Strike Two

by Ron Luciano

Recounts memorable anecdotes about baseball's players and managers encompassing such areas as life on the road, arguments, brawls, embarrassing moments on the field, and includes the Ron Luciano baseball glossary

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Humor, Nonfiction, Biography, Comedy, Autobiography

322 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Ronald Michael Luciano was an American Major League Baseball umpire from 1969 to 1979 in the American League. He was known for his flamboyant style, clever aphorisms, and a series of published collections of anecdotes from his colorful career. (wikipedia entry)

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even funnier than the first one, this volume expands the wacky lens to view baseball as Luciano spins out even more wild and wonderful stories through David Fisher’s one and by incorporating more and more of the personalities Luciano interacted with over the years it’s even funnier.

You’ve got all facets of the game here from managers to hall of farmers to journeymen and of above all else the umpires. And there are so many great stories, even if some of them are legends of their own minds and more fables than truth. Does it matter or make it any less entertaining? Not a bit of it.

These are hilarious stories from masters of the craft and they’ll make you laugh. Especially the ones about people getting thrown out of games. Lol.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the previous volume was mostly chronological and consisted of anecdotes about Ron's umpiring, then broadcasting, this book is mostly topical and is even more anecdotes about baseball, primarily from umpires.

Contains the most thorough description of George Brett's famous pine tar incident that I have found.

The last few chapters stretch the topic very thin, and really bring the book down. Where as the last book was just short of 3.5, this one is barely above 2.5, and if this trend continues, the third book will break through the Mendoza line.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once and for all time the most exhaustive compilation of every professional baseball umpire story and anecdote known to man. I don't know how Ron managed to collect these hundreds of stories and collect them here, but he did. Perhaps Mr. Fisher was helpful in that regard. Many of the tales are great. The end of the book is tinged with sadness. With hindsight about the difficulties Ron faced in life, one can read between the lines and feel that he was in emotional pain. RIP Ron, you are not forgotten.

[Jeff Olson]

Ronnie Baby really lays it on as to why you would not want to be a baseball umpire...everybody hates you, you can do no right. However; he leads us on a fun and fantastic ride of his career...Gotta love the guy because nobody else will!!!

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is literally inside baseball. I fell over laughing. It's like if Milton Berle became a baseball umpire and wrote a book about it.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the funniest baseball books I've read. This guy has a great sense of humor.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the sequel to "The Umpire Strikes Back". While it was pretty good, I did not enjoy it as much as I did the original.

Former Major League umpire Ron Luciano writes about life in the majors as well as in the minors as an umpire. Starting with what umpires learn at one of the umpire schools, the reader begins a journey of baseball from the eyes of the people who call strikes, balls, outs, safe and pretty much everything on a baseball diamond. Collecting stories from other umpires, the reader will read about:
- Billy Martin and the hamburger incident
- What various managers do that get them ejected from a game (Earl Weaver just being in the park apparently was just cause to have him ejected)
- What umpiring in Caribbean Winter League was like, and how and why riots started often over a call for/against a team
- How sometimes umpires have to bluff in order to enforce a rule when a situation comes up that is not covered specifically by the baseball rule book
- How appeal plays can be messed up and why umpires dislike them
- Why a baseball game was called on the account of whales

This a fun book for baseball fans, though like many sequels it was not as good as the original. To me, it seemed a little forced when compared to the first book. It is a little dated as it was written in 1988, so many things in the game have changed since then, including things with umpires. With that said, I would recommend this baseball fans who want a quick jaunt down nostalgia lane of baseball in the 70's & 80's.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of Luciano's trilogy of funny story books. They are indeed pretty funny.

[Ben Hiatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

So awesome this is what baseball is missing.

[Estevan Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baseball Umpires Talk about the game. Withh several funny stories.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

read some time in 1991