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The View from the Dugout: The Journals of Red Rolfe
"Somewhere, if they haven't been destroyed, there are hundreds of pages of typewritten notes about American League players of that era, notes which I would love to get my hands on."
-Bill James, in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, on the journals of Red Rolfe
"Red Rolfe's journal for his years as manager of the Detroit Tigers is the kind of precious source researchers yearn for. In combination with William M. Anderson's well-done text, The View from the Dugout will be of great interest to general readers and of immense value to students of baseball history."
-Charles C. Alexander, author of Breaking the Baseball in the Depression Era
"Red Rolfe was one of baseball's most astute observers. This is 'inside' baseball from the inside."
-Donald Honig, author of Baseball America , Baseball When the Grass Was Real , and other books in the Donald Honig Best Players of All Time series
"In his lucid journals Red Rolfe has provided an inside look at how an intelligent baseball manager thinks and prepares."
-Ray Robinson, Yankee historian and author of Iron Lou Gehrig in His Time
Baseball players as a rule aren't known for documenting their experiences on the diamond. Red Rolfe, however, during his time as manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1949 to 1952, recorded daily accounts of each game, including candid observations about his team's performance. He used these observations to coach his players and to gain an advantage by recording strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies of opposing players and managers. Rolfe's journals carry added value considering his own career as an All-Star Yankee third baseman on numerous world champion teams, where he was a teammate of Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio.
Today, in the era of televised broadcasts, networks often wire a manager so that viewers can listen to his spontaneous comments throughout the game. Red Rolfe's journals offer an opportunity to find out what a manager is thinking when no one is around to hear.
William M. Anderson is Director of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries for the State of Michigan. His books include The Detroit A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest Players and Moments in Tigers' Histor y.
-Bill James, in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, on the journals of Red Rolfe
"Red Rolfe's journal for his years as manager of the Detroit Tigers is the kind of precious source researchers yearn for. In combination with William M. Anderson's well-done text, The View from the Dugout will be of great interest to general readers and of immense value to students of baseball history."
-Charles C. Alexander, author of Breaking the Baseball in the Depression Era
"Red Rolfe was one of baseball's most astute observers. This is 'inside' baseball from the inside."
-Donald Honig, author of Baseball America , Baseball When the Grass Was Real , and other books in the Donald Honig Best Players of All Time series
"In his lucid journals Red Rolfe has provided an inside look at how an intelligent baseball manager thinks and prepares."
-Ray Robinson, Yankee historian and author of Iron Lou Gehrig in His Time
Baseball players as a rule aren't known for documenting their experiences on the diamond. Red Rolfe, however, during his time as manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1949 to 1952, recorded daily accounts of each game, including candid observations about his team's performance. He used these observations to coach his players and to gain an advantage by recording strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies of opposing players and managers. Rolfe's journals carry added value considering his own career as an All-Star Yankee third baseman on numerous world champion teams, where he was a teammate of Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio.
Today, in the era of televised broadcasts, networks often wire a manager so that viewers can listen to his spontaneous comments throughout the game. Red Rolfe's journals offer an opportunity to find out what a manager is thinking when no one is around to hear.
William M. Anderson is Director of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries for the State of Michigan. His books include The Detroit A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest Players and Moments in Tigers' Histor y.
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
2 people want to read
About the author
William M. Anderson
31 booksLibrarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 30, 2017
Very intriguing premise for a book, the bulk of the information coming from Rolfe's nephew. Glad to see these treasure troves out there to see how baseball people thought in the mid-century and how it differs (or not) from today. Forgotten players are brought to life in a direct first-person narrative with access and insights not common for its time.
The only minor criticisms would be Rolfe's lack of depth on historically significant events such as the 1949 batting race, Eddie Gaedel, or no-hitters by Bob Feller/Virgil Trucks. Rolfe's attention to detail on such minute points of a hitter or pitcher lets the reader anticipate more explanation, but that wasn't Rolfe's style and that is to be respected. As I said, minor criticism.
Baseball fans in general and Tiger fans in particular should find this book fascinating; casual fans may need to brush up on some of the players of the era before diving in. Glad to see the 1950 Tigers in particular spotlighted....one of the better Tiger teams to never win a pennant.
The only minor criticisms would be Rolfe's lack of depth on historically significant events such as the 1949 batting race, Eddie Gaedel, or no-hitters by Bob Feller/Virgil Trucks. Rolfe's attention to detail on such minute points of a hitter or pitcher lets the reader anticipate more explanation, but that wasn't Rolfe's style and that is to be respected. As I said, minor criticism.
Baseball fans in general and Tiger fans in particular should find this book fascinating; casual fans may need to brush up on some of the players of the era before diving in. Glad to see the 1950 Tigers in particular spotlighted....one of the better Tiger teams to never win a pennant.
April 24, 2024
Red Rolfe was the manager of the Tigers from 1949-1952, managing such names as George Kell, Hal Newhouser, Hoot Evers, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout ( yes all real players). He brought a typewriter with him on the road and kept inning by inning, meticulous notes each game. This book shows a lot of his notes across these three years.
The Good: Rolfe was documenting things like lefty on lefty averages, matchups of certain batters against certain pitchers etc. long before anyone else was. He was doing it by hand, via typewriter, while his wife kept score of each game at home via radio. He was extremely thorough and was disciplined and consistent and expected the same out of his players.
The Bad: He paid very few compliments to his players, combine that with a lack of considerable talent and bad minor league development caused him to be fired after a horrible start to the 1952 season. There were certain players that hated him at the time, but spoke warmly about him years after his death in 1960 from colitis.
When it comes to a sport like baseball, Fundamentals and discipline can only take you as far as the talent you have. His modern day managerial comparison is Buck Showalter.
B- as this was extremely repetitive at times.
The Good: Rolfe was documenting things like lefty on lefty averages, matchups of certain batters against certain pitchers etc. long before anyone else was. He was doing it by hand, via typewriter, while his wife kept score of each game at home via radio. He was extremely thorough and was disciplined and consistent and expected the same out of his players.
The Bad: He paid very few compliments to his players, combine that with a lack of considerable talent and bad minor league development caused him to be fired after a horrible start to the 1952 season. There were certain players that hated him at the time, but spoke warmly about him years after his death in 1960 from colitis.
When it comes to a sport like baseball, Fundamentals and discipline can only take you as far as the talent you have. His modern day managerial comparison is Buck Showalter.
B- as this was extremely repetitive at times.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews