Category: Reviews

Gilbert D. Martinez

gmartinez46@austin.rr.com

                

The Baseball Codes is a fun and entertaining read about episodes, many highly hilarious, throughout baseball’s history. The authors do a good job sprinkling stories from just about every era of the game, giving casual and passionate fans of the game something new to read.

The book opens with a recounting of the infamous decision by Robin Ventura of the White Sox to charge the mound in Arlington after being hit by Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan in the last year of his Hall of Fame pitching career in 1993.

I’ve seen photos of Ryan holding Ventura in a neckhold with his fist pulled back, cocked, just an instant from pummeling Ventura’s unfortunate face. This incident is often used to described Ventura’s ill-advised decision to challenge one of the greatest and hardest-throwing pitchers of all time. Jokes are made about how Ventura’s face served as a punching bag.

But the authors of the book focus on the backstory, which they find much more interesting. They say that baseball’s unwritten rules are what compelled Ventura to rush the mound, whether he wanted to or not.

Three years before, Ryan had given up back-to-back home runs by Craig Grebeck and Ozzie Guillen in the second game of a double-header, which the White Sox swept. Seven days later, Ryan nailed Grebeck in the back and knocked Scott Fletcher down one pitch after Fletcher asked the umpire to inspect the ball for scuff marks.

Before the fateful game, the White Sox players talked about Ryan and agreed that enough was enough. The only thing they could do, they agreed, was something extreme, like charge the mound, to try to put an end to Ryan’s intimidation tactics.

So, when Ventura was hit, he really had no choice but to charge the mound. Either way, he couldn’t win. If he failed to respond, he risked alienating his teammates; if he did rush the mound — well, we know he took his beating.

The Baseball Codes is filled with similar stories about the quirky traditions and customs of baseball. Anecdotes about not running up the score, playing the game the right way, not showing up your opponents, retaliation and sign stealing. There are also stories about how players don’t talk to the pitcher when he takes a no-hitter or perfect game into the late innings.

Though the book is not filled with Sabermetric-type numbers, it makes for a nice complement by providing insights into baseball behavior that go beyond OPS+ and WHIP.

 

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Book: The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime

Authors: Jason Turbow and Michael Duca

Authors’ credentials: Turbow is a regular contributor to Giants Magazine and A’s Magazine. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, SportsIllustrated.com, Popular Science and the San Francisco Chronicle. Duca works in the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball as an official scorer and for mlb.com. He has written for Sports-Ticker, Giants Today in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Associated Press and was the first chairman of the board of Bill James’s Project Scoresheet.

Published: 2010, Pantheon Books (New York)

Length: 304 pages

Price: Retail list – $25.00; Online – from $12.49 (used) plus shipping

 

Monte Cely

(512) 310-9777

            Demonized by Brooklynites and those that dream of “the good old days”, and yet praised by many as one of baseball’s visionary leaders, Dodgers magnate Walter O’Malley certainly qualifies as one of baseball’s most controversial owners. In this book, author Michael D’Antonio paints a balanced, even predominately positive, picture of the recently elected Hall of Famer.

 

            O’Malley’s early life (pre-Dodgers) is recounted as introduction. His father was a Tammany Hall official. Walter’s years at a military high school, at Penn, and at law school all help shape his character and interests. He is successful at business law and this leads him to the Dodgers, where he is assigned to the front office by a Dodger creditor to “… go over there and do a little troubleshooting …” The rest is history, although not necessarily the history written by New York sportswriters of that era.

 

            The author uses family archives to reconstruct O’Malley’s thoughts and intentions in dealing with the Dodger heirs, with Branch Rickey, on keeping the Dodgers in Brooklyn, and on the opportunities and problems of leaving for Los Angeles. O’Malley is shown dealing with politics and public interests in building a stadium in Brooklyn (he failed) and then again in Los Angeles (where he succeeded). 

 

            A SABR member interested in new insights into “what really happened” should enjoy this book.

 

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Book: Forever Blue: The True Story of Walter O’Malley, Baseball’s Most Controversial Owner, and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles

Author:  Michael D’Antonio

Author’s Credentials: D’Antonio is a Pulitzer Prize winner for reporting in Newsday. He has authored several books on topics outside of sports and his work has appeared in Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, and the LA Times Magazine.

Published: 2009, Riverhead Books (Penquin); ISBN: 978-1-59448-856-6

Length: 343 pages.

Price: Retail list – $35.00;    Online – from $2.50 (used) + shipping.

 

Monte Cely

(512) 310-9777

            Paul Richards was a Texas-born baseball man, a life-long resident of Waxahachie. In a career that spanned most of the 20^th Century, Richards held almost all the baseball jobs to be had on the field and in the front office. 

 

            On the field, he was what we’d today call a “AAAA player” – enjoying much more success in the minors than in the majors. He did play for the Dodgers, Giants and A’s in the early to mid-1930s; and he got a second chance as a wartime replacement with the Tigers in the 1940s (he was a member of the 1945 World Champion Detroit team).

 

            But he was best known as a manager and executive both in the minors (Atlanta and Buffalo) and with struggling or new franchises in the majors (early ‘50s White Sox, late ‘50s Orioles, and expansion Houston). This book delves into his successes and problems as a manager and GM. Richards was one of the first to calculate and utilize the statistic that we now call on-base-percentage. He was an early adopter of pitch-counts and an early proponent of the five-man pitching rotation. He is credited with the invention of the jumbo catcher’s mitt for handling the knuckleball. Conversely, he clung to some outdated methods (such as advocating pulling teeth and removing tonsils to improve pitchers’ performance). His poor communication skills, coupled with a cold, stand-offish nature, were often criticized.    

 

            Richards’ interactions with baseball legends such as Connie Mack, Bill Veeck, and Judge Hofheinz make for interesting reading. The book delivers a balanced portrait of an innovative baseball man that was respected by many, despised by some, and loved by few. It’s a book that a Texas SABR member should enjoy. 

 

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Book: The Wizard of Waxahachie

Author:  Warren Corbett

Author’s Credentials: Corbett’s work appears in SABR’s biography project and National Pastime. He has also contributed to the Diamond; Go-Go to Glory: the 1959 Chicago White Sox; and Lefty, Double-X, and the Kid: The 1939 Red Sox.

Published: 2009, SMU Press; ISBN: 978-0-87074-556-0                 

Length: 430 pages

Price: Retail list – $35.00;    Online – from $13.50 (used) + shipping.

 

                                                A Baseball Book Review                                                                   

Monte Cely

                                                                                                            cely@swbell.net

                                                                                                            (512) 310-9777

            Doug Glanville played professional baseball for fourteen seasons, nine of them in the majors as an outfielder for the Cubs, Phillies, and Rangers. He is also an Ivy League graduate (engineering degree from Penn) as well as an African-American. This book, his first, brings a different perspective to life as a big-leaguer. 

 

            Glanville discusses all aspects of his experience in professional baseball. Topics include making it through the minor leagues, materialism, the union, steroids, superstitions, recovery from injuries, dealing with managers, and much more. Most of the book deals with off-field issues, although there are some interesting in-game episodes as well. 

 

            If there’s a theme to this book, it’s that baseball players are human. Glanville tells about his dealing with many of the same issues that all professionals do – like having to relocate and working under stress. He provides some very interesting insight on the struggles of an aging starter having to make the many adjustments to becoming a role player. He also talks at length about his challenges in adjusting to “life after baseball”. 

 

            The author brings his perspective, intelligence and sensitivity to this “inside” look at the game. For the most part, it’s very interesting. In a few instances he allows himself to become an “armchair psychologist” (his term) and those passages are somewhat tedious. But overall, the book is a unique and insightful insider’s view.

 

 

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Book: The Game From Where I Stand

Author:  Doug Glanville

Author’s Credentials: Glanville played in the majors for the Phillies, Cubs and Rangers through 2004. Since 2008 he has written the online column “Heading Home” for the New York Times.

Published: 2010, Times Books, ISBN: 978-0-8050-9159-5

Length: 276 pages

Price: Retail list – $25.00;    Online – from $14.00 (new) + shipping.

 by Paul Dickson

            The Dickson Baseball Dictionary is the “…now definitive work on the language of baseball”, per author Paul Dickson. The 3^rd Edition, recently released, includes over 10,000 terms and hundreds of new pictures and unpublished illustrations. 

 

            Ever wondered about the origins of the term “can of corn”? This book has the in-depth answer. Is taking a “Route 66” to catch that fly ball a good or bad thing? Dickson will tell you. Confused over why some farmhands are “optioned” while others are “assigned” to the minors? The Dictionary will explain.

 

            If you enjoy baseball reference books, you’ll find a lot to like in The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Entries are written in a compelling style, providing both explanation and evolution of terms, and in an easy-to-understand fashion.

 

This book should be a great addition to a SABR member’s baseball library.

 

 

 

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Book: The Dickson Baseball Dictionary

Author:  Paul Dickson

Authors Credentials: Dickson has written almost fifty books in many genres. His baseball works include Baseball’s Greatest Quotations and The Joy of Keeping Score.

Published: 2009, Norton, ISBN: 978-0-393-06681-4

Length: 974 pages

Price: Retail list – $49.95;    Online – from $21.00 (used) + shipping.

 

A Baseball Book Review                 

Monte Cely  

(512) 310-9777

            Bottom of the Ninth is the story of the ill-fated Continental League, and how its conception and ultimate demise led to Major League Baseball expansion in the early 1960s. 

 

            The main story-lines revolve around Branch Rickey and Casey Stengel, focusing mainly on a 1958 – 1960 timeline. Rickey is portrayed as the aging genius reaching for one more innovation with his proposed third major league. Stengel’s role is to represent baseball’s past and resistance to change. Supporting characters are Walter O’Malley (as the NL strongman), Del Webb (AL strongman), Bill Shea (Rickey’s “man in New York” for the Continental League), and expansion interests in Houston, Minneapolis, Denver, Toronto, and LA.

 

            The book did a good job of bringing the planning, politics and intrigue of the Continental League back into the daylight. The machinations of the National and American Leagues to first block the Continentals, and then co-opt the new league by agreeing to expansion, are both intriguing and mind-bending. The profiles of baseball power brokers of this era are insightful (although the Stengel sub-plot seems off-point and superfluous; he seems to have had no involvement with the Continental League). The book also highlights the concurrent founding of the American Football League, and discusses how the AFL succeeded where the Continentals failed.

 

            SABR members interested in 1950s-1960s baseball history and the “business of baseball” should enjoy this book. 

 

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Book: Bottom of the Ninth

Author:  Michael Shapiro

Authors Credentials: Shapiro is a professor at the Columbia School of Journalism, has authored five previous books including The Last Good Season, and has had articles published in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated.

Published: 2009, Times Books, ISBN 978-0-8050-8247-0

Length: 303 pages

Price: Retail list – $26.00;    Online: from $6.95 (used) + shipping.

 

                                               Monte Cely

                                                                                                            cely@swbell.net

                                                                                                            (512) 310-9777

            Sixty Feet, Six Inches is a conversation between Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson about their approaches to playing baseball, their recollections of their careers, and their thoughts on current baseball topics.

 

            The two Hall of Famers are “in character” throughout the book. Jackson is articulate and self-centered; Gibson blunt and focused. On a particular topic, Jackson may speak for four paragraphs, Gibson for two sentences. Both still display their fierce competitiveness, while effectively relaying their insight about the game on the field.

 

            The bulk of the book is devoted to in-game tactics surrounding the pitcher-hitter confrontation, and the authors’ approach to that battle. Other chapters are devoted to the authors’ relationships and thoughts on other players, umpires, and owners; the atmosphere around the ballpark and specifically during the World Series; the characteristics of good player “makeup”; and the changes that baseball has gone thru over the decades since the authors have retired from the field.

 

            For those SABR members that like in depth discussion about game tactics, this book is for you. If extended discussion of the pitcher-hitter confrontation isn’t your cup of tea, Sixty Feet, Six Inches still has much to offer, especially if you’re a fan of either of the authors.

 

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Book:   Sixty Feet, Six Inches

Author:  Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson, with Lonnie Wheeler

Authors Credentials: Gibson and Jackson need no introduction to SABR members. Wheeler is a veteran sportswriter who has collaborated on several baseball books, including I Had a Hammer with Hank Aaron.

Published: 2009, Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-52869-6

Length: 273 pages

Price: Retail list – $26.00;    Online: from $15.00 (used) + shipping.

 

A Baseball Book Review                                                                 

Monte Cely

                                                                                                            cely@swbell.net

                                                                                                            (512) 310-9777

            Working at the Ballpark, The Fascinating Lives of Baseball People is based on a series of interviews of fifty folks that work at major league ballparks. The author covers a broad range of baseball people, from GMs and team presidents, to players, coaches, clubhouse workers, vendors, media, and even a “ticket hustler.”

 

            The interviewees were asked three questions: “What is your job?”, “”How did you get into this line of work?”, and “What does this job mean to you?” The book consists of a recollection of these conversations, in the subjects’ own words. Some of the personnel are familiar names to a baseball fan: Johnny Pesky, Sandy Alderson, Bob Watson, Leo Mazzone, Omar Vizquel, among others. Others are not familiar, but in most cases just as enlightening: umpire Fieldin Culbreth, “Bernie the Brewer” mascot Chris Hanson, Tampa official scorer Jim Ferguson, San Diego groundskeeper Luke Yoder, and many more. 

 

            The Astros and Rangers are well-represented by current and former employees Ron Jackson (Express hitting coach), Doug Mansolino (Astros coach), Phil Merkord (Rangers ball boy), Woody Williams (Astros pitcher), Arnie Murphy (the “Peanut Dude” vendor at MinuteMaid), and Bruce Wilson (Rangers scoreboard operator).

 

            The broad range of personnel and their duties provides great insight into the many efforts that go on behind the scenes so that we can enjoy a major league baseball game. I was impressed by the long hours that many worked, as well as their dedication and attachment to the game.

 

            For those SABR members interested in “the business of baseball”, I would highly recommend this book.       

 

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Book:   Working at the Ballpark

Author:  Tom Jones

Author Credentials: He has worked for thirty years as a legislative director in the administrations of the last five California governors. This is his first book.

Published: 2008, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60239-226-7

Length: 361 pages

Price: Retail list – $17.95;    Online: from $2.00 (used) + shipping.

 

A Baseball Book Review                                                

                                                                                                            Monte Cely

                                                                                                            cely@swbell.net

                                                                                                            (512) 310-9777

            Cooperstown Confidential is a critical expose’ of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The book was mentioned recently in sportswriter Kirk Bohls’ column in the Austin American-Statesman. The main thrust of the book is to highlight the hypocrisy and politics surrounding the Hall of Fame selection process. A lot of the book examines the “character clause”, otherwise known as Rule 5 of the BBWAA Rules for Election, which states “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played”. 

 

The author’s premise seems to be that the Baseball Hall of Fame has, at best, only selectively enforced the “character clause”, admitting gamblers, racists, adulterers and the like. He feels that the Hall now faces a huge dilemma, and potential irrelevance, if it begins to selectively enforce the “character clause” for those eligible players coming out of the steroids era. The book also looks at the selection of minorities, as well as the politics of election of others that may be out of favor with the baseball establishment.

 

            Where the author did primary research or covered new (to me, at least) ground, such as his interview with Marvin Miller and the resignation of former Hall of Fame president Dale Petrosky, the book was at its best. Other areas of the book, regarding integration of blacks and Latinos and their consideration for the Hall, are old news. The “conclusions” about steroids, and their effect on the performance and health of baseball players, are controversial. The book advocates expanding Hall of Fame voting to new constituencies, including SABR members!

 

            The book was an easy read, and for the most part an entertaining one.

 

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Book:   Cooperstown Confidential, Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Author:  Zev Chafets

Author Credentials: He is the author of eleven books, a contributor to the New York Times Magazine, a former columnist for the New York Daily News, and the founding managing editor of Jerusalem Report.

Published: 2009, Bloomsbury, ISBN 1-59691-545-5

Length: 237 pages

Price: Retail list – $25.00;    Online: from $15.00 + ship.