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Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball

John Feinstein

3.84 · Rating details · 2,881 ratings · 422 reviews

From the acclaimed #1 bestselling author . . . a riveting journey through the world of minor-league baseball

“No one grows up playing baseball pretending that they’re pitching or hitting in Triple-A.” —Chris Schwinden, Triple-A pitcher

“If you don’t like it here, do a better job.” —Ron Johnson, Triple-A manager

John Feinstein gave readers an unprecedented view of the PGA Tour From the acclaimed #1 bestselling author . . . a riveting journey through the world of minor-league baseball

“No one grows up playing baseball pretending that they’re pitching or hitting in Triple-A.” —Chris Schwinden, Triple-A pitcher

“If you don’t like it here, do a better job.” —Ron Johnson, Triple-A manager

John Feinstein gave readers an unprecedented view of the PGA Tour in A Good Walk Spoiled. He opened the door to an NCAA basketball locker room in his explosive bestseller A Season on the Brink. Now, turning his eye to our national pastime, sports journalist John Feinstein explores the colorful and mysterious world of minor-league baseball—a gateway through which all major-league players pass in their careers . . . hoping never to return.
Baseball’s minor leagues are a paradox. For some players, the minors are a glorious launching pad toward years of fame and fortune; for others, a crash-landing pad when injury or poor play forces a big leaguer back to a life of obscure ballparks and cramped buses instead of Fenway Park and plush charter planes. Focusing exclusively on the Triple-A level, one step beneath Major League Baseball, Feinstein introduces readers to nine unique men: three pitchers, three position players, two managers, and an umpire. Through their compelling stories, Feinstein pulls back the veil on a league that is chock-full of gifted baseball players, managers, and umpires who are all one moment away from getting called up—or back—to the majors.
The stories are hard to believe: a first-round draft pick and pitching ace who rocketed to major-league success before finding himself suddenly out of the game, hatching a presumptuous plan to get one more shot at the mound; a home run–hitting former World Series hero who lived the dream, then bounced among six teams before facing the prospects of an unceremonious end to his career; a big-league All-Star who, in the span of five months, went from being completely out of baseball to becoming a star in the ALDS, then signing a $10 million contract; and a well-liked designated hitter who toiled for eighteen seasons in the minors—a record he never wanted to set—before facing his final, highly emotional chance for a call-up to the big leagues.
From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, Where Nobody Knows Your Name gives readers an intimate look at a baseball world not normally seen by the fans. John Feinstein gets to the heart of the human stories in a uniquely compelling way, crafting a masterful book that stands alongside his very best works. ...more

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Hardcover, 368 pages

Published February 25th 2014 by Doubleday (first published January 1st 2014)

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Jun 04, 2014 Amy Moritz rated it it was ok

I was excited to read this book. I mean really, John Feinstein is a fantastic, well-respected sports writer and he's tackling one of my favorite subjects in minor league baseball. I could not have been more disappointed.

Let's start with the factual inaccuracies. He takes pain to point out the difference between Coca-Cola Field (in Buffalo) and Coca-Cola Park (in Allentown) and then he proceeds to mix them up. Continually.

Then there's the part at the end where he writes: "The New York Mets had fe I was excited to read this book. I mean really, John Feinstein is a fantastic, well-respected sports writer and he's tackling one of my favorite subjects in minor league baseball. I could not have been more disappointed.

Let's start with the factual inaccuracies. He takes pain to point out the difference between Coca-Cola Field (in Buffalo) and Coca-Cola Park (in Allentown) and then he proceeds to mix them up. Continually.

Then there's the part at the end where he writes: "The New York Mets had feuded at different times with the locals who ran the Buffalo Bisons, and when the Toronto Blue Jays, looking to move their Triple-A affiliate closer to Toronto than Las Vegas, brought up the possibility of a swap, the Mets agreed." While it's true the Bisons and the Mets did not get along, teams do not "swap" minor league affiliates. That's not how it works. If he's wrong about that, how many other things could he be wrong about?

We get it. Buffalo is cold in April. Georgia is hot in August.

He seemed to approach the book with the theory that minor league baseball sucks, that it's a joke and a necessary part of baseball life but nothing that any one associated with the game wanted to be a part of for very long. And then he worked to make all his stories fit that meme.

There are some good stories in the book, but he missed the nuances. He missed the very complicated relationship players have to the minor leagues. He missed an opportunity to explain contracts and options, as dry as the topic may be, which often rule the decision-making process. He assumed that no one cares about winning in the minor leagues. Ask the Cleveland Indians. Or the Toronto Blue Jays. Or the Pittsburgh Pirates. They care about winning at the minor league level. The big club comes first, but they believe part of development is learning how to win.

We get it. You fly charter planes, stay in five-star hotels, eat great food and get more perks and money in the majors. You ride a bus, fly commercial and stay in less luxurious hotels. But he states this over. And over. And over.

In the end I wanted more. It could have been such a great book. But it smacked of a major league writer sent to the minor leagues and keeping his major league attitude. ...more

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Apr 09, 2014 Perry rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, circle

ON THE CUSP OF A DREAM

No one is better at providing an inside look at a sport than John Feinstein. He provides just the right mix of background, anecdotes and quotes. You can feel the pressure on these guys to perform, to make it to the BIGS, to THE SHOW. A lot a minor leaguers drop out relatively soon after starting; once it becomes apparent they will never make it, they decide it's time to stop playing a game and move on with their lives. This book is primarily about Triple A (AAA) minor leagu ...more

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May 27, 2014 Brian Eshleman rated it really liked it

The fifth star I gave to Roger Kahn on rereading Good Enough to Dream comes at the expense of this one. I didn't remember this one being five-star good, and it wasn't. Feinstein chose interesting subjects, especially including umpires and announcers in their pursuit of the major-league dream, but the book wasn't absolutely captivating. ...more

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Jul 19, 2014 Kirsti rated it really liked it

Shelves: journalism, nonfiction, nervous-breakthrough, road-trips, sports

"If you don't like it here, do a better job." --Ron Johnson, Triple-A manager

"I'll never forget the words: 'This is your day.' I'm sure I was crying by the time he finished the sentence." --catcher J.C. Boscan, describing how it felt when the Atlanta Braves called him up to the major leagues

"That's the great thing about sports: it only takes one person to believe in you." --former phenom Zack Duke, shortly after he was given a minor-league contract

Bittersweet account of those who toil in single- ...more

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Apr 30, 2014 Greg rated it it was ok

I've always been fascinated by the minor leagues, and so I learned a lot from this book.

But I was disappointed by a few things. First of all, it really only talks about AAA. I would have liked to learn more about the lower levels, but perhaps they're not that interesting or require another book. And most of the players come from the same background: middle-class Americans, often with former MLB experience who are trying to get back in. I would have liked to hear more stories about a Latin Americ ...more

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Apr 01, 2014 Steven Z. rated it really liked it

At the outset it is my obligation to inform the reader that I am a baseball junkie! In fact as I look over my bucket list one of the prominent items is a cross country trip visiting minor league baseball parks as my wife and I transverse the continent. With that being said John Feinstein’s knew book WHERE NOBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME, a saga of the 2012 minor league baseball season is timely. I have been a Feinstein fan for many years and have enjoyed his numerous books. Whether writing about the Army At the outset it is my obligation to inform the reader that I am a baseball junkie! In fact as I look over my bucket list one of the prominent items is a cross country trip visiting minor league baseball parks as my wife and I transverse the continent. With that being said John Feinstein’s knew book WHERE NOBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME, a saga of the 2012 minor league baseball season is timely. I have been a Feinstein fan for many years and have enjoyed his numerous books. Whether writing about the Army-Navy game, Bobby Knight, Duke Basketball or golf, Feinstein has always delivered a very thoughtful treatment of his subjects. His new endeavor is no exception as the book reflects a prodigious amount of research that is emblematic of Feinstein’s approach. Throughout the narrative stories abound concerning baseball lore and tradition, but what is most important are the lives being described and the affect that baseball has on Feinstein’s subjects and their families. Feinstein’s discussion of Brett Tomko, a major league pitcher who after a number of successful seasons finds himself holding on to his career by a thread as he accepts life in the minors at the age of thirty-six; Mark Lollo, a thirty year old minor league umpire trying to make the grade in the majors learns that after twelve years his umpiring career is about to end; or Ron Johnson, a minor league manager, who tasted the major leagues as a coach, finds himself back in the minors hoping to obtain a major league managerial position are all interesting and at times, heart warming. These are just a few of the individuals that Feinstein describes, others like Scott Posednik, Scott Elarton, John Lindsey, Nate McLouth, Charlie Montoya, and Chris Schwinden all share the trials and travails of pursuing a career in the major leagues and the obstacles they face that reduces them to minor league players or managers. Despite their goal of the major leagues, they seem to accept their situations all because of their love of the game.

Using the perspective of minor league managers, players, coaches, broadcasters and even a groundskeeper Feinstein provides the reader a candid look at the people who make up the lower rungs of baseball. We all read about the Derek Jeters and “Big Papi,” David Ortiz and their illustrious careers, but not everyone can reach those heights. The sacrifices that these men and their families make in the pursuit of just one more chance at getting the call that they are “going up to the show” is heartwarming, but also disconcerting as the odds of their being successful is rather miniscule. Along the way Feinstein integrates the experiences of other players who have interesting stories to tell. Dontrelle Willis, a young phenom eight years ago, rookie of the year, and a twenty game winner, finds himself out of baseball. Jamie Farr, one of the stars of the M.A.S.H. television series is from Toledo, Ohio, and becomes a center piece of Feinstein’s discussion of the Toledo Mud Hens, next to the Durham Bulls the most famous minor league franchise in America.

One thing that all of these players have in common is that they appear numerous times in the “transaction” section of the sports pages (a listing of player movements on a daily basis). This reflects the impersonal side of baseball. As all players understand that the bottom line is that baseball is a business and that the movement of players, the uprooting of families and the ego crushing experiences happen each and every day. The constant comparison of minor and major league baseball are enlightening, where one is a fantasy like experience where you do not carry your bags, food and expensive hotel rooms are the norm, and you fly first class on a charter. This is compared to a different type of reality where you carry everything, your meal money is about $12/day, you room with others and on the road you stay in cheap motels after experiencing an eight hour bus ride. Feinstein captures the life of a minor league ball player as he writes; “No one wants to get comfortable in a Triple-A clubhouse. The air inside a Triple-A clubhouse feels different because there are different people breathing it every day. Players come and go on an almost daily basis; some get called up to the big leagues; some get traded; others get sent down to Double-A; and every once in a while players get released.” (108)

For the subjects of this narrative baseball seems to be in their blood. Tommy Lasorda, a failed minor league pitcher became a Hall of Fame manager with the Dodgers and was asked about his loyalty to his team and he responded, that “I bleed Dodger blue.” This encapsulates how these players feel about their sport and what they give up to play and try to reach the major leagues. There are many interesting parts to the narrative aside from the personal impact of the game on these individuals. Feinstein explores the decision making process and evaluation of players and the culture that baseball has created for itself. But my favorite aspect of the book was the discussion of Scott Strickland a minor league groundskeeper who sought to become a head groundskeeper for a major league franchise. In fact at North Carolina State University he majored in “turf-training!” WHERE NOBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME is an exceptional read for baseball fans and the general public particularly when the sound of “play ball” is echoing across America as the 2014 baseball season has just begun. If you are a Feinstein fan the book will not disappoint, if you are not, you may become one.
...more

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Jun 27, 2019 Dan rated it really liked it

Shelves: baseball

Kudos to John Feinstein. An excellent read that follows select AAA minor league players, managers and umpires from 2012. Much more poignant and uplifting than I anticipated. The pace of the story transitions was about right for me. Some solid life lessons about success and failure in the stories of the older players and how to know when to call it quits.

While it helps to be a baseball fan to fully enjoy this book as there are a lot of names, there is not an overwhelming amount of statistics or ...more

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May 16, 2019 David West rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, baseball

Pretty good writing and a lot of inside baseball stories.

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May 10, 2018 Brig rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, 2018, baseball

You should also know that this is not a "happy" book. It's a story about a bunch of careers ending, then starting up again, then reaching abrupt finality...before starting up again in the same place, with the same hopes, and the chance of seeing the same results. That being said, it was a wonderful insight into the lives of minor league baseball players, managers, umpires and even broadcasters.

I was not a fan of the way this book was structured. I felt like the flow was confusing and about as n ...more

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Jul 31, 2014 Dave rated it really liked it

Along with millions of other kids, I had aspirations of being a professional baseball player. I was fortunate to have played with and against some ball players that went as far as the big leagues, some only as far as the minor leagues. But what casual fans sometimes tend to forget is that even the minor leagues is considered professional baseball. To get that far is a feat unto itself. Unfortunately, my dream ended long before that level (and I do remember the exact moment I finally questioned w Along with millions of other kids, I had aspirations of being a professional baseball player. I was fortunate to have played with and against some ball players that went as far as the big leagues, some only as far as the minor leagues. But what casual fans sometimes tend to forget is that even the minor leagues is considered professional baseball. To get that far is a feat unto itself. Unfortunately, my dream ended long before that level (and I do remember the exact moment I finally questioned whether I had the talent to compete at a higher level). So, it was with a tremendous amount of respect that I entered into a slice of minor league life for a selected few by the author. He chose to follow the aging hitter who had a cup of coffee (John Lindsey); the former all-star World Series hero who believed he belonged and was trying to make it back from a string of injuries (Scott Podsednik); a couple of solid former major league hurlers looking for a another chance at the big league life (Scott Elarton and Brett Tomko); a fairly young pitcher bouncing around Triple A (Chris Schwinden); a minor league ump with a dream (Mark Lollo); and a couple of minor league managers with stories to tell and dreams to share (Charlie Montoyo and Ron Johnson). Yes, there was quite a bit of repetition, recalling the life purpose and the back stories several times of the major characters of this story, but the charm the stories carried and the admiration for each of these men chasing a dream outweighed the monotony. Baseball is unique in that it carries a minor league unlike the NFL or NBA and even to some degree the NHL (although they too have a minor league system, it is not nearly as tiered or talent-specific for grooming future stars typically). There is something about the humility (not humiliation) of minor league baseball that makes fans feel comfortable and close to their team that is lacking at the major league level. To a degree this book captures that from the players perspective. One begins to understand how it feels to be passionate about something you know you can't do forever and what it means to come to terms with it when your time nears its end. It has been a very long time since I stepped on an uneven field with faded chalk lines and chain link fences, one mediocre umpire and unkempt grass. I miss those days. ...more

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May 02, 2014 David rated it liked it

title notwithstanding, I did know a couple of the guys he follows through a triple-A season (Nate McLouth, Scott Podsednik). Intersperses chapters/vignettes of 8 or so main characters, mostly players but also announcer, manager, umpire. The stuff about the umpire, and the system by which they get evaluated for promotion to MLB, was maybe the most interesting.

The player stuff was a good reminder of the pressure they're under, the strange nature of minor leagues as a sports competition (if you're ...more

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Feb 16, 2018 Jason rated it really liked it

Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball by John Feinstein.

The minors of baseball are for local fans a pleasant diversion, for those that follow the big league club, a source of hope and future stars. This book is about the human characters of one season in AAA baseball. Focusing on nine individuals at different stages of their career, including two managers and an umpire, the book follows one whole season, from spring training to the end of the season, with its hopes ...more

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Apr 01, 2017 Dave Moyer rated it it was amazing

A phenomenal accounting of the heart of a ballplayer. Terrific sensitivity to the human element with sufficient detail of the practical realities of baseball and life--we all get old someday.

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Jan 16, 2021 Hardy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Any time a book gives you even more than you hoped for is a bonus. I picked this up as a baseball fan looking to gain insight about the journey to (and from) the major leagues, and there certainly was plenty of that. But what really struck me was how much we fans take for granted- we watch our team, cheer/curse them, and do the same for the rest of the season at a level consistent with that of our fandom. We don't often hear, let alone think, about their lives outside of the park, or the level o ...more

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Sep 01, 2018 Dave rated it really liked it

Feinstein spent 2012 following a dozen or so older minor-league baseball players (and one umpire) to gather their stories about what it's like to hang around on the fringe of major-league baseball and wait for a promotion that will probably never come.

The details of these stories are compelling, and Feinstein has an easy style that drew me in to the lives of the different players (and umpire). There are no happy endings, which is sort of the point of the book and makes it a different kind of spo ...more

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Dec 13, 2018 Colson Agnew rated it it was amazing

The journey to the bigs.

Feinstein, a bestselling sports themed author, created an amazing book showing the journey of 9 players and coaches as they make their way from the minor leagues to the major leagues of baseball. This book perfectly captures the cut throat lifestyle of minor league baseball players, who earn less than minimum wage and life off of couch surfing and PB&J.

As a huge fan of baseball, especially minor league baseball this was a must read. I attend 20+ minor league baseball ga ...more

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Jun 15, 2020 Ray Colyar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Therapeutic reading during pandemic

With no baseball ball whatsoever at any level being played, None! It was therapeutic escape from everything else going on for a life long fan of the game to read about baseball and all the personal stories of triumphs and hurdles that many (some recognizable) ex major/minor leaguers , managers and umps endured to keep on keeping their dream alive. While just finishing this book,(6/20) both players and owners are still negotiating on an agreement whether we’ll ...more

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Aug 11, 2019 Janet rated it liked it

This book gives you a sense of the frustrating life of a journeyman baseball player, but it was difficult to keep the people and the teams straight. I had to create my own list of the AAA teams, their managers and which major league team they were affiliated with. I think Feinstein is polite and respectful to the players, managers, umpires, broadcaster who spoke with him, but I think this was at the expense of having a more colorful and memorable narrative.

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Mar 28, 2018 Matthew rated it liked it

This book has some interesting stories about the minors. However, it is poorly written. The book has no flow and jumps all over the place. It's almost as though the author took each minor league story and just mashed them together. ...more

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May 20, 2020 Deacon Tom F rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. I am a baseball nut but still learned so much.

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Sep 13, 2020 Gary Allen rated it really liked it

I love a good baseball biography and this did not disappoint. Feinstien is one of the best.

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Apr 09, 2020 Paul rated it liked it · review of another edition

A peak behind the curtain of life in the minor leagues. I'll never watch a Triple-A baseball game the same. (And, at the rate we're going, I may not watch another live baseball game again.) I thought the book could have used a little more editing. It was hard to keep track of all of the players mentioned and the minor league teams and their big league affiliations listening to the audiobook, especially when someone would disappear for long chapters at a time, only to reappear later. ...more

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Mar 10, 2020 Tom Boothe rated it it was amazing

Great read for those who love baseball and insight into those players on cusp of major league talent and their desire to achieve dream

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Mar 03, 2014 Lance rated it it was amazing

Shelves: blog, favorite-authors, baseball

Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:
Triple-A baseball, one step below the major leagues, has its own unique culture and lifestyle. John Feinstein’s book “Where Nobody Knows Your Name” describes this through the eyes and stories of nine men: three position players (Scott Posednik, Nate McClouth, John Lindsey), three pitchers (Scott Elarton, Brett Tomko, Chris Schwinden), two managers (Charlie Montoyo, Ron Johnson) and one umpire (Mark Lollo). Their experience ranges from a young man hoping f Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:
Triple-A baseball, one step below the major leagues, has its own unique culture and lifestyle. John Feinstein’s book “Where Nobody Knows Your Name” describes this through the eyes and stories of nine men: three position players (Scott Posednik, Nate McClouth, John Lindsey), three pitchers (Scott Elarton, Brett Tomko, Chris Schwinden), two managers (Charlie Montoyo, Ron Johnson) and one umpire (Mark Lollo). Their experience ranges from a young man hoping for that shot at the majors (Schwinden, Lollo) to a former World Series hero trying to get back to the big time (Posednik, who hit a walk-off homer in game 2 of the 2005 World Series while playing for the Chicago White Sox).

All nine men featured share what they have liked best and least about Triple-A baseball. For the managers, they agree that the best moments are telling players that they are being called up. For a good emotional story, nothing beats that of the time an eleven-year veteran was crying when he was finally promoted during September call-ups. There are humorous stories about the ballparks and travel adventures. There are human drama stories, especially for some of the older players such as Tomko who wonder at the end of the season if it is time to call it a career or try “one more time.”

These types of stories, ones that make famous athletes seem at least a little more like “ordinary people” is a strength of Feinstein’s writing. He does that in most of his books on any sport, and this is another one of those books that is a winner because of that human element. Between extensive interviews with each of the men featured (and hundreds of others as well) and the research into each man’s career and achievements, the reader will feel like he or she is sitting in the stands at Lehigh Valley, Norfolk or Durham. That moment when the player receives his good news of needing to report to Tampa or Boston to join the big club will make the reader cheer.

If you are a baseball fan, like human interest stories or just want to see what it is like to be on the cusp of celebrity status, read this book. Feinstein has made these types of books a joy to read and this is another outstanding book in a long line of them.

Did I skim?
No.

Pace of the book:
Excellent. The book took the reader through the 2012 Triple A baseball season through all of the stories chronologically and at a very good pace. The stories in each were long enough to be meaningful but short enough that the reader could follow them easily.

Do I recommend?
This is a great book for all baseball fans, no matter what level of the game they enjoy. Feinstein brings the experience of the game from the clubhouse to the manager’s office to the field onto these pages that anyone who loves this game will enjoy.
...more

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Apr 11, 2018 Benjamin Kahn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sports

A few good stories here, but the books a bit of a mess. Feinstein jumps back and forth between the different people that he's following, repeating stories, dropping threads and then picking them up, taking sidebars on people that just happen to be around. It's very disorganized. By the time he gets back to a player, I've often forgotten who the player's story and who this guy is - is he a pitcher? Hitter? Have we ever seen him before? A little organization would have gone a long way to making th ...more

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Apr 17, 2014 John Yingling rated it it was amazing

Reading this book gave me hope that my former love of sports could possibly be rekindled. Amid all the multi-millionaire athletes we read about, there are far more who struggle to get by, as benchwarmers, third-stringers, or in this case, as minor league baseball players. There is nothing minor league about their hopes and ambitions, though, and their unabashed love of the game. John Feinstein does his usual excellent job of showing us people you want to sincerely care about; people who work at ...more

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Jun 06, 2014 Steve Peifer rated it liked it

I think it was when I read the Jamie Farr CHAPTER that my first thought on this disappointing book is that it was lazy writing. If you are a fan of Feinstein like me, nothing will prepare you for the repetition that serves not to refresh and remind the reader, but to illustrate that Feinstein has too many irons in the fire and can't be bothered to put in the effort to write a real book. The editing is so bad that I suspect that this book adopted Garfield's Jim Davis creative approach, where he o ...more

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Mar 09, 2014 Scott L. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-it, sports

I found this to be a fascinating book about life in minor-league baseball. I admittedly never thought about the players that are perpetually entering and exiting the revolving door of the minor league teams; but this book brings those players to life and tells their stories. And not just the players, but the umpires and the broadcasters - even the grounds crews are represented here as people who desperately want to receive "the call" that they are going to Major League baseball. Feinstein has do ...more

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Apr 14, 2014 Keith rated it really liked it

Though I'm not as into baseball now as I used to be, this was still a very personal story for me and one that touched the boy inside me who dreamed of playing in the major leagues. It is a hard story in a lot of ways because it tells about men who were within sight of their dream, but for many different reasons, they just weren't able to grasp it and hold on. Some had been up there before, some got bounced back and forth, and some gave everything they had for that one shot. Though the love for t ...more

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Apr 30, 2014 Gerald Matzke rated it really liked it

This book was a bit of a surprise. The title led me expect an account of the minor league players who hope to make it big some day. While it did address that, it was more about the frustration of players who were once in the majors and who are now struggling to get called back up. Most of the names were familiar. Some were very successful for a while but for a variety of reasons had lost the edge that would make them major league stars again. Feinstein does a great job of telling the stories of ...more

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About John Feinstein

John Feinstein

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John Feinstein is one of the nation’s most successful and prolific sports authors who has written 24 books to date. His most recent work Are You Kidding Me? , written with Rocco Mediate, was released on May 18, 2009, and is presently on the shelf at bookstores everywhere. In addition, he is an award-winning columnist and regular contributor in both radio and television.

John Feinstein is a 1977 gr ...more

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His Favorite Gifts for Sports Fans: The sportswriter offers his all-star reads and relates the highlights of his career alongside athletic greats...

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Quotes from Where Nobody Know...

“You see,” Bouton wrote, “you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.” Truer words were never written.” — 1 likes

“The term in baseball nowadays is a “walk-off home run.” It didn’t exist until Kirk Gibson hit his famous pinch-hit home run off Dennis Eckersley in game one of the 1988 World Series and Eckersley referred to it as “a walk-off,” meaning, quite simply, that when someone does what Gibson did to him in that game, there’s nothing left to do except walk off the mound into the dugout and then into the clubhouse.” — 0 likes

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Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball

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