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Matt's Reviews > The Game from Where I Stand: A Ballplayer's Inside View
The Game from Where I Stand: A Ballplayer's Inside View
by Doug Glanville
by Doug Glanville
Glanville seems a natural to write a baseball book like this one. He had a very successful career, tallying over 1000 hits in 9 seasons, but is also a good writer, a graduate of Penn (systems engineering) and a color commentator for ESPN. He also seems to be a very well-grounded human being who understands that the life of a professional baseball player is a peculiar one. And while he was very successful, staying in the league for so long, he also wasn't so good that he doesn't fully appreciate the tenuous situation most pro athletes face in order to stay on top.
So I'm a bit sorry to say I wasn't as drawn in as I hoped to be in reading this book. I started it during the season last summer, set it down at some point, and never finished until I found some time during the off season. Oddly enough, Glanville's greatest strength – that he is thoughtful, sensible, understanding, and always diplomatic – makes the book a little dull. I'd still rather read what he has to say over what Jose Canseco has to say.
And he does have a unique perspective, dealing with the stereotype that comes with being highly educated in a world that doesn't necessarily admire that quality. He's observant enough to write things like, "I spent a lot of my minor league career shaking off the exhausted 'black athlete' labels of laziness, natural talent, and nonchalance." Or "our uniform is our patch on the arm, a badge that becomes our ticket to social acceptance, fame, financial security (maybe) and admission to an elite club of 'success.' But it's also a ticket into the theater of self-doubt. A doubt that turns most players into awkward Clark Kents without their Superman costumes." It's not exactly rocket science, but it's not the sort of thing you would see most ballplayers write or perhaps think.
The best parts of the book are probably where he cares to offer insight into how the social and professional life of a single ballplayer can be dramatic or lonely, rewarding or difficult. Above all, Glanville is a stand up guy who offers some nice insight into what it's like to live an existence in that strangely privileged and highly competitive universe.
So I'm a bit sorry to say I wasn't as drawn in as I hoped to be in reading this book. I started it during the season last summer, set it down at some point, and never finished until I found some time during the off season. Oddly enough, Glanville's greatest strength – that he is thoughtful, sensible, understanding, and always diplomatic – makes the book a little dull. I'd still rather read what he has to say over what Jose Canseco has to say.
And he does have a unique perspective, dealing with the stereotype that comes with being highly educated in a world that doesn't necessarily admire that quality. He's observant enough to write things like, "I spent a lot of my minor league career shaking off the exhausted 'black athlete' labels of laziness, natural talent, and nonchalance." Or "our uniform is our patch on the arm, a badge that becomes our ticket to social acceptance, fame, financial security (maybe) and admission to an elite club of 'success.' But it's also a ticket into the theater of self-doubt. A doubt that turns most players into awkward Clark Kents without their Superman costumes." It's not exactly rocket science, but it's not the sort of thing you would see most ballplayers write or perhaps think.
The best parts of the book are probably where he cares to offer insight into how the social and professional life of a single ballplayer can be dramatic or lonely, rewarding or difficult. Above all, Glanville is a stand up guy who offers some nice insight into what it's like to live an existence in that strangely privileged and highly competitive universe.
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