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Cult Baseball Players: The Greats, the Flakes, the Weird and the Wonderful
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 24, 2015
Re-read
February 22, 2015
Interesting book that I'd hoped would be as good as The Glory of their Times. It wasn't, through no fault of its own, exactly.
Glory was told to Lawrence Ritter by the ballplayers themselves (and then edited by Ritter). This book is written by professionals in other endeavors, like yours and mine, about their favorite ballplayers. Because of this, and because the writers are usually writers themselves, this comes across as maybe better-written, but not as interesting, as it's not from the ballplayers' POV.
But there's a certain coolness in that as well. It made you think of your own associations with ballplayers, if you've had any. I have: Wade Boggs nonchalantly picked up and returned my baseball to me--without signing it; Matsuzaka ignored me so rudely that people around me openly wondered what his problem was; Jason Bay, who blanched and stammered in front of me at Fenway Park. Not because of me, but...Well, you'll have to buy the thing that publishes it. And that's what I mean about this book's coolness: It made me want to write about my own memorable experience with a ballplayer.
So here are pieces written by Elmore Leonard, without his iconic dialogue and violence; by Tim McCarver, who's as long-winded in print as he was on the Fox telecasts, and many others.
I recommend reading it in the winter, as I have, because it reminds you that there is in fact a summer, when games like baseball are played. But also because the book is only sometimes about baseball; at times it is more about the players, the times they played in, and those who they played with. It reminds you that there is more to life than what is currently going on in front of you, which in my case has been days and days of snow-blowing, followed by today's 40s, which will be followed by tonight's single-digits and Wednesday's 5"-8" of snow.
But that's okay. Baseball is right around the corner. Spring training is happening right now. And the lives of those who play it go on and on, even off of the field. It's important to remember this.
Having said that, my first game this season is April 14th, at Fenway.
About 53 days away. And yes, I'm keeping track. There's more to the ballplayers than what happens on the field, but the field is where we see them, and--right or wrong--is often all we care to know about them.
Glory was told to Lawrence Ritter by the ballplayers themselves (and then edited by Ritter). This book is written by professionals in other endeavors, like yours and mine, about their favorite ballplayers. Because of this, and because the writers are usually writers themselves, this comes across as maybe better-written, but not as interesting, as it's not from the ballplayers' POV.
But there's a certain coolness in that as well. It made you think of your own associations with ballplayers, if you've had any. I have: Wade Boggs nonchalantly picked up and returned my baseball to me--without signing it; Matsuzaka ignored me so rudely that people around me openly wondered what his problem was; Jason Bay, who blanched and stammered in front of me at Fenway Park. Not because of me, but...Well, you'll have to buy the thing that publishes it. And that's what I mean about this book's coolness: It made me want to write about my own memorable experience with a ballplayer.
So here are pieces written by Elmore Leonard, without his iconic dialogue and violence; by Tim McCarver, who's as long-winded in print as he was on the Fox telecasts, and many others.
I recommend reading it in the winter, as I have, because it reminds you that there is in fact a summer, when games like baseball are played. But also because the book is only sometimes about baseball; at times it is more about the players, the times they played in, and those who they played with. It reminds you that there is more to life than what is currently going on in front of you, which in my case has been days and days of snow-blowing, followed by today's 40s, which will be followed by tonight's single-digits and Wednesday's 5"-8" of snow.
But that's okay. Baseball is right around the corner. Spring training is happening right now. And the lives of those who play it go on and on, even off of the field. It's important to remember this.
Having said that, my first game this season is April 14th, at Fenway.
About 53 days away. And yes, I'm keeping track. There's more to the ballplayers than what happens on the field, but the field is where we see them, and--right or wrong--is often all we care to know about them.
May 24, 2012
This is a fun book with a neat premise: every chapter is written by a different writer about his or her favorite "cult" baseball player. The quality is uneven, but the winners are priceless. The story of Joe Charboneau is a weird riot, and the piece by Ron Shelton, screenwriter of Bull Durham, about Steve Dalkowski, a pitcher with a once in a lifetime fastball but a problem with the bottle, is haunting.
August 1, 2012
This book was a mixed bag. There were some very good essays and some that were overly long and read like a newspaper article. Some of the best essays were written by non-professional writers and mostly unknown players. I think it's because the non-professional authors are truly fans of their subjects while the professional writers get paid on a daily basis to churn out similar material.
Overall, this book is worth a read, but it's a little outdated and overly long at some points.
Overall, this book is worth a read, but it's a little outdated and overly long at some points.
December 5, 2022
Fun read, its 60 essays by sportswriters and celebrities on their favorite or most memorable player. All are at least good other then the one on Mays, man he deserved so much better. Also has a fairly large interview of the book's editor's favorite player, Vic Power. Which was good but Power seemed bitter and said some silly things.
Highly recommended, just skip the Mays one and you will have a great read.
Highly recommended, just skip the Mays one and you will have a great read.
June 14, 2007
Otherwise much to my detriment I would never have heard of "Pistol Pete" Reiser.
Read
August 26, 2014some great insight and memories of interesting and great ball players.
April 27, 2016
An uneven collection which is completely redeemed by the inclusion of Victor (Vic Power) Pellot.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews