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Men at Work
Drawing on extensive interviews, the Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator profiles four key figures in professional baseball--outfielder Tony Gwynn, pitcher Orel Hershiser, shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., and manager Tony LaRussa.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
258 people are currently reading
2477 people want to read
About the author
George F. Will
71 books194 followersGeorge Frederick Will is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics. By the mid 1980s the Wall Street Journal reported he was "perhaps the most powerful journalist in America," in a league with Walter Lippmann (1899–1975).
Will served as an editor for National Review from 1972 to 1978. He joined the Washington Post Writers Group in 1974, writing a syndicated biweekly column, which became widely circulated among newspapers across the country and continues today. His column is syndicated to 450 newspapers. In 1976 he became a contributing editor for Newsweek, writing a biweekly backpage column until 2011.
Will won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for "distinguished commentary on a variety of topics" in 1977.[6] Often combining factual reporting with conservative commentary, Will's columns are known for their erudite vocabulary, allusions to political philosophers, and frequent references to baseball.
Will has also written two bestselling books on the game of baseball, three books on political philosophy, and has published eleven compilations of his columns for the Washington Post and Newsweek and of various book reviews and lectures.
Will was also a news analyst for ABC since the early 1980s and was a founding member on the panel of ABC's This Week with David Brinkley in 1981, now titled This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Will was also a regular panelist on television's Agronsky & Company from 1977 through 1984 and on NBC's Meet the Press in the mid-to-late 1970s. He left ABC to join Fox News in early October 2013.
Will served as an editor for National Review from 1972 to 1978. He joined the Washington Post Writers Group in 1974, writing a syndicated biweekly column, which became widely circulated among newspapers across the country and continues today. His column is syndicated to 450 newspapers. In 1976 he became a contributing editor for Newsweek, writing a biweekly backpage column until 2011.
Will won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for "distinguished commentary on a variety of topics" in 1977.[6] Often combining factual reporting with conservative commentary, Will's columns are known for their erudite vocabulary, allusions to political philosophers, and frequent references to baseball.
Will has also written two bestselling books on the game of baseball, three books on political philosophy, and has published eleven compilations of his columns for the Washington Post and Newsweek and of various book reviews and lectures.
Will was also a news analyst for ABC since the early 1980s and was a founding member on the panel of ABC's This Week with David Brinkley in 1981, now titled This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Will was also a regular panelist on television's Agronsky & Company from 1977 through 1984 and on NBC's Meet the Press in the mid-to-late 1970s. He left ABC to join Fox News in early October 2013.
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August 3, 2017
There’s a lot of stuff goes on.
Tony LaRussa
This is a TOP TEN book in my baseball library.
Availability. 2010 edition, paperback, Kindle.
Type. THE GAME
Use. READ [EH]
_explanation_
This book, published more than twenty-five years ago (1990) by a noted columnist (but not a sports columnist) is a classic description of how baseball is played. (The author is noted for his conservative political and social commentary in his syndicated column. I'm not holding that against him.
George Will is a polished writer, and one of the joys of this book is the very professional style that Will displays throughout. Perhaps a little too professional some might say; Will is not a writer particularly noted for his humor. Or perhaps more accurately, the humor he does occasionally display is typically biting, even mocking. That isn’t an issue in this book, however.
The plan of the book is simple. In four sections, Will tells us about the intricacies involved in four different skill-areas of the game of baseball. Each section focuses on one particular individual, who, as Will shows convincingly, is an exemplar in that area of the game. These individuals are men who were active in the game at the time Will wrote the book.
And what do they have in common? Will says, in his Introduction, that “What follows are the stories of four men who are happy in their work.” So, he has chosen players who not only excel, but who, being “happy in their work”, are content, friendly, affable – and who display the satisfaction that fine craftsmen do, in the products of their labor.
And it is worth noting that of these four men, two have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and one (Tony LaRussa) will no doubt be elected as a manager as soon as he is eligible. So, for these exemplars of their crafts that Will chose, years before any of them could seriously be talked about as Hall of Fame candidates – well, three out of four isn’t bad, is it?
The rest of the review just presents the four men that George Will features in the book, with some info about their careers, both before and after the book was published.
The Manager. Tony LaRussa
Tony LaRussa (born 1944) played major league baseball in the 1960s. He was not an all-star by any means, and played only five seasons in the majors. As a manager he was much more successful.
The Pitcher. Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser was born in 1958. He pitched in the major leagues from 1983 to2000, most significantly for the Los Angeles Dodgers from ’83 to 1994. When he retired he had major league totals of 204 wins, 150 losses, and a 3.48 ERA. No doubt a successful baseball career. But not a Hall of Fame career.
In the 1980s, the most successful major league pitchers (going by Bill James’ Win Shares statistics) were:
1. Dave Stieb 140-109 [175 WS, 10 seasons, 17.5 WS/season]
2. Jack Morris 162-119 [154 WS, 10 seasons, 15.4 WS/season]
3. Dan Quisenberry (relief pitcher – 239 saves) [153 WS, 10 seasons, 15.3 WS/season]
4. Bert Blyleven 133-118 [139 WS, 10 seasons, 13.9 WS/season]
5. Fernando Valenzuela 128-103 [135 WS, 10 seasons, 13.5 WS/season]
6. Charlie Hough 128-114 [134 WS, 10 seasons, 13.4 WS/season]
7. Bob Welch 137-93 [134 WS, 10 seasons, 13.4 WS/season]
8. Lee Smith (relief pitcher – 234 saves) [125 WS, 10 seasons, 12.5 WS/season]
9. Nolan Ryan 122-104 [123 WS, 10 seasons, 12.3 WS/season]
10. Frank Viola 117-98 [121 WS, 8 seasons, 15.1 WS/season]
11. Orel Hershiser 98-64 [120 WS, 7 seasons, 17.1 WS/season]
Hershiser hadn’t started pitching until the 1983 season, and even that season he pitched only 8 innings, all in relief. His figure of 17.1 WS per season is second on this list, indicating that he was definitely one of the star pitchers at the time Wills wrote the book. Even so, there are eight pitchers, including two on the above list, who pitched in 1989, and are now in the Hall of Fame: Nolan Ryan, Dennis Eckersley, Rich Gossage, Bert Blyleven, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Randy Johnson. Now, there are several apparent reasons why Will would not have considered some of these pitchers. But why didn’t Will write about Ryan, or Blyleven?
Well, obviously I don’t know. What I do know is that Hershiser was an intelligent, affable man who was much in the public eye in the late 1980s - mostly because his recent 1988 season had been one of the most remarkable in many years for a pitcher. In 1988 Hershiser pitched in his second consecutive All Star game; led the NL in wins (23), complete games (15), shutouts (8), and innings pitched (267); was a unanimous selection for the National League Cy Young Award; was selected as the MVP in the NLCS series, and won the World Series MVP award.
But all that is not what most fans remember about Hershiser’s 1988 season. What they remember is that he set an all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Over the last seven games in which he appeared (from August 30 to September 28), and the last 59 innings that he pitched in the regular season, no opposing team was able to score a run. This streak has frequently been called (in the U.S. at any rate) one of the greatest individual sporting streaks in history. (For hard core fans wanting to relive a bit of this, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orel_Hershiser&....)
So I think Wills can be forgiven for not having the foresight (in this case) to feature a player who went on to establish Hall of Fame credentials.
The Batter. Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn, born in 1960, was one of the premier hitters in baseball in the 1980s, even though he didn’t hit his stride until the 1984 season. In the 1980s Gwynn played on the NL All Star team five times, led the NL in runs scored once, and in hits and batting average four times, including an average of .370 in 1987. He was a bat-control, analytical hitter who constantly studied notebooks which he kept, and tapes of both his own swing, and of opposing pitchers.
He had a somewhat pudgy body, that he admitted looked more like a football body than a baseball body. He used one of the lightest bats of any major league hitter in his era, so that he could wait as long as possible before starting his swing. Though he hit the ball to all fields, he liked to hit it to the left side (he was a left-handed hitter), between the shortstop and third baseman, rather than pulling the ball to the right.
In the 1990s, after Will wrote this book, Gwynn got even better. He eventually played in ten consecutive All Star games (after not playing in the 1988 game), and after having “down” years in 1990-92 (in which he hit “only” .309, .317, .317), tore up the NL in the next five seasons, with averages of .358, .394, .368, .353 and .372, the last four leading the league. His .394 average in 1994 was the highest in the NL since Bill Terry had hit .401 in 1930, though it must be qualified with the reminder that the baseball season ended prematurely on August 11 that year when the players went out on strike. (Through August aa Gwynn had had 467 plate appearances; he would have needed only 35 more over the 45 games that the Padres lost from their schedule to qualify for the batting title in the normal season.)
Gwynn retired after the 2001 season, with totals of 3,141 hits (19th all-time), a .338 batting average (18th all-time), 15 All Star games, and 8 NL batting championships. He played his entire career with the San Diego Padres, and was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
The Defense. Cal Ripken
By the late 1980s, there was no real indication that the Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken was bound for glory, though there was a bit of a hint. What the baseball cognoscenti did admit was that he had redefined the shortstop position. Ripken was the first of a new breed of shortstops, bigger (even slower) than the traditional player at that position, a better than average hitter with well better than average power for a shortstop.
What Ripken did in playing shortstop was think think think, analyze analyze analyze. He had good reactions, and a strong and accurate arm; but what made him different was his positioning, whereby through his thinking, analyzing, and studying of hitters’ tendencies, (plus almost always knowing the type and location of pitch that would be thrown), he was able to anticipate where the ball was most likely to be hit. This allowed Ripken, time and again, to be where he needed to be, without having to have the speed that a lighter, faster player could use to get to hard to reach balls. For Ripken, there were far fewer hard to reach balls – he was already there! (This of course is the sort of craft that was of supreme interest to George Will.)
Through the 1989 season Ripken had hit 204 home runs. He was on the way (or perhaps already there) for setting the Al record for home runs by a shortstop. But that’s really not much of a Hall of Fame qualifying record in itself. He’d also played in seven straight All Star games. That’s certainly something worth folding into the HOF CV. What else? Let’s see … oh, he’d also played in over 1200 consecutive games. He was third on the all-time list! Looked like sometime in June of the 1990 season he would pass Everett Scott (1916-1925) to move into 2nd place. Well, people were starting to talk about that. Could he possibly play another 5 1/2 years without missing a game? If so, he could break the record that was once considered unbreakable – Lou Gehrig’s record of 2130 consecutive games played, between 1925 and 1939.
Well, as we all know now, over the rest of Ripken’s career (every season with the Orioles) he did enough to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first year he was eligible, 2007. He and Tony Gwynn went in together. I was there. ;)
When Ripken retired after the 2001 season he’d amassed 3184 hits (15th all time), 431 home runs, two Gold Glove awards, nineteen consecutive All Star games, two All Star MVP awards (including his last AS game in 2001, when he opened the scoring in the third inning with a home run, in a game won 4-1 by the AL), and set the record for consecutive games played, upping it from 2,130 to 2,632 - an extra three years of not missing a game.
Post game wrap-up
Without doubt, an informed, well-written, intelligent book about the work and craft of baseball. The book even has a detailed index. Highly recommended, wonderful summertime reading while watching an evening game, or for those cold down days of winter, when a fan needs a reminder that spring (and baseball) really will come again.
_next TOP TEN_
Tony LaRussa
This is a TOP TEN book in my baseball library.
Availability. 2010 edition, paperback, Kindle.
Type. THE GAME
Use. READ [EH]
_explanation_
This book, published more than twenty-five years ago (1990) by a noted columnist (but not a sports columnist) is a classic description of how baseball is played. (The author is noted for his conservative political and social commentary in his syndicated column. I'm not holding that against him.
George Will is a polished writer, and one of the joys of this book is the very professional style that Will displays throughout. Perhaps a little too professional some might say; Will is not a writer particularly noted for his humor. Or perhaps more accurately, the humor he does occasionally display is typically biting, even mocking. That isn’t an issue in this book, however.
The plan of the book is simple. In four sections, Will tells us about the intricacies involved in four different skill-areas of the game of baseball. Each section focuses on one particular individual, who, as Will shows convincingly, is an exemplar in that area of the game. These individuals are men who were active in the game at the time Will wrote the book.
And what do they have in common? Will says, in his Introduction, that “What follows are the stories of four men who are happy in their work.” So, he has chosen players who not only excel, but who, being “happy in their work”, are content, friendly, affable – and who display the satisfaction that fine craftsmen do, in the products of their labor.
And it is worth noting that of these four men, two have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and one (Tony LaRussa) will no doubt be elected as a manager as soon as he is eligible. So, for these exemplars of their crafts that Will chose, years before any of them could seriously be talked about as Hall of Fame candidates – well, three out of four isn’t bad, is it?
The rest of the review just presents the four men that George Will features in the book, with some info about their careers, both before and after the book was published.
The Manager. Tony LaRussa
Tony LaRussa (born 1944) played major league baseball in the 1960s. He was not an all-star by any means, and played only five seasons in the majors. As a manager he was much more successful.
Chicago White Sox: 1979-1986. Record: 522-510, .506 winning pct.LaRussa clearly had his finest years of managing after this book was written, thereby demonstrating Wills’ perception in choosing him for his chapter on the skill of managing a baseball team. In fact when LaRussa retired from managing after the 2011 season, his 2078 wins as a manager ranked 3rd all-time. His teams won three World Series titles, six league championships, and twelve division championships.
Oakland Athletics: 1986–1995. Record: 798–673, .542 pct.
St. Louis Cardinals: 1996-2011. Record: 1408–1182, .544 pct.
The Pitcher. Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser was born in 1958. He pitched in the major leagues from 1983 to2000, most significantly for the Los Angeles Dodgers from ’83 to 1994. When he retired he had major league totals of 204 wins, 150 losses, and a 3.48 ERA. No doubt a successful baseball career. But not a Hall of Fame career.
In the 1980s, the most successful major league pitchers (going by Bill James’ Win Shares statistics) were:
1. Dave Stieb 140-109 [175 WS, 10 seasons, 17.5 WS/season]
2. Jack Morris 162-119 [154 WS, 10 seasons, 15.4 WS/season]
3. Dan Quisenberry (relief pitcher – 239 saves) [153 WS, 10 seasons, 15.3 WS/season]
4. Bert Blyleven 133-118 [139 WS, 10 seasons, 13.9 WS/season]
5. Fernando Valenzuela 128-103 [135 WS, 10 seasons, 13.5 WS/season]
6. Charlie Hough 128-114 [134 WS, 10 seasons, 13.4 WS/season]
7. Bob Welch 137-93 [134 WS, 10 seasons, 13.4 WS/season]
8. Lee Smith (relief pitcher – 234 saves) [125 WS, 10 seasons, 12.5 WS/season]
9. Nolan Ryan 122-104 [123 WS, 10 seasons, 12.3 WS/season]
10. Frank Viola 117-98 [121 WS, 8 seasons, 15.1 WS/season]
11. Orel Hershiser 98-64 [120 WS, 7 seasons, 17.1 WS/season]
Hershiser hadn’t started pitching until the 1983 season, and even that season he pitched only 8 innings, all in relief. His figure of 17.1 WS per season is second on this list, indicating that he was definitely one of the star pitchers at the time Wills wrote the book. Even so, there are eight pitchers, including two on the above list, who pitched in 1989, and are now in the Hall of Fame: Nolan Ryan, Dennis Eckersley, Rich Gossage, Bert Blyleven, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Randy Johnson. Now, there are several apparent reasons why Will would not have considered some of these pitchers. But why didn’t Will write about Ryan, or Blyleven?
Well, obviously I don’t know. What I do know is that Hershiser was an intelligent, affable man who was much in the public eye in the late 1980s - mostly because his recent 1988 season had been one of the most remarkable in many years for a pitcher. In 1988 Hershiser pitched in his second consecutive All Star game; led the NL in wins (23), complete games (15), shutouts (8), and innings pitched (267); was a unanimous selection for the National League Cy Young Award; was selected as the MVP in the NLCS series, and won the World Series MVP award.
But all that is not what most fans remember about Hershiser’s 1988 season. What they remember is that he set an all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Over the last seven games in which he appeared (from August 30 to September 28), and the last 59 innings that he pitched in the regular season, no opposing team was able to score a run. This streak has frequently been called (in the U.S. at any rate) one of the greatest individual sporting streaks in history. (For hard core fans wanting to relive a bit of this, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orel_Hershiser&....)
So I think Wills can be forgiven for not having the foresight (in this case) to feature a player who went on to establish Hall of Fame credentials.
The Batter. Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn, born in 1960, was one of the premier hitters in baseball in the 1980s, even though he didn’t hit his stride until the 1984 season. In the 1980s Gwynn played on the NL All Star team five times, led the NL in runs scored once, and in hits and batting average four times, including an average of .370 in 1987. He was a bat-control, analytical hitter who constantly studied notebooks which he kept, and tapes of both his own swing, and of opposing pitchers.
He had a somewhat pudgy body, that he admitted looked more like a football body than a baseball body. He used one of the lightest bats of any major league hitter in his era, so that he could wait as long as possible before starting his swing. Though he hit the ball to all fields, he liked to hit it to the left side (he was a left-handed hitter), between the shortstop and third baseman, rather than pulling the ball to the right.
In the 1990s, after Will wrote this book, Gwynn got even better. He eventually played in ten consecutive All Star games (after not playing in the 1988 game), and after having “down” years in 1990-92 (in which he hit “only” .309, .317, .317), tore up the NL in the next five seasons, with averages of .358, .394, .368, .353 and .372, the last four leading the league. His .394 average in 1994 was the highest in the NL since Bill Terry had hit .401 in 1930, though it must be qualified with the reminder that the baseball season ended prematurely on August 11 that year when the players went out on strike. (Through August aa Gwynn had had 467 plate appearances; he would have needed only 35 more over the 45 games that the Padres lost from their schedule to qualify for the batting title in the normal season.)
Gwynn retired after the 2001 season, with totals of 3,141 hits (19th all-time), a .338 batting average (18th all-time), 15 All Star games, and 8 NL batting championships. He played his entire career with the San Diego Padres, and was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
The Defense. Cal Ripken
By the late 1980s, there was no real indication that the Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken was bound for glory, though there was a bit of a hint. What the baseball cognoscenti did admit was that he had redefined the shortstop position. Ripken was the first of a new breed of shortstops, bigger (even slower) than the traditional player at that position, a better than average hitter with well better than average power for a shortstop.
What Ripken did in playing shortstop was think think think, analyze analyze analyze. He had good reactions, and a strong and accurate arm; but what made him different was his positioning, whereby through his thinking, analyzing, and studying of hitters’ tendencies, (plus almost always knowing the type and location of pitch that would be thrown), he was able to anticipate where the ball was most likely to be hit. This allowed Ripken, time and again, to be where he needed to be, without having to have the speed that a lighter, faster player could use to get to hard to reach balls. For Ripken, there were far fewer hard to reach balls – he was already there! (This of course is the sort of craft that was of supreme interest to George Will.)
Through the 1989 season Ripken had hit 204 home runs. He was on the way (or perhaps already there) for setting the Al record for home runs by a shortstop. But that’s really not much of a Hall of Fame qualifying record in itself. He’d also played in seven straight All Star games. That’s certainly something worth folding into the HOF CV. What else? Let’s see … oh, he’d also played in over 1200 consecutive games. He was third on the all-time list! Looked like sometime in June of the 1990 season he would pass Everett Scott (1916-1925) to move into 2nd place. Well, people were starting to talk about that. Could he possibly play another 5 1/2 years without missing a game? If so, he could break the record that was once considered unbreakable – Lou Gehrig’s record of 2130 consecutive games played, between 1925 and 1939.
Well, as we all know now, over the rest of Ripken’s career (every season with the Orioles) he did enough to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first year he was eligible, 2007. He and Tony Gwynn went in together. I was there. ;)
When Ripken retired after the 2001 season he’d amassed 3184 hits (15th all time), 431 home runs, two Gold Glove awards, nineteen consecutive All Star games, two All Star MVP awards (including his last AS game in 2001, when he opened the scoring in the third inning with a home run, in a game won 4-1 by the AL), and set the record for consecutive games played, upping it from 2,130 to 2,632 - an extra three years of not missing a game.
Post game wrap-up
Without doubt, an informed, well-written, intelligent book about the work and craft of baseball. The book even has a detailed index. Highly recommended, wonderful summertime reading while watching an evening game, or for those cold down days of winter, when a fan needs a reminder that spring (and baseball) really will come again.
_next TOP TEN_
March 29, 2021
Might not strike everybody this way, but I have a five-star appreciation for George will enable five-star appreciation for baseball. His observations of the culture of the game and the larger culture hold up over the decades since its publication.
September 1, 2016
Originally seen on my book blog
Before I dive into the review of the book, I should mention that this is not a book for someone that isn’t already an active fan of baseball. This is not a book to read if you are trying to learn about baseball. You will get utterly confused by the baseball language in the book and will probably drop it. I had to read it slower than I would normally so I could take time to picture certain things in my head while I was reading. This book is more for the fans that already love the game and want to see it from the perspective of four important Baseball People.
I gave this five stars from the beginning. It never went down from five stars and it never disappointed me. Will wrote this book in a way that made sense. There are four “chapters” in the book. The first is “manager” the second is “pitcher” the third is “hitter” and the fourth is “defense.” He had one man that is important to each of those categories and the chapter focused on them.
I said that this book wouldn’t be as enjoyable for someone that isn’t an active fan because it’s a tag bit outdated. This book was published in 1991. To put that into perspective, there are five current major league players that were born after this book was published. If someone is not an active fan, they may not know a lot, or have even heard, of the men mentioned in the book. That’s no fun for readers.
The manager that the book focused on was Tony La Russa. La Russa is the third winningest manager in MLB history. Obviously, Will did not know it at the time but he picked the best man for the book. La Russa mentions different styles of play for every different pitch and every different batter. As fans, we don’t see all the work that managers have to do before, and during, games. After reading this book, I appreciate managers even more now.
But this book is not only La Russa talking about how he’s going to have his outfielders lined up against a power hitter with a runner on second (they go into detail about these types of things), it’s also a book about the awesome history of baseball. Things that I wouldn’t know if I hadn’t have read this book. Every chapter has a lot of quotes and stories from the man that the chapter is centered on, but it also has a lot of stories about history. And awesome quotes.
When it’s put like this, it makes perfect sense and makes me love baseball a little more.
And then, there is Orel Hershiser. Hershiser was one of the best pitchers in the early 90s and was also a great choice. I liked being able to read about pitching when it was coming from him. I also didn’t realize how many thoughts they have on the mound. They need to have great memory to remember how they got hitters out the last times and what pitches the hitters don’t like.
An important thing to live by if you’re a pitcher.
For hitters, Tony Gywnn was the main guy. This was probably my favourite chapter to read. Hitting mechanics are difficult and frustrating at times, but when they are explained by a great hitter, it’s a fun read. Gywnn and Will did a great job of making it understandable while also explaining the important parts of hitting. This chapter also talked a lot about the history of bats, home runs, and hitters slumps.
I found it hilarious and ironic that I read stories about corking the bat and doctoring the baseball while the whole Michael Pineda pine tar fiasco was happening.
The last chapter is about the most underrated part of baseball: defense. It should be obvious that Cal Ripken was the focal point of this chapter. At this point of the book, they had no idea that he would break “The Unbreakable Record” of most consecutive games played. If anyone is going to teach me more about defense, I would pick Cal every day of the week. After reading this chapter, it really hit me that defense is still not seen as important- not important enough in my opinion. Sure, we have guys that are great at defense, but not many of them are known for their defense only. The only person that comes to mind is Andrelton Simmons.
This book is a must read for all baseball fans. Even though it’s old, there are still so many good stories in this book.
When I finished the book, I thought of who the four men would be if this book was re-written this year.
Manager: Terry Francona
Pitcher: Clayton Kershaw
Hitter: Miguel Cabrera
Defense: Mike Trout
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.
Before I dive into the review of the book, I should mention that this is not a book for someone that isn’t already an active fan of baseball. This is not a book to read if you are trying to learn about baseball. You will get utterly confused by the baseball language in the book and will probably drop it. I had to read it slower than I would normally so I could take time to picture certain things in my head while I was reading. This book is more for the fans that already love the game and want to see it from the perspective of four important Baseball People.
I gave this five stars from the beginning. It never went down from five stars and it never disappointed me. Will wrote this book in a way that made sense. There are four “chapters” in the book. The first is “manager” the second is “pitcher” the third is “hitter” and the fourth is “defense.” He had one man that is important to each of those categories and the chapter focused on them.
I said that this book wouldn’t be as enjoyable for someone that isn’t an active fan because it’s a tag bit outdated. This book was published in 1991. To put that into perspective, there are five current major league players that were born after this book was published. If someone is not an active fan, they may not know a lot, or have even heard, of the men mentioned in the book. That’s no fun for readers.
The manager that the book focused on was Tony La Russa. La Russa is the third winningest manager in MLB history. Obviously, Will did not know it at the time but he picked the best man for the book. La Russa mentions different styles of play for every different pitch and every different batter. As fans, we don’t see all the work that managers have to do before, and during, games. After reading this book, I appreciate managers even more now.
But this book is not only La Russa talking about how he’s going to have his outfielders lined up against a power hitter with a runner on second (they go into detail about these types of things), it’s also a book about the awesome history of baseball. Things that I wouldn’t know if I hadn’t have read this book. Every chapter has a lot of quotes and stories from the man that the chapter is centered on, but it also has a lot of stories about history. And awesome quotes.
“Baseball is not, like basketball or hockey or soccer, a game of steady flows. Rather, it is an episodic game of explosive exertions.”
When it’s put like this, it makes perfect sense and makes me love baseball a little more.
And then, there is Orel Hershiser. Hershiser was one of the best pitchers in the early 90s and was also a great choice. I liked being able to read about pitching when it was coming from him. I also didn’t realize how many thoughts they have on the mound. They need to have great memory to remember how they got hitters out the last times and what pitches the hitters don’t like.
“Control without stuff is far better than stuff without control.”
An important thing to live by if you’re a pitcher.
For hitters, Tony Gywnn was the main guy. This was probably my favourite chapter to read. Hitting mechanics are difficult and frustrating at times, but when they are explained by a great hitter, it’s a fun read. Gywnn and Will did a great job of making it understandable while also explaining the important parts of hitting. This chapter also talked a lot about the history of bats, home runs, and hitters slumps.
I found it hilarious and ironic that I read stories about corking the bat and doctoring the baseball while the whole Michael Pineda pine tar fiasco was happening.
The last chapter is about the most underrated part of baseball: defense. It should be obvious that Cal Ripken was the focal point of this chapter. At this point of the book, they had no idea that he would break “The Unbreakable Record” of most consecutive games played. If anyone is going to teach me more about defense, I would pick Cal every day of the week. After reading this chapter, it really hit me that defense is still not seen as important- not important enough in my opinion. Sure, we have guys that are great at defense, but not many of them are known for their defense only. The only person that comes to mind is Andrelton Simmons.
This book is a must read for all baseball fans. Even though it’s old, there are still so many good stories in this book.
When I finished the book, I thought of who the four men would be if this book was re-written this year.
Manager: Terry Francona
Pitcher: Clayton Kershaw
Hitter: Miguel Cabrera
Defense: Mike Trout
August 7, 2018
Men at Work is a brilliant distillation of the insights of several brilliant Baseball Men who Work very well indeed.
As one might expect of the estimable Mr. Will, Men At Work is faintly scholarly in tone - but do not let that put you off - if the mechanics of baseball is of interest, this book is for you.
An Example: Tony La Russa outlines nine basic ways to run the double steal - and the defense's proper response to them all. I had no idea! We didn't get this in Little League (on the other hand they don't call it the Big Leagues for nuthin')!
Here's another: An explicit split second analysis of stealing second base - it demonstrates almost beyond doubt that you steal on the pitcher - not the catcher.
Will shows that when Tony Gywnn was pulling the ball, his timing was off, and why this was true.
With managing and hitting covered, Will also interviewed the modern (post-Gehrig) Iron Man, Cal Ripken as an exemplar of fielding and Orel Hershisher, pitcher.
With the A's, La Russa made sure that every pitch of every game was charted. From this we were reminded that in the 80s the American League strike zone ended at the belt (in the league that was said to feature the "high strike".
Men At Work is not sentimental - for sentiment try The Boys of Summer. Instead in Men at Work you will find uncommon insight from some of baseball's best presented by a clearly devoted and talented writer.
As one might expect of the estimable Mr. Will, Men At Work is faintly scholarly in tone - but do not let that put you off - if the mechanics of baseball is of interest, this book is for you.
An Example: Tony La Russa outlines nine basic ways to run the double steal - and the defense's proper response to them all. I had no idea! We didn't get this in Little League (on the other hand they don't call it the Big Leagues for nuthin')!
Here's another: An explicit split second analysis of stealing second base - it demonstrates almost beyond doubt that you steal on the pitcher - not the catcher.
Will shows that when Tony Gywnn was pulling the ball, his timing was off, and why this was true.
With managing and hitting covered, Will also interviewed the modern (post-Gehrig) Iron Man, Cal Ripken as an exemplar of fielding and Orel Hershisher, pitcher.
With the A's, La Russa made sure that every pitch of every game was charted. From this we were reminded that in the 80s the American League strike zone ended at the belt (in the league that was said to feature the "high strike".
Men At Work is not sentimental - for sentiment try The Boys of Summer. Instead in Men at Work you will find uncommon insight from some of baseball's best presented by a clearly devoted and talented writer.
January 18, 2022
I meant to read MEN AT WORK 20 years ago, but got around to it only recently. It is excellent notwithstanding that it shows a tiny bit of age. Will is a conservative pundit of great influence today. But back when this book was written in the late 80s, he was widely regarded as the most influential journalist in America. Political journalism then was still a dignified craft. It caught me by surprise when Will published a major baseball book in 1990.
If you have read any of Will’s stuff, then you know he is a serious writer. MEN AT WORK is serious too. Will’s main theme is that baseball players are intelligent and thoughtful about their craft. According to Will, success in baseball is not just a matter of athletic talent, it requires committed and patient study to master the craft of baseball.
He organizes his book into sections corresponding to the principal activities of baseball: managing, pitching, fielding and hitting. He references as archetypes: manager Tony La Russa, pitcher Orel Hershiser, shortstop Cal Ripken and hitter extraordinaire Tony Gwynn. Apparently, Will interviewed each of the foregoing for hundreds of hours in order to write MEN AT WORK. Will also includes a good deal of baseball history, baseball statistics and wonderful anecdotes from other sources.
The lone weird thing about reading MEN AT WORK today is that, in 1990, Will did not think in terms of the statistical metrics, that are commonplace today. Aside from that minor distraction, this excellent and thoughtful book is a joy.
If you have read any of Will’s stuff, then you know he is a serious writer. MEN AT WORK is serious too. Will’s main theme is that baseball players are intelligent and thoughtful about their craft. According to Will, success in baseball is not just a matter of athletic talent, it requires committed and patient study to master the craft of baseball.
He organizes his book into sections corresponding to the principal activities of baseball: managing, pitching, fielding and hitting. He references as archetypes: manager Tony La Russa, pitcher Orel Hershiser, shortstop Cal Ripken and hitter extraordinaire Tony Gwynn. Apparently, Will interviewed each of the foregoing for hundreds of hours in order to write MEN AT WORK. Will also includes a good deal of baseball history, baseball statistics and wonderful anecdotes from other sources.
The lone weird thing about reading MEN AT WORK today is that, in 1990, Will did not think in terms of the statistical metrics, that are commonplace today. Aside from that minor distraction, this excellent and thoughtful book is a joy.
January 31, 2011
A wonderful book full of vignettes. Stories of respect and love. In baseball there are no idle moments.
"There is a myth of the "natural athlete" whose effortless excellence is a kind of spontaneous blooming. That myth is false and pernicious. It dilutes the emulative value of superior performers. It does so by discounting the extent to which character counts in sport. The myth is especially damaging to blacks. Sport has become an especially important arena of excellence-and a realm of upward mobility-for blacks. However, their successes have sometimes been tainted by a residue of racism, the notion that blacks are somehow especially "suited" to physical endeavors...." (pg 226)
Only a few have the gifts necessary to become great athletes. However, no "gift" is sufficient for greatness. Greatness is never given. It must be wrested by athletes from the fleeting days of their physical primes. What nature gives, nuture must refine, hone and tune. We speak of such people as "driven." It would be better to say thay are pulled, because what moves them is in front of them. A great athlete has an image graven on his or her imagination, a picture of an approach to perfection." (pg 229)
"...All players who make it to the major leagues are superior athletes. The different degrees of superiority in terms of natural physical skills are less marked and less important than another difference. It is the difference in the intensity of the application to the craftsmanship of baseball. Some people work harder than others, a lot harder."
"There is a myth of the "natural athlete" whose effortless excellence is a kind of spontaneous blooming. That myth is false and pernicious. It dilutes the emulative value of superior performers. It does so by discounting the extent to which character counts in sport. The myth is especially damaging to blacks. Sport has become an especially important arena of excellence-and a realm of upward mobility-for blacks. However, their successes have sometimes been tainted by a residue of racism, the notion that blacks are somehow especially "suited" to physical endeavors...." (pg 226)
Only a few have the gifts necessary to become great athletes. However, no "gift" is sufficient for greatness. Greatness is never given. It must be wrested by athletes from the fleeting days of their physical primes. What nature gives, nuture must refine, hone and tune. We speak of such people as "driven." It would be better to say thay are pulled, because what moves them is in front of them. A great athlete has an image graven on his or her imagination, a picture of an approach to perfection." (pg 229)
"...All players who make it to the major leagues are superior athletes. The different degrees of superiority in terms of natural physical skills are less marked and less important than another difference. It is the difference in the intensity of the application to the craftsmanship of baseball. Some people work harder than others, a lot harder."
October 27, 2008
I borrowed it from a friend and slowed down immediately. I found it while cleaning one day and decided I needed to finish it. My goal was to finish it during playoffs and the World Series. I made it!
This book is 45% statistics, 45% technical, and 10% history of baseball. As a baseball fan who just enjoys the game for the game itself, I bogged down with all the stats and technical stuff. I enjoyed a small section of the book and now know why the NY Yankees uniforms have stripes and where the 7th inning stretch came from. A guy who plays baseball or is into the real technical part of the game will love this book.
This book is 45% statistics, 45% technical, and 10% history of baseball. As a baseball fan who just enjoys the game for the game itself, I bogged down with all the stats and technical stuff. I enjoyed a small section of the book and now know why the NY Yankees uniforms have stripes and where the 7th inning stretch came from. A guy who plays baseball or is into the real technical part of the game will love this book.
November 27, 2019
This was a treat for me, even thirty years after George Will wrote it. It is meant for the diehard baseball fan who is at least a fan since the 1980s. The profiles of the four people are very interesting and definitely lends insight into the game, or at least the game at the time. But it’s all the backstories and the detail that really make it.
In the beginning I was slowed down by George Will’s formal writing style but after it while it flowed and it was welcome.
In the beginning I was slowed down by George Will’s formal writing style but after it while it flowed and it was welcome.
October 17, 2021
A good book but it took me a while to get into it. The first chapter about the manager was rather dry. I enjoyed the sections about the players. The last section was full of take home points that I found most interesting.
September 27, 2019
Baseball is really cool. Learning history about baseball is cool. Checking the stats is really cool. Overall, this book sounds good to read.
April 14, 2021
an pleasant read, helped me relax before bed
April 5, 2012
Today is the regular season opener, so I grabbed this and Moneyball from the library. It's spring, the weather is cool and beautiful, and I'm in a mood to read some inside baseball. I wanted to like Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball.
The book was published in 1990, which is perfect; I was 13, just coming down from my peak years of collecting baseball cards. George Will is writing about the people I grew up watching: Hershiser, Ripken, Gwynn, La Russa. And Will shares my interest in baseball played before I was born, and my appreciation for the way little things add up to greatness over a season of 162 games. [Actually, I guess I share his interests -- he was here first.]
But I couldn't finish the book.
It reads like Will wrote this book with The Baseball Encyclopedia open in his lap, along with 1001 Great Anecdotes of Baseball's Wit and Wisdom (if there is such a book). He has included some good baseball history, and some very interesting details drawn from what must have been a remarkable level of access to the men I named above. But the book has no arc, and no rhythm; it proceeds by free association. You might like to read it, but there is no point to read it straight through. If anything, put it on the toilet tank.
Too bad... this should have been a much better book.
The book was published in 1990, which is perfect; I was 13, just coming down from my peak years of collecting baseball cards. George Will is writing about the people I grew up watching: Hershiser, Ripken, Gwynn, La Russa. And Will shares my interest in baseball played before I was born, and my appreciation for the way little things add up to greatness over a season of 162 games. [Actually, I guess I share his interests -- he was here first.]
But I couldn't finish the book.
It reads like Will wrote this book with The Baseball Encyclopedia open in his lap, along with 1001 Great Anecdotes of Baseball's Wit and Wisdom (if there is such a book). He has included some good baseball history, and some very interesting details drawn from what must have been a remarkable level of access to the men I named above. But the book has no arc, and no rhythm; it proceeds by free association. You might like to read it, but there is no point to read it straight through. If anything, put it on the toilet tank.
Too bad... this should have been a much better book.
September 12, 2007
George Will's book on baseball was quite obviously the blueprint for Michael Lewis' later effort, Moneyball.
The two books compare like so: If chess is a simple game of complicated moves and checkers is a complicated game of simple moves, Men at Work is a complicated book about a simple game while Moneyball is a simple book about a complicated game.
George Will, as a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist at the Washington Post, is arguably opinion's most authoritative voice; wherever a person falls along the political spectrum - and Will is well right of center - a reader gets the feeling that whatever disagreement he has with Will is one that's best left in the agree-to-disagree world.
That is, it would be hard to imagine reading a Will column and opining, If only George had thought more before he wrote this, he would have seen things my way.
Much of this same authority, and a certain amount of playfulness, comes through in Men at Work (and also an unseemly number of parenthetical anecdotes [as if Will wanted to justify his research budget]). But finally, Will's objective is an honorable one: to celebrate excellence.
He chooses a manager, a pitcher, a shortstop, and a .300 hitter, gives them each a chapter and seeks to show what persistent application of a certain attention to detail can do to separate one professional from another - even when both are supremely talented. At this, Will succeeds.
The book is not as enjoyable as Moneyball, but that may be best attributed to its status as a predecessor. Lewis could not have been nearly so quick and witty if Will hadn't done so much intellectual heavy lifting a decade before him.
Anyone who thinks that the way sports are played can offer a serious insight into the human condition will enjoy Men at Work quite a lot. Anyone who doesn't probably takes himself too seriously already.
The two books compare like so: If chess is a simple game of complicated moves and checkers is a complicated game of simple moves, Men at Work is a complicated book about a simple game while Moneyball is a simple book about a complicated game.
George Will, as a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist at the Washington Post, is arguably opinion's most authoritative voice; wherever a person falls along the political spectrum - and Will is well right of center - a reader gets the feeling that whatever disagreement he has with Will is one that's best left in the agree-to-disagree world.
That is, it would be hard to imagine reading a Will column and opining, If only George had thought more before he wrote this, he would have seen things my way.
Much of this same authority, and a certain amount of playfulness, comes through in Men at Work (and also an unseemly number of parenthetical anecdotes [as if Will wanted to justify his research budget]). But finally, Will's objective is an honorable one: to celebrate excellence.
He chooses a manager, a pitcher, a shortstop, and a .300 hitter, gives them each a chapter and seeks to show what persistent application of a certain attention to detail can do to separate one professional from another - even when both are supremely talented. At this, Will succeeds.
The book is not as enjoyable as Moneyball, but that may be best attributed to its status as a predecessor. Lewis could not have been nearly so quick and witty if Will hadn't done so much intellectual heavy lifting a decade before him.
Anyone who thinks that the way sports are played can offer a serious insight into the human condition will enjoy Men at Work quite a lot. Anyone who doesn't probably takes himself too seriously already.
March 7, 2014
This book is quite literally “inside baseball”. In in-depth interviews with Tony LaRussa, Orel Hershiser, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. the author, conservative columnist George F. Will, uncovers details of managing, pitching, hitting and fielding respectively. As can be deduced from the aforementioned list of names this book is now almost a quarter of a century old. It captures major league baseball on the cusp of the steroid era. The chapter on Tony LaRussa, written when he was manager of the Oakland Athletics, contains several references to the prodigious physical feats of outfielder Jose Canseco. Of course we now know that those feats were achieved through the use of steroids. Through the interviews that he conducted the author is able to share a lot of detailed information that the average fan would not normally have access to. But at times the level of the minutiae that the author shares seems almost excessive. A section on the different types of webbing used in infielder’s gloves was really more than I wanted to know.
Although the bulk of the book is comprised of information gleaned from players, managers and coaches my favourite parts of the book are when Will opines on various topics such as the Designated Hitter, (which he is in favour of) and aluminum bats in college baseball (which he is vehemently against).
Although the bulk of the book is comprised of information gleaned from players, managers and coaches my favourite parts of the book are when Will opines on various topics such as the Designated Hitter, (which he is in favour of) and aluminum bats in college baseball (which he is vehemently against).
August 23, 2010
(Actually paperback, not ebook, fwiw.) George Will says he set out to write the book about baseball that he had tried unsuccessfully to find, and he presents us with a remarkable collection of baseball statistics and anecdotes, filtered through the unique perspectives of an outstanding manager (Tony La Russa), hitter (Tony Gwynn), fielder (Cal Ripken, Jr.), and pitcher (Orel Hershiser). Only occasionally does his wonderful writing lapse into dry laundry lists of stats. The unifying theme is that those who are successful in baseball today do it by thinking hard: breaking down a swing or a pitcher's delivery into its smallest parts, knowing the tendencies of what a manager likes to call in a situation or what the risk/benefit stats are for a particular strategy, managing massive amounts of available information to fine-hone a team's skills and chances of winning. He extends that idea for a brief consideration of how that approach might be applied in all walks of life to achieve excellence, and how Americans might have some room for improvement in that area. A must-read for baseball fans, and enjoyable for those with casual interest in the sport.
October 18, 2021
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the crafts of baseball. It has fine personality sketches, but is about the game more than personalities. It shows the game and its four basic crafts through an immersive fly-on-the-wall look at the people who play. One reason I like baseball is that the players have to know what they will do in every type of situation because teammates need to rely on everyone doing what they should. There is simply not enough time to wing it once the pitcher delivers. I like "thinky" books. A lot of books tell us what happened. This book digs into why it happened: how pitchers think, how batters think, how fielders think, and how managers think. What gifts and disciplines do each of the four crafts need? What do all good players have in common?
Will says he wrote the kind of book he wanted to read. I just finished reading it again this year. Kudos, George. Kudos.
Will says he wrote the kind of book he wanted to read. I just finished reading it again this year. Kudos, George. Kudos.
April 26, 2012
George Will is generally considered to be somewhat of a stuffed shirt. He is a well respected columnist and journalist, good enough to possess a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. To many it is surprising that such a serious conservative voice in the noise we call politics is a devoted fan of America’s Pastime. There are two dimensions that are evident in George Will, lover of baseball … the kid who fell for the game and the passionate student of its mechanics, nuances, strategies, and numbers. Even as a political commentator, some of his most precise analyses are framed in terms of the game he so loves. Deliver Will’s words through the voice of Bob Costas, another student and lover of baseball, and you have a marriage made in heaven.
October 10, 2010
I really liked this book and can't believe I hadn't read this book years ago since it has sections on three of my some of my favorite players of all time in Cal Ripken, Tony Gywnn and Orel Hershiser. The section on Tony LaRussa is also very interesting. Really took me back to the 1988 and 89 seasons when both the Dodgers and A's were very good. I recommend this book to only the die-hard baseball fans, and not fans of the history of the game. This is a book on how the game is played. Good stuff.
November 25, 2010
A serene, magisterial work that, far from aging into irrelevance, has become a timeless classic. Will anticipates Moneyball with his understanding of statistics, but he blends this knowledge with masterful literary skill and a great appreciation for the work that the four men he profiled (as well as the countless others he interviewed) do. Men at Work is on a par with Roger Angell's best offerings--and is perhaps better still, given its narrative coherence.
September 27, 2011
Ninety percent of people who call themselves baseball fans would think that this book is too detailed, but I loved it.
October 22, 2019
My favorite book about the mechanics and art of playing baseball. (The coolest book with the NERDIEST cover. *snort* )
August 14, 2019
It’s probably unfair to review a book 30 years after it is written, but I had long been interested in reading Will’s examination of the craft of baseball. Alas, while baseball may be a timeless sport, Will’s book is very much a book of its time, and it is very dated in 2019.
The concept was clever. Examine the principal elements of baseball, managerial strategy, pitching, hitting and fielding, by a close study of some of baseball’s finest - Tony LaRussa, Tony Gwynn, Orel Hershiser, and Cal Ripken,Jr. Interviews with a number of other players are thrown in, and Will has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball history. It makes for an often interesting, but also dense, read.
The most interesting parts are the views of the players, Gwynn, Hershiser, and Ripken, about their games,and the impressive amount of preparation that goes into what they do. There is no question, however, that the game of baseball has changed greatly since the book was written. Will is a fan of small ball - bunting, the hit and run, base stealing, sacrificing - and his writing reflects that bias. He makes outlandish statements, such as that Maury Wills’ stealing of 104 bases in 1962 was a greater feat than the 61 home runs hit by Roger Maris, and that defense is more important than pitching in baseball. He applauds Gwynn’s decision to remain an opposite-field singles hitter, rather than trying to hit for more power, and the fact that the offensively challenged 1989 Orioles led the league in sacrifice bunts. The passage of time, and the introduction of advanced statistics, tells us that Gwynn, whose career WAR is surprisingly low for a man with such a high career batting average, probably was doing his team a disservice with his single-minded focus on batting average, and that all those sacrifices by the 1989 Orioles were probably part of the reason why the team was offensively challenged. Some tried to correct Will’s views, including Earl Weaver, who understood better than anyone that good pitching and three run homers were the keys to success, but Will was never able to look at matters objectively, discounting any evidence that countered his firmly established beliefs. In that way, the book resembles his political writing. It also resembled the work of Malcolm Gladwell, in that anecdotes were presented as scientific truths.
The risk of presenting certain individuals as ideals is illustrated by Will’s choices. While LaRussa was certainly a successful manager, and the late 1980s Oakland teams that Will praises may have been partially the product of LaRussa’s brilliant strategizing, they also succeeded because LaRussa turned a blind eye to steroid use by some of the team’s sluggers. Hershiser was a fine pitcher for a long time, but his brilliance, which made him baseball’s highest paid player in 1989, faded over time. Ripken, presented as the ideal shortstop, was moved to third base. Greg Swindell and Jim Gott faded quickly after their appearances in the book.
I love baseball as much as anyone, but Will’s worshipful tone about the sport became wearisome as I went along. Baseball fans love to claim that their favorite sport is the most difficult of all of the major sports, with hitting a thrown baseball commonly cited as the most difficult task in sports, one wonders whether that claim has any basis in fact. Threading a needle 40 yards downfield with a 300 pound lineman bearing down on you may be as difficult. Or winning a 5 set tennis match in a Wimbledon final against Federer or Nadal or Djokovic may qualify also. Or a number of other exceptional feats. Edwin Moses and the high hurdles, anyone?
Baseball is a great game, though maybe not today in the juiced baseball, cheap home run or strikeout era. I applaud Will’s effort, but this effort fell short for me. I’d rather read Roger Angell or Roger Kahn any day on the sport.
The concept was clever. Examine the principal elements of baseball, managerial strategy, pitching, hitting and fielding, by a close study of some of baseball’s finest - Tony LaRussa, Tony Gwynn, Orel Hershiser, and Cal Ripken,Jr. Interviews with a number of other players are thrown in, and Will has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball history. It makes for an often interesting, but also dense, read.
The most interesting parts are the views of the players, Gwynn, Hershiser, and Ripken, about their games,and the impressive amount of preparation that goes into what they do. There is no question, however, that the game of baseball has changed greatly since the book was written. Will is a fan of small ball - bunting, the hit and run, base stealing, sacrificing - and his writing reflects that bias. He makes outlandish statements, such as that Maury Wills’ stealing of 104 bases in 1962 was a greater feat than the 61 home runs hit by Roger Maris, and that defense is more important than pitching in baseball. He applauds Gwynn’s decision to remain an opposite-field singles hitter, rather than trying to hit for more power, and the fact that the offensively challenged 1989 Orioles led the league in sacrifice bunts. The passage of time, and the introduction of advanced statistics, tells us that Gwynn, whose career WAR is surprisingly low for a man with such a high career batting average, probably was doing his team a disservice with his single-minded focus on batting average, and that all those sacrifices by the 1989 Orioles were probably part of the reason why the team was offensively challenged. Some tried to correct Will’s views, including Earl Weaver, who understood better than anyone that good pitching and three run homers were the keys to success, but Will was never able to look at matters objectively, discounting any evidence that countered his firmly established beliefs. In that way, the book resembles his political writing. It also resembled the work of Malcolm Gladwell, in that anecdotes were presented as scientific truths.
The risk of presenting certain individuals as ideals is illustrated by Will’s choices. While LaRussa was certainly a successful manager, and the late 1980s Oakland teams that Will praises may have been partially the product of LaRussa’s brilliant strategizing, they also succeeded because LaRussa turned a blind eye to steroid use by some of the team’s sluggers. Hershiser was a fine pitcher for a long time, but his brilliance, which made him baseball’s highest paid player in 1989, faded over time. Ripken, presented as the ideal shortstop, was moved to third base. Greg Swindell and Jim Gott faded quickly after their appearances in the book.
I love baseball as much as anyone, but Will’s worshipful tone about the sport became wearisome as I went along. Baseball fans love to claim that their favorite sport is the most difficult of all of the major sports, with hitting a thrown baseball commonly cited as the most difficult task in sports, one wonders whether that claim has any basis in fact. Threading a needle 40 yards downfield with a 300 pound lineman bearing down on you may be as difficult. Or winning a 5 set tennis match in a Wimbledon final against Federer or Nadal or Djokovic may qualify also. Or a number of other exceptional feats. Edwin Moses and the high hurdles, anyone?
Baseball is a great game, though maybe not today in the juiced baseball, cheap home run or strikeout era. I applaud Will’s effort, but this effort fell short for me. I’d rather read Roger Angell or Roger Kahn any day on the sport.
April 4, 2024
To say that I avoided this book would be fair, because of the author's politics mostly but also because I was sure (whether through reviews I'd seen or just general disparagement) that this was a work of hagiography, elevating a man like Tony La Russa to an elevation that he didn't deserve. I still don't agree with George Will's politics, but I did enjoy this book and, well, it's not quite the "those were the days" tome that I anticipated.
"Men at Work" concerns the modern (circa 1990) state of major league baseball as it is managed and played. La Russa gets the first section, and some snickering could be had at Will's not picking up on the, ahem, enhanced nature of the Oakland A's line-up at the time, but La Russa gets the same amount of attention as some truly superlative exemplars of the game as it was played at the turn of the decade back then. Will also gets in the mind of Orel Hershiser, the pitcher so integral to the Dodgers' 1988 World Series win; Tony Gwynn, arguably the heir to Ted Williams as the best hitter in baseball and a great every-day player; and the Iron Man himself, Cal Ripken, Jr., who was then midway through his run at Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games-played streak and the definition of what a consistent player was. Will spends time with each man, reflecting on baseball's history as well as the current moment and why (at least circa 1990) the sport was enjoying such popularity among the general public.
That Will wrote all of this while the steroids era was just around the corner in terms of public scrutiny (though it was well underway and about to help baseball sell its soul for ratings and records) can't be ignored; then again, I have no doubt that Will's access to the sport may have been less than total when it comes to being around steroids in the open. Hence the valid criticism (in my opinion) that maybe La Russa comes off a little better than he should. But Will does shatter one of my perceptions of his book early on; far from being a tearful look to the past as the pinnacle of baseball's greatness, he argues convincingly that baseball at the contemporary level is at its best, due to knowledge that previous teams and players could not possess.
The profiles are the meat of the book, of course, but I also enjoy the guided tour through baseball's history that Will provides, all to prove that today's (well, 1990's) game is being played at a higher level than before (cue the steroids joke, maybe). While not a perfect book, "Men at Work" is solid in capturing what made baseball America's past time, and why, even now, it continues to hold a literary sway that other sports can merely aspire to (for my money, basketball is the next most literary sport). "Men at Work" will surprise and delight you even if you don't agree with the arguments being made. It is, in fact, a classic of the genre.
"Men at Work" concerns the modern (circa 1990) state of major league baseball as it is managed and played. La Russa gets the first section, and some snickering could be had at Will's not picking up on the, ahem, enhanced nature of the Oakland A's line-up at the time, but La Russa gets the same amount of attention as some truly superlative exemplars of the game as it was played at the turn of the decade back then. Will also gets in the mind of Orel Hershiser, the pitcher so integral to the Dodgers' 1988 World Series win; Tony Gwynn, arguably the heir to Ted Williams as the best hitter in baseball and a great every-day player; and the Iron Man himself, Cal Ripken, Jr., who was then midway through his run at Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games-played streak and the definition of what a consistent player was. Will spends time with each man, reflecting on baseball's history as well as the current moment and why (at least circa 1990) the sport was enjoying such popularity among the general public.
That Will wrote all of this while the steroids era was just around the corner in terms of public scrutiny (though it was well underway and about to help baseball sell its soul for ratings and records) can't be ignored; then again, I have no doubt that Will's access to the sport may have been less than total when it comes to being around steroids in the open. Hence the valid criticism (in my opinion) that maybe La Russa comes off a little better than he should. But Will does shatter one of my perceptions of his book early on; far from being a tearful look to the past as the pinnacle of baseball's greatness, he argues convincingly that baseball at the contemporary level is at its best, due to knowledge that previous teams and players could not possess.
The profiles are the meat of the book, of course, but I also enjoy the guided tour through baseball's history that Will provides, all to prove that today's (well, 1990's) game is being played at a higher level than before (cue the steroids joke, maybe). While not a perfect book, "Men at Work" is solid in capturing what made baseball America's past time, and why, even now, it continues to hold a literary sway that other sports can merely aspire to (for my money, basketball is the next most literary sport). "Men at Work" will surprise and delight you even if you don't agree with the arguments being made. It is, in fact, a classic of the genre.
March 20, 2020
The author is a well-known columnist who is also an opinionated intellectual. Here he presents a fan's thorough, researched, intelligent, detailed, fond look at his favorite sport: baseball.
Will divides the book into four main chapters, bookended by an Introduction and a Conclusion:
1. The Manager
2. The Pitcher
3. The Batter
4. The Defense
Each chapter consists of a series of in-depth interviews with a role model for the respective subject, interspersed with historical facts, statistics, quotable quotes, and personal musings about the topic. All of the interviews are with baseball stars of the 1980s -- no surprise since the book was published in 1990. But it does date the text a bit.
Will being Will, he concludes with an impassioned argument on the importance of baseball, the game's improvement over the years, and his admiration for the hard work the players put into mastering it. While certainly deserving of admiration, I could not help thinking of other fields in which success is based on the amount of work practitioners put into it... go players, musicians, programmers -- the rock stars in every field who make it look easy get to that position by putting in hours and hours of study and practice. Because baseball is called a game which it's practitioners "play", all the work which goes on behind the scenes may seem surprising. This is Will's point. But it's a fact of life across the board, Will. The same could probably be said for writers, eh?
Will divides the book into four main chapters, bookended by an Introduction and a Conclusion:
1. The Manager
2. The Pitcher
3. The Batter
4. The Defense
Each chapter consists of a series of in-depth interviews with a role model for the respective subject, interspersed with historical facts, statistics, quotable quotes, and personal musings about the topic. All of the interviews are with baseball stars of the 1980s -- no surprise since the book was published in 1990. But it does date the text a bit.
Will being Will, he concludes with an impassioned argument on the importance of baseball, the game's improvement over the years, and his admiration for the hard work the players put into mastering it. While certainly deserving of admiration, I could not help thinking of other fields in which success is based on the amount of work practitioners put into it... go players, musicians, programmers -- the rock stars in every field who make it look easy get to that position by putting in hours and hours of study and practice. Because baseball is called a game which it's practitioners "play", all the work which goes on behind the scenes may seem surprising. This is Will's point. But it's a fact of life across the board, Will. The same could probably be said for writers, eh?
December 15, 2018
FINALLY. I don’t remember when I got it or when I started it, but I finished it. This is a throwback now to a time when I was wedged in between my baseball card collecting days and the end of my playing days. AstroTurf still existed as did the Coliseum style parks before the retro era parks hit full force and the steroid era came and “went”. Sabrmetrics were in its infancy as statistics were still being rendered for hitting in terms of runs, HRs and BA and pitchers were still being measured via ERA. But Will takes a prescribed look at four aspects of the game: managing, pitching, batting and defense. And he does so through the lens of Tony LaRussa, Orel Hershiser, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken. That’s some serious street cred. With all things being the same in terms of talent, who works the hardest? Who is able to analyze the metrics of the game? It is said that baseball is a game of inches and this book provides a fascinating example of why these four men are extraordinarily successful at their respective positions in the game. However it’s still fun to hear the old Bull Durham adage:
“This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball. You got it?”
“This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball. You got it?”
May 27, 2019
This was the first book about baseball I ever owned. A pretty big book for an 11 year old girl who had just discovered the game in 1989. It was time to reread it, and while enjoyable, it hasn't aged well - like many sports books in general.
The premise is great, an in depth look at 4 aspects of baseball told through the eyes of 4 key players. Managing (Tony La Russa), hitting (Tony Gwyn), pitching (Orel Hershiser), and Defense (Cal Ripken Jr). And while the information about how they prepare, and many of the details of in game situations are still relevant, so much has changed. The new advanced metrics that have taken over in recent years, the resurgence of nice ballparks, the money, steroids.
When I read sentences such as "no one has even come close to breaking Roger Maris's record" or "Cal Ripken will potentially break Lou Gehrig's record in 1995, I'm reminded that time does indeed march on.
I'd love to read an updated chapter or two to see how uber fan George Will feels now. I'm glad I read it again - now that I understand a bit more.
The premise is great, an in depth look at 4 aspects of baseball told through the eyes of 4 key players. Managing (Tony La Russa), hitting (Tony Gwyn), pitching (Orel Hershiser), and Defense (Cal Ripken Jr). And while the information about how they prepare, and many of the details of in game situations are still relevant, so much has changed. The new advanced metrics that have taken over in recent years, the resurgence of nice ballparks, the money, steroids.
When I read sentences such as "no one has even come close to breaking Roger Maris's record" or "Cal Ripken will potentially break Lou Gehrig's record in 1995, I'm reminded that time does indeed march on.
I'd love to read an updated chapter or two to see how uber fan George Will feels now. I'm glad I read it again - now that I understand a bit more.
February 7, 2022
I sought out this book, 30+ years after it was written, for two reasons: First, because I thought it would be timeless, sort of like the game itself; and second, because I'm a fan of George Will, and it seemed that he would bring a unique, enlightening and entertaining perspective to the game.
Regarding the first, the book is not timeless. It was written in the context of its era (late '80s), and it focuses on the players of that era - exactly while juicing was ruining the legacy of that era, but before that juicing was widely known, or even known at all by the author. Regarding the second, that perspective does come out, but not really until the section of the book entitled, "Conclusion". So you can plow through this pretty lengthy book because it's mildly entertaining, because it brings to light some of the major figures of the era (LaRussa, Gwynn, Ripken), and because, well, it's George Will! Or you can skip to the Conclusion, and reap the Willian philosophizing that is really the reason most of us would choose this book in the first place.
Regarding the first, the book is not timeless. It was written in the context of its era (late '80s), and it focuses on the players of that era - exactly while juicing was ruining the legacy of that era, but before that juicing was widely known, or even known at all by the author. Regarding the second, that perspective does come out, but not really until the section of the book entitled, "Conclusion". So you can plow through this pretty lengthy book because it's mildly entertaining, because it brings to light some of the major figures of the era (LaRussa, Gwynn, Ripken), and because, well, it's George Will! Or you can skip to the Conclusion, and reap the Willian philosophizing that is really the reason most of us would choose this book in the first place.
July 16, 2024
While Will claims that this book is a non romantic look at baseball, instead viewing the sport as “work,” I still felt the romance of America’s pastime through and through. The best job is a job you love, right ? I loved each dive into the craft of baseball for different reasons. La Russa as the manager for his encyclopedic knowledge and glance into the behind-the-scenes of a manager and his henchmen. Hershiser as the pitcher for his incredible attention to detail and role as the rhythmic operator of the game itself. Gwynn as the hitter for his child-like yet masterful approach to the hardest task in sports. And Ripken for his role in baseball history as the “first” of his kind, a large shortstop, which we now know gave way to a whole generation of outstanding athletes just like him. Every quote Will gathered from the subjects are full of hysterical jargon only known within baseball circles. Every callback to history was playful and eerily reminiscent of today’s game. It truly was a timeless time-capsule of my favorite game, I loved every page!
January 25, 2025
“It is one of the oldest sayings in baseball. It is what innumerable coaches and managers have said (or are said to have said) to innumerable pitchers having problems: ‘Babe Ruth is dead—throw strikes.’ It is said that Art Fowler, Billy Martin’s Sancho Panza and pitching coach at various stops in Martin’s career, was once approached before a game by a young pitcher who said: ‘In the late innings I seem to lose my control. I’m doing something wrong—opening my shoulder or otherwise developing a flaw in my mechanics. Watch me closely tonight and see if you can spot the problem.’ Around the seventh inning, the young pitcher did indeed lose his control and walked three people. Fowler came to the mound and the young pitcher asked anxiously, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ Fowler, drawing upon years of experience, said, ‘You’re walking people and Billy’s pissed.’” - Page 140, Men at Work by George F. Will
August 21, 2025
One of the best baseball books, focusing on four elite players covering time spent with them and their approach to the sport. It is easy to forget how truly elite professional athletes are. I am reminded of a question posed to me at work many years ago. On our staff was an individual who played pro football for a team I followed closely, mainly as a backup, for nine years. One of my co-workers asked, Dick, you followed so and so, was he any good? I answered, well, he was a high school All American and could have gone to any college in the country on a full scholarship. In college, he was a First Team All American and any team in the NFL would love to have him. He was drafted late in the first round and retired after nine years, not because he could no longer play, but to start a new career. So yes, he was pretty good. I think that we forget how truly exceptional elite performers are and the author really brings this out. Top shelf book.
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