Baseball Letters: A Fan's Correspondence with His Heroes

by Seth Swirsky

Baseball Letters did not start out as a book. When the baseball players went on strike in the summer of 1994, Seth Swirsky, missing the game he loved, wrote letters to hundreds of players -- past and present, famous and not so famous -- asking interesting questions pertaining to their lives and careers. To his amazement, almost all wrote back. In this book are those letters, reprinted as they were received by the author. Baseball Letters is a modern classic that provides fans with a human connection to their heroes.

Among this treasure trove of
Cal Ripken, Jr., reminiscing about how baseball drew him closer to his father.
Ted Williams revealing the best batting tip he ever received.
Enos Slaughter describing his controversial encounter with Jackie Robinson.
Woody English challenging the legend of Babe Ruth "calling" his famous home run shot in the 1932 World Series.
Dave Stapleton wondering why he wasn't put in the field for Bill Buckner in game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

Genres: Baseball, Sports

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going through this collection of correspondence again and, perhaps, with greater appreciation for how lucky we are to have access to it.

How many baseball fans actually wrote to their “heroes?”
How many of those letters got responses from these “icons?”
How many of those kept all that responded?
This is the only one that I know of.

And how many of the fans asked interesting questions?
Asking Johnny Pesky to name his All-Star Boston Red Sox team.
Asking Woody English (who was playing third base) if the Babe actually called “his shot” that afternoon in Chicago.
Asking Al Rosen about his relationship with Hank Greenberg and their discussion of antisemitism.
Asking Sparky Anderson to rate his “Big Red Machine.”

Not only do we get photos of the actual correspondence but we get a transcription that leaves no doubt what was written by people like Don Larsen, Richie Ashburn, Monte Irvin, Warren Spahn, Bob Feller and more than eighty more!

This rating is based on a very subjective standard of what would be missed if this were never published; and, I know exactly the right person to pass this to when I done with it.

[Steven Gauthier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming but only of lasting interest to real baseball fans, who might be familiar with some of the lesser known baseball names contacted by Swirsky. Not a fan? Then your rating should probably be one or two stars.

Some of the letters sent out were carbon paper duplicates; the best ones raised minor questions specific to a player’s career. Many of the answers are bland but some are quite thoughtful and well written, giving new perspectives on baseball history. And for the older players, you can tell they were delighted to still be remembered.

[Joe Schilp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read accompanied with outstanding photos of some of baseball's greatest players, oddballs, and most senior players at the time the letters were compiled - 1995. It was a fun read, merely a few hours, which only makes me wish it were longer. Also wish some of the players wrote more, but still fun to read.

[Austin Balen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who is very familiar with TTM (Through The Mail) autograph collecting and loves receiving letters back from players, I was very excited when my Sport Management professor and fellow collector recommended this book to me. Reading these letters was a joy as I would read a letter or two in between studying for finals. Some were painfully generic, but Swirsky was able to ask some good questions and in response get some good answers from the legends of the past.
For putting together a great collection and making finals a little less painstaking this book is a wonderful short read or a great coffee table book. Those who collect will especially appreciate this book as well. 5 Stars.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, it was interesting to read the players responses some were short and sweet and some went into detail . The transcripts in the back helped to decode some of the hard to read handwriting of the players which was a nice touch a good book to read at the start of the season and a quick one as well.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for people who love Baseball

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A baseball fan writes letters to his heroes, yielding some surprising replies.