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The Opposite Field: A Memoir
Here is one of the most remarkable, ambitious, and utterly original memoirs of this generation, a story of the losing and finding of self, of sex and love and fatherhood and the joy of language, of death and failure and heartbreak, of Los Angeles and Portland and Nicaragua and Mexico, and the shifting sands of place and meaning that can make up a culture, or a community, or a home.
Faced with the collapse of his son’s Little League program–consisting mostly of Latino kids in the largely Asian suburb of Monterey Park, California–Jesse Katz finds himself thrust into the role of baseball commissioner for La Loma Park. Under its lights the yearnings and conflicts of a complex immigrant community are played out amid surprising moments of grace. Each day–and night–becomes a test of Jesse’s judgment and adaptability, and of his capacity to make this peculiar pocket of L.A.’s Eastside his home.
While Jesse soothes egos, brokers disputes, chases down delinquent coaches and missing equipment, and applies popsicles to bruises, he forms unlikely alliances, commits unanticipated errors, and receives the gift of unexpected wisdom. But there’s no less drama in Jesse’s complicated personal life as he grapples with a stepson who seems destined for trouble, comforts his mother (a legendary Oregon politician) when she’s stricken with cancer, and receives hard lessons in finding–and holding on to–the love of a good woman.
Through it all, Jesse’s emotional mainstay is his beloved son, Max, who quietly bests his father’s brightest hopes. Over nine springs and summers with Max at La Loma, Jesse learns nothing less than what it takes to be a father, a son, a husband, a coach, and, ultimately, a man.
This is an epic book, a funny book, a sexy book, a rapturously evocative and achingly poignant book. Above all it is true, in that it happened, but also in a way that transcends mere facts and cuts to the quick of what it means to be alive.
From the Hardcover edition.
Faced with the collapse of his son’s Little League program–consisting mostly of Latino kids in the largely Asian suburb of Monterey Park, California–Jesse Katz finds himself thrust into the role of baseball commissioner for La Loma Park. Under its lights the yearnings and conflicts of a complex immigrant community are played out amid surprising moments of grace. Each day–and night–becomes a test of Jesse’s judgment and adaptability, and of his capacity to make this peculiar pocket of L.A.’s Eastside his home.
While Jesse soothes egos, brokers disputes, chases down delinquent coaches and missing equipment, and applies popsicles to bruises, he forms unlikely alliances, commits unanticipated errors, and receives the gift of unexpected wisdom. But there’s no less drama in Jesse’s complicated personal life as he grapples with a stepson who seems destined for trouble, comforts his mother (a legendary Oregon politician) when she’s stricken with cancer, and receives hard lessons in finding–and holding on to–the love of a good woman.
Through it all, Jesse’s emotional mainstay is his beloved son, Max, who quietly bests his father’s brightest hopes. Over nine springs and summers with Max at La Loma, Jesse learns nothing less than what it takes to be a father, a son, a husband, a coach, and, ultimately, a man.
This is an epic book, a funny book, a sexy book, a rapturously evocative and achingly poignant book. Above all it is true, in that it happened, but also in a way that transcends mere facts and cuts to the quick of what it means to be alive.
From the Hardcover edition.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 5, 2010
Jesse Katz's memoir is not about baseball, though baseball is central to the story. "The Opposite Field" is really about his relationships with the people closest to him in his life: his parents, his (ex) wife, his lovers, and the most important person in his world: his son Max. This is the story of Jesse's years as a baseball coach and commissioner for the La Loma Sports Club, the youth sports association in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park he and Max call home. Interwoven in the narrative of these years are the stories of his tumultuous marriage, his often-troubled relationship with his stepson, and his complicated search for love. Also prominent are memories of his youth in Portland, Oregon and his remarkable parents, his father Mel, an artist; and his mother Vera, who served three terms as Portland's mayor after distinguished service in the Oregon legislature.
At the center of the narrative, and of Jesse's heart, is Max, the only child of his marriage. Although the grander themes of baseball as a shared ritual passed from father to son are explored, this is not an urban field of dreams (though there is a season finale worthy of the film version of "The Natural".) It's a difficult and messy place, populated by people with broken families struggling to maintain stability in the face of economic issues, substance abuse and a myriad of other problems. If things weren't complicated enough, hostile neighbors, corrupt vendors and cultural barriers are also part of the mix. Through it all, Jesse struggles manfully to keep the baseball program afloat while constantly wondering if he's doing right by his son. He stepped up to save the baseball program when it was teetering on the brink of oblivion; yet it extracts a steep price in time and energy.
Katz is a senior writer at Los Angeles Magazine and has shared two Pulitzer Prizes. Readers of "The Opposite Field" will understand why. He has a gift for painting compelling word portraits of the people and places that have shaped his life. This is a story that's at turns funny, moving, sad and heartwarming. A first-rate memoir from start to finish.
At the center of the narrative, and of Jesse's heart, is Max, the only child of his marriage. Although the grander themes of baseball as a shared ritual passed from father to son are explored, this is not an urban field of dreams (though there is a season finale worthy of the film version of "The Natural".) It's a difficult and messy place, populated by people with broken families struggling to maintain stability in the face of economic issues, substance abuse and a myriad of other problems. If things weren't complicated enough, hostile neighbors, corrupt vendors and cultural barriers are also part of the mix. Through it all, Jesse struggles manfully to keep the baseball program afloat while constantly wondering if he's doing right by his son. He stepped up to save the baseball program when it was teetering on the brink of oblivion; yet it extracts a steep price in time and energy.
Katz is a senior writer at Los Angeles Magazine and has shared two Pulitzer Prizes. Readers of "The Opposite Field" will understand why. He has a gift for painting compelling word portraits of the people and places that have shaped his life. This is a story that's at turns funny, moving, sad and heartwarming. A first-rate memoir from start to finish.
September 12, 2011
This book was loaned to me by a neighbor that went to high school with the author. I was interested in reading it because of the fact that he was the son of a long time mayor of our city and it was about his involvement with Little League Baseball. He is a good writer and this is biographical. However, I found that he is a bit despicable. Good example of people who think that rules are meant for others but don't apply when it comes to themselves. There is justification in making his decisions okay. HIs treatment of women is deplorable and I'm left wondering if my neighbor actually read the book.
October 11, 2010
Less of a book about running a Little League than a memoir about Katz's life. As such, not terribly interesting to me.
September 23, 2010
Baseball has been a passion of mine ever since I was a young boy. Growing up in the run-down area of Chula Vista, CA, I can understand what Mr. Katz talks about in his memoir, The Opposite Field. My family and I were the only group of white people on our street and a lot of criticism goes along with that amongst our then Hispanic neighbors. But one value I had that allowed me to cope with this segregation was baseball. That is one thing that I believe Jesse Katz and I can share in common.
In the book, Katz refers to his home in La Loma as run-down, Eastern Los Angeles. He brings up the stereotype that this part of LA is known for its poor neighborhoods and does not disprove this stereotype whatsoever. I see a lot of similarities between Katz’ living conditions along with how I had lived during my childhood. But one thing we both had in common as well was that our love of baseball drew us to our local little leagues.
Katz did an exceptional job of describing his days with his son Max while living in La Loma. One sentence was, “La Loma twists and strays, a dense wall of ice plants here, a secluded meadow there, a nest of hornets, a shock of wild-flowers, a connect-the-dots of gopher holes, another rise and a thicket and a clearing, the park revealing itself with each turn” (Kindle location 41-44). Though it being a longer sentence, I can paint an image in my head of what his surroundings look like and can picture myself sitting there with them, analyzing the same attributes that he mentions.
Throughout his memoir, Jesse Katz is basically summing my life as a child. I grew up in a run-down suburb and needed something to occupy my time. We both found that baseball did just that and we incorporated this aspect continuously within our lives.
In the book, Katz refers to his home in La Loma as run-down, Eastern Los Angeles. He brings up the stereotype that this part of LA is known for its poor neighborhoods and does not disprove this stereotype whatsoever. I see a lot of similarities between Katz’ living conditions along with how I had lived during my childhood. But one thing we both had in common as well was that our love of baseball drew us to our local little leagues.
Katz did an exceptional job of describing his days with his son Max while living in La Loma. One sentence was, “La Loma twists and strays, a dense wall of ice plants here, a secluded meadow there, a nest of hornets, a shock of wild-flowers, a connect-the-dots of gopher holes, another rise and a thicket and a clearing, the park revealing itself with each turn” (Kindle location 41-44). Though it being a longer sentence, I can paint an image in my head of what his surroundings look like and can picture myself sitting there with them, analyzing the same attributes that he mentions.
Throughout his memoir, Jesse Katz is basically summing my life as a child. I grew up in a run-down suburb and needed something to occupy my time. We both found that baseball did just that and we incorporated this aspect continuously within our lives.
December 1, 2009
Katz is so capable--of involving himself in so many things & keeping so many balls in the air, that one wishes he would take on something bigger. But one can hardly say that creating a baseball league and safe place for young people in a marginal town near a dangerous city is not an important thing in these times. Katz is passionate, and inspires a passionate response in the people with whom he has contact. His writing is good enough to keep one skimming the passages even when one has begun to question his choices. That may be the reason for his success: though we may not make the same choices as he does, we are willing to hear him out and allow him to lead--he is better than most, honest at least, and not a bad sort, at heart.
It was bittersweet to discover what the title, The Opposite Field, meant when I got an explanation, finally, in the Epilogue. Katz didn't appear to hold anything back in telling us of his life, his thoughts, his feelings. At times I wondered if indeed, he was telling us a little too much. Sometimes his choices did not seem fully considered, but whose are, in the moment. It is only with hindsight that we can say what we perhaps should have done with that opportunity. I suppose there wouldn't be much of a memoir if he didn't tell it all--after all, he didn't run a country, a state, or even a city. He was a father trying to grow a boy. In the process he grew up himself, along with a boy to be proud of, a solvent and hugely successful Little League, and a community. A world away from my life and very valuable to me for that.
It was bittersweet to discover what the title, The Opposite Field, meant when I got an explanation, finally, in the Epilogue. Katz didn't appear to hold anything back in telling us of his life, his thoughts, his feelings. At times I wondered if indeed, he was telling us a little too much. Sometimes his choices did not seem fully considered, but whose are, in the moment. It is only with hindsight that we can say what we perhaps should have done with that opportunity. I suppose there wouldn't be much of a memoir if he didn't tell it all--after all, he didn't run a country, a state, or even a city. He was a father trying to grow a boy. In the process he grew up himself, along with a boy to be proud of, a solvent and hugely successful Little League, and a community. A world away from my life and very valuable to me for that.
December 23, 2014
Although this memoir centers on a father's relationship with his son, through baseball, it's far more than that. To save the Little League he winds up managing one of the teams, and the league, and the park. It becomes a number of narrative threads: his son, his Nicaraguan wife, a troubled stepson as well, his feisty and vivid mother, who is mayor of Portland.
The story needs the reader's full attention, since Katz leaps back and forth in time and location, in mood and in characters. The push-pull relationships, and rivalries, are just as personal in his dealings with other coaches, with league players' parents, as they are with his extended family. The personal troubles he observes, or confronts, get to be far darker than what you'd expect from a book ostensibly about Little League. It's fortunate that the author's prose is direct and terse, because the story is really something of a saga, a wide-screen story of all the people and worlds he encounters as a young and middle-aged man.
It's a much larger story than its cover would suggest, and all of it in 300 pages or so. It's remarkable and forthright, and well worth the reader's time.
The story needs the reader's full attention, since Katz leaps back and forth in time and location, in mood and in characters. The push-pull relationships, and rivalries, are just as personal in his dealings with other coaches, with league players' parents, as they are with his extended family. The personal troubles he observes, or confronts, get to be far darker than what you'd expect from a book ostensibly about Little League. It's fortunate that the author's prose is direct and terse, because the story is really something of a saga, a wide-screen story of all the people and worlds he encounters as a young and middle-aged man.
It's a much larger story than its cover would suggest, and all of it in 300 pages or so. It's remarkable and forthright, and well worth the reader's time.
October 30, 2013
The memoir was trotted out as a baseball book and to be sure the first inning is very good. But the deeper one reads Katz's memoir, the more the author and protagonist shows himself to be a true dirt-bag. I suppose it takes courage to paint yourself as a selfish adulterer with few redeeming qualities besides managing Little League. But in the bottom of the ninth it comes off more like hubris that courage. Had he reported that he'd been punched in the mouth for his cowardly actions I would've awarded the book another star. Yet Katz seems to enjoy a consequence-free existence where he reports a string of events while refusing to acknowledge that his own inept morality is the root cause.
Readers who're nostalgic for Little League and/or their former disadvantaged hamlets in the SoCal megalopolis have generally given agreeable reviews. But if one does not harbor a per-existing condition of maudlin nostalgia it's hard to overlook the lack of redemption in this book. Katz has grounded out into a double play to end the game.
Readers who're nostalgic for Little League and/or their former disadvantaged hamlets in the SoCal megalopolis have generally given agreeable reviews. But if one does not harbor a per-existing condition of maudlin nostalgia it's hard to overlook the lack of redemption in this book. Katz has grounded out into a double play to end the game.
May 8, 2010
This is a love story, or--slightly more accurately--the story of a man and his loves. Jesse Katz (journalist, husband, father, Little League manager and team coach) is pretty lucky in that his non-paying gig lets him spend time with his son, who's on his Little League team.
If you are a baseball fan, you'll probably love this book. But even if you aren't, odds are you'll really enjoy it. (I know, because I did.)
While baseball is the primary focus of the story, there are a lot of other threads--family love, romantic love, tragic love and just enough journalism talk to keep me happy. :)
If you are a baseball fan, you'll probably love this book. But even if you aren't, odds are you'll really enjoy it. (I know, because I did.)
While baseball is the primary focus of the story, there are a lot of other threads--family love, romantic love, tragic love and just enough journalism talk to keep me happy. :)
July 10, 2010
Learned more about the politics of Little League than I knew existed. What I liked most, however, is the story of the author's mother and her family. Our former Portland mayor, in 1940 she and her family, who are Jewish, had to struggle to get out of France and come to the U.S. Her family story is fascinating and moving. The author was instrumental in helping his Nicaraguan wife's family enter the U.S. as refugees.
August 24, 2013
Jesse Katz is one of my favorite magazine writers, so I had been meaning to read this one for a while. When I finally got around to it, I didn't find it as mind-blowingly great as I thought I would, but it is a touching tale of a man finding himself to be a better father to his son, all set against a backdrop of little league baseball. It's well-written, of course, but maybe the subject matter didn't speak to me as well as I had hoped.
December 19, 2009
If you're a die-hard baseball fan or the parent of a son who's participated in Little League, this is the book for you. It's a very inspirational and funny book about one father's journey through his and his son's Little League experience. Loved it!
June 11, 2010
Charming memoir - a look at a father's time as commissioner of his community's crumbling little league organization. The intertwining of his own life's story fit perfectly in giving depth to how his community and league bonded Katz with his son over the years spent there.
July 27, 2010
Story is interesting and way too long and repetitive.
March 6, 2015
3.5 stars Jesse Katz works at my company and I really enjoyed this book. I really like his writing style.
February 28, 2018
The Opposite Field is technically a memoir of Jesse Katz's life. It revolves around Jesse's son, Max, and his Little League at La Loma park. The organization is corrupt, and Jesse wants Max and his friends to be able to play baseball together, so he decides to take over the league and start from scratch. The novel tells the stories of Jesse's success and failure, and also dives deeper into the world outside of baseball, regarding Jesse's unexpected marriage and sporadic stepson. This is a sports novel, but also a life story. It has competition, drama, suspense, and some love. Jesse Katz really knows how to tell a story, even if it is about himself.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews