What do you think?
Rate this book
Confessions of a Baseball Purist: Whats Right and Wrong with Baseball As Seen from the Best Seat in the House
The author offers his views on the state of basball today, and comments on his experiences as a sportscaster
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 1998
1 person is currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Jon Miller
64 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database.
For the Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, see Jon Miller.
For the Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, see Jon Miller.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 11, 2023
It’s a little dated now but still a fun read if you’re a baseball fan. Jon gives some nice insights and enjoyable stories.
August 20, 2012
terrible, it didn't hold up with time. I feel it would have been ok when released, but many of the subjects Miller deals with have since been "handled" or at least changed.
As a "purist," he also makes many statements that truly don't reflect what can help baseball succeed in the future.
As a "purist," he also makes many statements that truly don't reflect what can help baseball succeed in the future.
June 17, 2012
If you like baseball and reading about it, this is a great book.
June 21, 2019
Fun insight from one of baseball’s best voices! Miller shares his years of growing up in the SF Bay Area to his rocky start in the Majors. If you know his joyful and boisterous voice, you can only imagine him narrating to you as you read word for word.
September 25, 2012
Jon Miller is one of the best baseball play-by-play broadcasters I've ever heard. Of course, my bias is clearly for him since I grew up listening to him give the play-by-play of O's games late into the night when I was young, but I feel that he brings something special to the microphone. The Giants and ESPN must concur, because they both employ him these days, and I'll still tune in on MLB At-Bat to hear his voice. The feeling of nostalgia isn't quite overwhelming since the Giants aren't "my team", but there is a little loyalty to his voice that makes me root for them whenever I hear his voice. The closeness of a broadcaster to the fans is an important element of the game of baseball, I feel, which is partly why I feel that schmucks like Buck and Morgan sound so ridiculous when they discuss the game on TV. Out of all the radio announcers I know, the Nats broadcasters are great (albeit a little short on descriptive abilities), but Jon Miller is superb.
This book is about how broadcasters do their job, his career, and his beliefs about the current baseball situation - well, as current as it could have been in the late 1990s. It is hilarious to read his take on how that period is/was baseball's "golden age" due to the monstrous homers, the close pennant races, the addition of the wild card.... This is, of course, right before the litany of steroid abuses were unveiled that made possible the inordinate numbers of homers from McGwire and Sosa.
All in all a good, quick read. To make this book even more satisfying, I bought it on amazon and found - to my amazement - that it was autographed by Jon Miller himself in an inscription to Charlie Morton. Definitely a keeper on the Camillo bookshelf.
This book is about how broadcasters do their job, his career, and his beliefs about the current baseball situation - well, as current as it could have been in the late 1990s. It is hilarious to read his take on how that period is/was baseball's "golden age" due to the monstrous homers, the close pennant races, the addition of the wild card.... This is, of course, right before the litany of steroid abuses were unveiled that made possible the inordinate numbers of homers from McGwire and Sosa.
All in all a good, quick read. To make this book even more satisfying, I bought it on amazon and found - to my amazement - that it was autographed by Jon Miller himself in an inscription to Charlie Morton. Definitely a keeper on the Camillo bookshelf.
July 2, 2013
Unless you have a machine that can travel back in time to 1998, avoid this book.
I am a Dodgers' fan but even I admit Jon Miller's voice is great. One of the best. So I was really looking forward to reading this book I picked up at the book fair for a buck.
Unfortately this book is SERIOUSLY outdated. One of the first chapters has Miller saying that the late 90s is "The Golden Age" for baseball and that the ball is not juiced, it's just that the players are stronger.
No John, you're wrong. The players are juiced.
Miller goes on to talk about how good players like McGwire, Sosa and other roid players are great.
There is one chapter that is enjoyable to read and that is the one where Miller describes his childhood, playing strat-o-matic and going to games as a kid and keeping score and calling the games. That was good. Besides that and the chapter on Cal Ripken,the rest is pretty much terrible. I have a hard time giving a book one star, but this was pretty close. Only die-hard Giants' fans will kind of like this and he had JUST started being the Giants' announcer when this book was written, so don't expect many AT@T and Barry Bonds stories.
I am a Dodgers' fan but even I admit Jon Miller's voice is great. One of the best. So I was really looking forward to reading this book I picked up at the book fair for a buck.
Unfortately this book is SERIOUSLY outdated. One of the first chapters has Miller saying that the late 90s is "The Golden Age" for baseball and that the ball is not juiced, it's just that the players are stronger.
No John, you're wrong. The players are juiced.
Miller goes on to talk about how good players like McGwire, Sosa and other roid players are great.
There is one chapter that is enjoyable to read and that is the one where Miller describes his childhood, playing strat-o-matic and going to games as a kid and keeping score and calling the games. That was good. Besides that and the chapter on Cal Ripken,the rest is pretty much terrible. I have a hard time giving a book one star, but this was pretty close. Only die-hard Giants' fans will kind of like this and he had JUST started being the Giants' announcer when this book was written, so don't expect many AT@T and Barry Bonds stories.
August 15, 2014
Like all the other reviews say, this book is tremendously dated. The chapter about the late 90's being the golden age of baseball is obviously the most noticeable aspect of this, but at the time nobody in the general public was really thinking about steroids, so it's forgivable for the most part. I did love the skepticism Miller describes Joe Morgan having about something going on with all of the offense though. Sometimes Joe Morgan annoys me, but this along with some of the other stories Jon shares makes me appreciate him more.
Also, some of the focus on Cal Ripken breaking Gehrig's consecutive games played record seems to be a few pages too long. Although it's understandable that he would, and should, write about it, this is such a slim book, it feels like there is so much more that Miller could be writing about.
Those things aside, Jon Miller's humor comes across really well in this book which is, of course, his biggest strength as a broadcaster. He makes it fun to listen to baseball and read about it as well. I hope he writes another one at some point covering his career to date.
Also, some of the focus on Cal Ripken breaking Gehrig's consecutive games played record seems to be a few pages too long. Although it's understandable that he would, and should, write about it, this is such a slim book, it feels like there is so much more that Miller could be writing about.
Those things aside, Jon Miller's humor comes across really well in this book which is, of course, his biggest strength as a broadcaster. He makes it fun to listen to baseball and read about it as well. I hope he writes another one at some point covering his career to date.
August 3, 2016
Found this 20 year old book at a library sale and glad I picked it up. Really a book about a man who chased and achieved his dreams & stories of what he learned along the way from both other announcers and players. Enjoyed his telling of Cal Ripken's first attempt to play Stat-o-Matic baseball and how his competitiveness to always be his best related to his consecutive game streak. Didn't need the chapter where Miller defending himself for leaving the Orioles broadcast booth but at the same time if I take his account as accurate of how his accepting the Giants job was portrayed by management, I understand why he needed an apologetic to his fans in Baltimore.
August 10, 2012
A desultory book that has little point or purpose other than to make money for Simon and Schuster. Miller’s had to write about something, and that something is a lot of loose stories about the baseball he has seen and some of his favorite broadcasters. The telling is kind of wonderful because Miller is kind of wonderful and he has witnessed some pivotal and many entertaining events during his long career. Hey, this is barely a book. There is no beginning, middle, or end and certainly no argument is being made, but it is more fun than such as book deserves to be.
April 3, 2009
Miller’s anecdotes about broadcasting and experiences calling games are interesting, but the book itself - it was published in 1998 - seems a little bit dated, especially the chapter about the 90’s as a Golden Age of baseball, which seems very misguided considering all of the recent steroids stuff about many of the players Miller cites as the best of that period. Nevertheless, Miller obviously cares for the game, and he helps you to care just a little bit more too. So, let’s play ball!
April 30, 2015
Standard stuff
November 7, 2015
fun book to read
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews