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Oh Baby, I Love It!
Baseball Summers, Hot Pennant Races, Grand Salamis, Jellylegs, El Swervos, Dingers and Dunkers
245 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 21, 2023
I began reading this book on February 16, 2023, the day that its author, Tim McCarver, died at the age of 81. McCarver had a 21-year Major League baseball career as a catcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and Boston Red Sox. With the Cardinals, he was a two-time World Series champion and an All-Star. After his playing career ended, McCarver became an award-winning baseball broadcaster. My familiarity with him as a broadcaster stems from his 16 years in the broadcast booth of the New York Mets.
I remember McCarver the broadcaster as being very knowledgeable, opinionated, voluble (sometimes excessively voluble), and often funny. His book reflects all of these characteristics. The book includes many entertaining and insightful anecdotes from his playing days. He provides an “inside look” at some of the best players in the game, notably his Hall of Fame battery-mates Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. He’s not afraid to offer criticism of players, managers, and specific plays if he thinks it’s warranted.
McCarver takes justified pride in his career as a catcher. “Catching is the most demanding, underrated job in sports. Don’t tell me about the beleaguered quarterback or the besieged goalie. No athlete has it any tougher than a catcher.” Although he definitely comes across as self-confident, he is also candid in his self-assessment, acknowledging, for example, that he succumbed to pressure in the 1967 World Series.
Some of McCarver’s dislikes (which I happen to share with him) include the designated hitter (that battle’s been lost), the singing of the National Anthem before a game (he’s not against honoring the country, he just hates “The Star-Spangled Banner”), and “baseball chapel” prayer meetings in the locker room. As for the latter, he says, “Too often, players will use God as a cop-out. Occasionally, around the league you’ll actually hear wins or losses attributed to ‘God’s will.’ Jimmy Frey, when he was a coach with the Mets, once set Pete Falcone, a devoted member of baseball chapel, down with the question ‘Do you think God would mind if you threw your breaking ball over for a strike every so often?’”
McCarver’s baseball analysis is peppered with colorful imagery. (I remember mostly enjoying this aspect of his broadcasts, but sometimes his penchant for puns got to be too much.) For example, in describing the pressure of a pennant race, he says it’s “a time when even water goes down in lumps.” He contends that the playoffs are more pressure-packed than the World Series: “It’s the quagmire before the promised land. It’s the Red Sea that has to be crossed. If you don’t cross it into the World Series, you’re a loser. You’re forgotten by Thanksgiving.”
Sometimes I have to wonder if McCarver doesn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story. He mentions how pleased he was when a stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, his hometown, was named “McCarver Memorial Stadium” in his honor. “Tug McGraw once asked me why they called it a memorial stadium, since I am still alive. I told him the name referred to my arm, which had died ten years before.” Good story, but according to some quick research that I did, the actual name of the stadium was “Tim McCarver Stadium.”
One of the most interesting parts of the book for me as a long-time Mets fan is the section in which he records his personal day-to-day observations of the Mets’ 1986 season. He didn’t know beforehand that the Mets would produce the best season in their history that year and end up as World Series champions. As a fan who lived through it and remembers some of the highlights, I really enjoyed getting McCarver’s take on that magical season. Non-Mets fans no doubt would not appreciate that part of the book as much as I did, but I do think that most baseball fans would enjoy much of McCarver’s wit and wisdom.
I remember McCarver the broadcaster as being very knowledgeable, opinionated, voluble (sometimes excessively voluble), and often funny. His book reflects all of these characteristics. The book includes many entertaining and insightful anecdotes from his playing days. He provides an “inside look” at some of the best players in the game, notably his Hall of Fame battery-mates Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. He’s not afraid to offer criticism of players, managers, and specific plays if he thinks it’s warranted.
McCarver takes justified pride in his career as a catcher. “Catching is the most demanding, underrated job in sports. Don’t tell me about the beleaguered quarterback or the besieged goalie. No athlete has it any tougher than a catcher.” Although he definitely comes across as self-confident, he is also candid in his self-assessment, acknowledging, for example, that he succumbed to pressure in the 1967 World Series.
Some of McCarver’s dislikes (which I happen to share with him) include the designated hitter (that battle’s been lost), the singing of the National Anthem before a game (he’s not against honoring the country, he just hates “The Star-Spangled Banner”), and “baseball chapel” prayer meetings in the locker room. As for the latter, he says, “Too often, players will use God as a cop-out. Occasionally, around the league you’ll actually hear wins or losses attributed to ‘God’s will.’ Jimmy Frey, when he was a coach with the Mets, once set Pete Falcone, a devoted member of baseball chapel, down with the question ‘Do you think God would mind if you threw your breaking ball over for a strike every so often?’”
McCarver’s baseball analysis is peppered with colorful imagery. (I remember mostly enjoying this aspect of his broadcasts, but sometimes his penchant for puns got to be too much.) For example, in describing the pressure of a pennant race, he says it’s “a time when even water goes down in lumps.” He contends that the playoffs are more pressure-packed than the World Series: “It’s the quagmire before the promised land. It’s the Red Sea that has to be crossed. If you don’t cross it into the World Series, you’re a loser. You’re forgotten by Thanksgiving.”
Sometimes I have to wonder if McCarver doesn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story. He mentions how pleased he was when a stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, his hometown, was named “McCarver Memorial Stadium” in his honor. “Tug McGraw once asked me why they called it a memorial stadium, since I am still alive. I told him the name referred to my arm, which had died ten years before.” Good story, but according to some quick research that I did, the actual name of the stadium was “Tim McCarver Stadium.”
One of the most interesting parts of the book for me as a long-time Mets fan is the section in which he records his personal day-to-day observations of the Mets’ 1986 season. He didn’t know beforehand that the Mets would produce the best season in their history that year and end up as World Series champions. As a fan who lived through it and remembers some of the highlights, I really enjoyed getting McCarver’s take on that magical season. Non-Mets fans no doubt would not appreciate that part of the book as much as I did, but I do think that most baseball fans would enjoy much of McCarver’s wit and wisdom.
February 13, 2019
I've never forgotten a Bob Gibson anecdote from this book. McCarver made a mound visit when Gibson was pitching, and the latter said to him, "The only thing you know about good pitching is that you can't hit it."
September 27, 2020
All people that follow baseball to some extent are familiar with the announcing style of Tim McCarver. He has called over a dozen World Series, so his voice and style are well known. This book reads like he sounds on the air. McCarver was a catcher known primarily for his relationship with Hall Of Fame pitcher Steve Carleton and for having played for part of four decades. 50-80.
This is not an autobiography that starts in his youth and progresses through his life, ending with the Mets victory in the 1986 World Series. McCarver provides many insights into the game as well as what it was like to break in as a broadcaster and be one for so many years. His talent at explaining the right and wrong of how to do things on and off the field are evident on every page.
This is one of the better books about baseball that have appeared due to McCarver’s unique perspective. He played with and against some of the all-time greats such as Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Hank Aaron, Steve Carleton and Nolan Ryan. He then called and explained the actions of some of these players as well as other greats that came after them. He went from being a teammate and colleague to someone that had to point out what they were doing wrong. A tough road to follow, yet he has done it well.
This is not an autobiography that starts in his youth and progresses through his life, ending with the Mets victory in the 1986 World Series. McCarver provides many insights into the game as well as what it was like to break in as a broadcaster and be one for so many years. His talent at explaining the right and wrong of how to do things on and off the field are evident on every page.
This is one of the better books about baseball that have appeared due to McCarver’s unique perspective. He played with and against some of the all-time greats such as Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Hank Aaron, Steve Carleton and Nolan Ryan. He then called and explained the actions of some of these players as well as other greats that came after them. He went from being a teammate and colleague to someone that had to point out what they were doing wrong. A tough road to follow, yet he has done it well.
March 27, 2026
This book is light, bright, and breezy. There are several wonderful baseball stories, many of them very humorous. The book is written more as a memoir of sorts about the experiences of this famousßaav major league baseball catcher. There are several stories about the lives and habits of famous baseball major leaguers. There are long discussions about how a pitcher and catcher together can work to strike out a batter. Some of the topics covered in the book are: enduring long traveling dates, a few notable pitchers in the major leagues, handling pressure during close games, the usefulness of pep talks to motivate baseball players, the reality of baseball and finding stability after a baseball career ends, and becoming an announcer for baseball games. There is a lengthy chapter on the activities of the Mets in 1986. Unfortunately having such a large chapter devoted to one team in one year dates the book unnecessarily. There is a glossary of baseball pitches that may interest readers who are also baseball fans.
October 1, 2020
Not so great. Once upon a time McCarver was my favorite baseball announcer, but this book is filled with too many things that have little to do with the game, namely the author's opinions on a wide range of topics, & includes pages filled with restaurant recommendations from all the cities he's visited. The baseball stuff is great when it's there, especially the details of working with pitchers Bob Gibson & Steve Carlton. I wish there were more recollections of the games & World Series in which he played. An unexpected highlight was the final section of the book, which traces the Mets' (just completed) miraculous 1986 season, told by the man who followed the team & was their regular broadcaster for that season as well as the subpar years leading up to it.
January 16, 2025
Honestly, I finished what I wanted to read. The first 2-3 chapters were good, and then it went into a part I couldn't relate.
August 14, 2017
Being a lifelong fan of baseball and having seen Tim play there were no surprises in this book. There weer not even any revelations on the game or people I had watched play for years. I hate to say it was old news but for the seasoned baseball viewing of my generation all the information was previously known. Sure, there were small personal interactions here and there that we wouldn't know about. For the younger person or newer fan there is information here that is worth a read, most about the grind of "the show".
Bottom line, an enjoyable and easy read but I wouldn't have felt like Imissed anything if I didn't read it.
Bottom line, an enjoyable and easy read but I wouldn't have felt like Imissed anything if I didn't read it.
April 3, 2015
I admired him as a broadcaster and this book brings to life the man behind the TV booth. His analytic style is not so evident in this book. It's more about his personal experiences with some insight into the game that he unabashedly loves.
January 31, 2016
finished SOMETIME in 2009. Everything I have read by McCarver has been excellent.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews