Overall, this book has a great story to tell and does a good job of telling it. Any SABR member interested in the worst-to-first story of the Tampa Bay Rays will enjoy The Extra 2%.     
           
Here are the key statistics:
Book: The Extra 2%
Author:  Jonah Keri
Author’s Credentials: Co-author of Baseball Between the Numbers; contributor to Baseball Prospectus, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Investor’s Business Daily. Currently lead baseball analyst for Bloomberg.
Published: 2011, Ballantine Books/ESPN Books; ISBN: 978-0-345-51765-4
Length: 253 pages. 
Price: Retail list – $26.00; Online – from $16.00 (new) + shipping.

 

 

Scorecasting

Norman Macht sent this review of Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won by Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim.  The book explores officiating bias, plus debunks some “conventional wisdom” about influences in sports.  Download it here: Book Review Scorecasting

Book Review: 1921

1921

The Yankees, The Giants, & the Battle for Baseball Supremacy
 in New York
 
by Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
Do we really need another book about New York City baseball? 
 
Apparently so, as 1921 is the winner of SABR’s 2011 Seymour Award, honoring the year’s best book on baseball history or biography. The Seymour Medal Selection Committee released the following statement about the winning book:
 
"1921 describes the pennant races in both the National and American Leagues in that year. For the first time, New York had a subway World Series with the Giants and Yankees hooking up. Obviously, with Babe Ruth versus John McGraw, the World Series takes on added meaning given McGraw’s style of play and Ruth’s home runs. The book’s structure in taking the readers through the season, alternating between the two teams and leagues, is to be commended. The authors also provide significant insight into the thinking of the two great managers, John McGraw and Miller Huggins. In their descriptions and also with the help of quotes from the leading baseball columnists of that period, Spatz and Steinberg provide a rich and colorful description of baseball and life in 1921. This is an important addition to baseball literature.”
 
Some insights and facts from the book that I found interesting:
  • 1921 was the Yankees’ first AL pennant. 
  • 1921 was the last year that the best-of-nine World’s Series format was used.
  • The Polo Grounds was the first venue to host all of that year’s World Series games. (The Yankees were the Giants’ tenant.) This repeated itself in 1922. The only other occurrence was St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park in 1944.
  • Babe Ruth often coached third base and enjoyed doing so.
  • Although a proponent of "inside baseball", John McGraw did not like to sacrifice.
  • The authors contend that Babe Ruth helped popularize baseball with immigrants, because the home run was easier to understand than the "scientific" approach to inside baseball.

I think the Seymour Medal committee got it right.  This is a well-researched and well-presented book.  Make sure to read the end-notes, as they add a lot of background to each chapter.

Yes, I guess we do need another book about New York baseball !

 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: 1921 – the Yankees, the Giants, & the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York
Authors:  Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg
Authors’ Credentials: Lyle Spatz is the author of many baseball books including Bad Bill Dahlen and Yankees Coming, Yankees Going. Steve Steinberg is the author of Baseball in St. Louis, 1900-1925 and numerous articles on early 20th Century ball.
Published: 2010, University of Nebraska Press; ISBN: 978-0-8032-2060-7
Length: 515 pages.
Price: Retail list – $31.95; Online – from $15.00 (new) + shipping.
           

Book Review : Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out
A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit
 
by Matt McCarthy
 
A Baseball Book Review
Jan Larson
 
             Matt McCarthy was a left-handed starter on four bad teams at Yale University and in the summer of 2002 hoped to be chosen in the major league free agent draft.  The Anaheim Angels gave McCarthy at shot at his dream of playing in the Major Leagues by selecting him in the 21st round.  He quickly accepted a $1000 signing bonus and boarded a plane for training camp in Mesa, Arizona.
 
             Odd Man Out is McCarthy’s sometimes raunchy and always entertaining recollection of his one season pitching (or not) with the Class A Pioneer League’s Provo Angels.  McCarthy opens the clubhouse doors as he recounts tales of baudy behavior, excessive drinking, the temptation of steroids, good games and bad, pink slips, Dominicans, Weenie Wednesday and Larry King Night.
 
             McCarthy and his Angels teammates endured the culture shock of heavily Mormon Provo, 17 hour bus trips to Medicine Hat, Alberta, the endless search for "slump busters" and the assorted motivational techniques of manager Tom Kotchman.  Rally Monkey?  "Kotch" had other ways to "rally" his players.
 
             The book provides an insight into the life in the low minor leagues and is recommended for anyone that ever had such aspirations.
             
Here are the key statistics:
Book: Odd Man Out 
                        A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit
Author:  Matt McCarthy
Author’s Credentials: McCarthy is currently an intern at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.
Published: 2009, Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group; ISBN: 978-0-670-02070-6
Length: 304 pages.
Price: Retail list – $25.95;    Online – from $1.04 (used) + shipping.

 

Book Review: The Federal League

 

The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs
The History of an Outlaw Major League, 1914-1915
 
by Robert Peyton Wiggins
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            The Federal League (FL) operated as a minor league in 1913 and as a now-recognized major league in 1914 and 1915. Author Wiggins tells the story of the magnates, managers and players that made up the “newest” of now-defunct “major leagues”.
 
            The FL directly challenged major league franchises in St. Louis, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Pittsburgh. Their franchise lineup was filled out with cities that formerly had major league franchises, or thought they deserved them. These included Indianapolis, Buffalo, Baltimore, and Kansas City. The Indianapolis franchise moved to Newark for the 1915 season.
 
            FL magnates included oilman Harry Sinclair, New York bakery king Robert Ward, old Oriole Ned Hanlon, and former player then lawyer John Montgomery Ward, among many others.
 
            Although the Federal League played its last game over ninety-five years ago, two very visible legacies of the FL remain: 1) Baseball’s privileged exemption from anti-trust law is a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc.  vs. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, a lawsuit filed by the ownership of the Baltimore FL Terrapins, and 2) The Federal League’s most famous ball park, Weeghman Field, home of the Chicago Whales, is viewable whenever a Cubs home game is broadcast. It’s now known as Wrigley Field. 
 
            A SABR member interested in early 20th Century baseball should enjoy this well-researched book.
 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs;
                        The History of an Outlaw Major League, 1914-1915
Author:  Robert Peyton Wiggins
Author’s Credentials: Wiggins is a member of SABR and lives in Charlottesville, VA. He has also written Chief Bender, A Baseball Biography
Published: 2009, McFarland; ISBN: 978-0-7864-3835-8
Length: 362 pages.
Price: Retail list – $35.00;    Online – from $45.00 (new) + shipping.