Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages

by Eric S. Kabakoff

A fervent baseball fan since the age of ten, Eric Kabakoff visited the home park of every major league baseball team to see up close how each team tries to stir up the passions of its fans. In the years between his first-ever ballgame in Philadelphia and the last of his quest in Tampa, he had seen baseball in four different decades: from the 26-team 1980’s to the current 30 teams of the 2010’s. He did the Tomahawk Chop in Atlanta, cursed out the Rally Monkey in Anaheim, and gave the controversial Barry Bonds a standing ovation in San Francisco. He absorbed Dodger Dogs, Philadelphia Cheesesteaks and Kansas City Barbeque. Eric was able to see everything up close…from the stadiums and local culture to food and team histories. From Rally Caps in Detroit to Rain Delays in Miami to Racing Sausages in Milwaukee, every major-league team adds something different to the collection of statistics and memories that we call the National Pastime.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction

266 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2013

About the author

Eric Kabakoff became a baseball fan during his first visit to a major league stadium as a ten-year-old in 1985. He had a monumentally undistinguished career in Little League before resigning himself to a lifetime of being a good fan rather than a poor player. A diehard New York Yankees fan like his dad, he began to appreciate the other teams and grew interested in the unique characteristics of each team’s home ballpark. He became determined to visit all thirty major league teams to see each fan experience up close. Eric and his wife Chrissie live in Brooklyn, NY, with their dog Lucy and their cat, a very needy pile of fur simply named Kitty. Neither pet is a baseball fan, though Lucy does like to bite the TV when baseball games are on.

Reviews

[Vivianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a baseball fan, Rally Caps was as great as I wanted it to be; it was funny, smart, witty, sarcastic, and entertaining all at once. Kabakoff offers up a timeline of visits in a chronological order that gives the reader meaningful context for each narrative. Sure, it really was a literal narrative of his visits, but what really amazed me was how he was able to quickly bring the reader up to speed on a team’s history. This format gave the reader a useful backdrop for receiving his descriptions of the ballparks. Kabakoff shared every team’s highs and lows to give insight into the roller coaster existence of sports franchises, including the major baseball topics from steroid use to sky rocketing free agency contracts.
From the start, any baseball fan will immediately connect with the content of the book. It will make the reader believe they can at least make their own bucket list, if not take the same adventure as the author. As a huge Yankees fan, I never considered going to Old Timer’s Day until I read Kabakoff’s own account of his visit on the special day. His tales of the west coast parks made me wonder how the heck I didn’t visit any of those places when I lived in Los Angeles for almost 2 years, in San Diego for a summer, and Monterey Bay for another summer. What the heck was I thinking?
Kabakoff is able to narrate each visit with such a uniqueness that coincides with the unpredictability of baseball. Every fan keeps visiting for the unexpected—a rookie’s debut, a no hitter, hitting for the cycle, or a grand slam. And then there are his descriptions of the parks’ features, views, fans, and culinary offerings (often my favorite part)—Kabakoff takes you to each park by painting a vibrant picture and recreating the experience for the reader. The sights, sounds, and smells come together to give you the intangible lure of each park. Even in talking about the parks Kabakoff wasn’t that fond of, he wrapped it up with positives that only a baseball fan could appreciate. There’s no questioning his fandom as he lets you in on the important decisions to be made—the cupboard full of useless souvenir cups, to wave or not to wave (by wave I mean do the wave), and third party apparel (do you go with home team, visiting team, or neutral?).
He does subtly let you know he has his favorites, like the Giants’ AT & T Park. I’m sure it’s completely coincidental that AT & T Park also had the most diverse and expansive food options. I had no problem enjoying Rally Caps as a foodie as well as a baseball fan. I thought we were soul mates after I read Kabakoff’s description of The Angus Dog at Minnesota’s Metrodome.
The book is all memoir, part blog, and, smartly, part history lesson. It does more than enough to remind us baseball IS America’s game. Every game, every inning, connects families, friends, and hearts to help escape the things that weigh people down. Baseball trains us to always hope and believe that this year will be the year on the diamond and in life.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

Eric Kabakoff takes readers on a journey as he visits each of over the course of 26 years (most concentrated from 2006-2011). As he notes, it's not an unusual goal--many major and even amateur baseball fans undertake the quest, often in the course of a single season. And it's a book that could easily get boring: 30+ chapters of essentially the same formula: went to stadium X, team Y won, here's some interesting things that happened. Yet Kabakoff's wry sense of humor, combined with his honesty (some experiences just sucked, and he says so) and love of the game, makes this a fun, light read. He visits some stadiums/teams more than once (he's a Yankees fan, so there's a few trips to both the old and new Yankee Stadiums in there). As a Cardinals fan, I especially enjoyed reading about his trip to Busch Stadium, which just happened to be Game 3 of the 2006 World Series.

All in all, a fun read that baseball fans at all levels will enjoy.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I also want to see all the MLB ballparks, so I was really excited to read this book. The author does a great job giving a little background on each team and ballpark, but it's not an overload of information. It's just the right amount to fill in someone who might not be a fan of that particular team. I learned a few new things myself, which was cool. His recap of each ballpark is honest and thorough. He had some great experiences, and some not so great experiences. The author seems to have a charming personality, and a great sense of humor, which comes through in his writing. I think this is a great read for any baseball fan!

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through BookLikes' Giveaways.

I give this book 3.5 stars which rounds up to 4 stars.

I liked learning about the different parks and teams. I felt like there could have been more information, but it still did an adequate job.

[Jane Opper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book!!

[Michael Grider · Rating 2 out of 5]

not very well written. The author attempts to be playful and funny, but the effect is lost. it's as if he is trying too hard and and it comes across as such.