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July - All-Star break "assignment"
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Lance
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Jul 02, 2017 04:07AM
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Sounds good boss. I'm already getting to work: Hal Chase, the Jaffe HOF book and maybe a book about baseball players during WW I.
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Turning in my homework Lance.
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.co...
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.co...
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Doug wrote: "Turning in my homework Lance.Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.co......" Now I needn't read the book. That blog gave me all I need and frankly want to know about that bum.
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I am reading Showdown at Rickwood, by Art Black...great book about Rickwood Stadium in Birmingham. Great book! Also reading David Ortiz's book, Papi. It is a good one too.
Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Turning in my homework Lance.
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwilsonbaseball.bl..."
Sorry Harold. It wasn't my intention to cost the guy a sale.
I did enjoy the book and learned a lot about an era of baseball that I am a bit deficient in.
The book very much reinforced my opposition to Garry Herrmann's candidacy for the HoF on last year's old-timer ballot (even though I'm a Cincinnati guy). As you know Herrmann was in charge of the National League for the first two decades and ran the National Commission, the 3-member poobahs before Landis took over. I have always felt that Herrmann presided over a game that was lousy with gambling and corruption and did absolutely nothing except put on a smiley face for the public and this book goes into great detail on that. I say, "Off with his head and never bring him back before an HoF committee again."
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwilsonbaseball.bl..."
Sorry Harold. It wasn't my intention to cost the guy a sale.
I did enjoy the book and learned a lot about an era of baseball that I am a bit deficient in.
The book very much reinforced my opposition to Garry Herrmann's candidacy for the HoF on last year's old-timer ballot (even though I'm a Cincinnati guy). As you know Herrmann was in charge of the National League for the first two decades and ran the National Commission, the 3-member poobahs before Landis took over. I have always felt that Herrmann presided over a game that was lousy with gambling and corruption and did absolutely nothing except put on a smiley face for the public and this book goes into great detail on that. I say, "Off with his head and never bring him back before an HoF committee again."
Doug wrote: "Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Turning in my homework Lance.Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwi..." You might like Mike Sowell's book 1903 which is about the rivalry between baseball, the federal League, the movement of players between leagues, the pennant race, and the circumstances around Ed Delahanty's demise. I first met Hal Chase in this book.
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Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
http://dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.co......"
Wow...I read that book last year and your review is just as information-packed as the book. Agree with your overall assessment in the last paragraph and like you, I learned a lot about a player and era in which I knew very little.
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Couldn't help but think of Kevin Bacon's "six degrees of separation" when I started this...
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Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
..."
Do you mean July 2, 1903: The Mysterious Death of Hall-Of-Famer Big Ed Delahanty? That is one that has interested me for awhile?
Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Turning in my homework Lance.
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
..."
I hope you checked for your wallet and watch after you met Hal--they just might have gone missing.
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in the early days.
..."
I hope you checked for your wallet and watch after you met Hal--they just might have gone missing.
Lance wrote: "Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Turning in my homework Lance.
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in th..."
I agree, I know very little about Big Ed's death, except what I have heard is that it was indeed mysterious and possibly a very interesting tale. May have to check that out.
Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in th..."
I agree, I know very little about Big Ed's death, except what I have heard is that it was indeed mysterious and possibly a very interesting tale. May have to check that out.
One more thing I had to laugh about Prince Hal: early in the book it mentioned that one of his signature plays was sliding head first.
It made me pause: We have an arrogant, womanizing player who is popular with fans and the media, who always has great quotes, who slides headfirst and eventually gets run out of baseball for gambling (about which he first denies his butt off in the face of irrefutable evidence). Hmmmmmmmm . . . have we seen this story before. . . . . . . naaaaahhh
It made me pause: We have an arrogant, womanizing player who is popular with fans and the media, who always has great quotes, who slides headfirst and eventually gets run out of baseball for gambling (about which he first denies his butt off in the face of irrefutable evidence). Hmmmmmmmm . . . have we seen this story before. . . . . . . naaaaahhh
Lance wrote: "Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Harold wrote: "Doug wrote: "Turning in my homework Lance.Here is a review of a pretty solid book on Hal Chase. Great for learning about the seamy side of baseball in th..." YES -thank you. I have it here in my powder room
Doug wrote: "One more thing I had to laugh about Prince Hal: early in the book it mentioned that one of his signature plays was sliding head first. It made me pause: We have an arrogant, womanizing player who..." BUT ROSE never drank
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http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
For my assignment, I just finished Jay Jaffe's Cooperstown Casebook. I am working on a review and currently editing an author Q&A, but here's some of my thoughts. "The Cooperstown Casebook serves as a fantastic reference tome, and yet for guys like me who were more Zander Hollander than Bill James growing up, you’ll find the individual career recaps reminiscent of The Complete Handbook of Baseball, if not the late 90’s-early aughts STATS Inc Scouting Handbook annuals. The late, legendary Hollander would title this “The Complete Handbook of the Hall of Fame,” alongside a touch of Bill James’s eloquence.
For me, I found great pleasure in reading the Casebook in front of a baseball-reference.com window on my laptop. One article after another will drop you right through the B-R looking glass. Jaffe opens his Second Basemen section (oh yeah, there’s a chapter dedicated to each position) with an examination of Bobby Grich’s case, which led me to consider the Baltimore Orioles’ great infield in the late ‘60s, early 70s, of Boog Powell, Dave Johnson (then Grich), shortstop Mark Belanger and of course, Hall of Fame third basemen Brooks Robinson. This had me re-considering the stats of their famed starting pitching staff, and glancing at FIP numbers for the entire rotation. The Casebook will have you pondering the level that defense can impact a pitcher’s stats, whereby a legendary infield can turn a fine pitcher (Dave McNally) into a very good one; a very good southpaw (Mike Cuellar) into a great starter, and a great pitcher (Jim Palmer) into a Hall of Fame hurler. From here, I drew up a tale-of-the-tape comparison between Palmer and Mike Mussina, another player chronicled at length in the Casebook.
Do I have any quibbles? There’s a few. I’m not so sure I would say Rusty Staub is a “definite” non Hall of Famer. That’s a little harsh. 2715 hits and a 124 OPS+ is not a definite non Hall of Famer. Marv Thornberry is a definite non-Hall of Famer. Eddie Geddel, definite non-Hall of Famer. I also question his assertion that Alex Rodriguez will never be inducted into the Hal. Again, these are mere quibbles in a book full of educational, thought-provoking statements and arguments. Simply speaking, it is the definitive bookshelf analysis for the Hall of Fame selection process. Jaffe delivers the most objective, sober look at Baseball’s loudest conversation."
Dave wrote: "For my assignment, I just finished Jay Jaffe's Cooperstown Casebook. I am working on a review and currently editing an author Q&A, but here's some of my thoughts. "The Cooperstown Casebook serves..."
Thanks Dave for the review. I am looking forward to buying it on July 25th on Amazon. Did you get a free advance copy?
Thanks, Harold. Yes I did. I used to write author reviews a couple years ago.
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Lance wrote: "Great review, Dave. This would certainly be a good choice for a group read leading into the HOF election results." Yes that discussion could last for months
Lance wrote: "Got my homework done as well. Electric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever was a terrific book on the 1947 World Series, highlight..."
Great review Lance. Looks like a good book to check out.
Great review Lance. Looks like a good book to check out.
Dave wrote: "For my assignment, I just finished Jay Jaffe's Cooperstown Casebook. I am working on a review and currently editing an author Q&A, but here's some of my thoughts.
"The Cooperstown Casebook serves..."
Good points Dave. I have gotten my hands on an advance copy and I'm about 2/3 of the way through. He gives a good historical summary of Hall voting before launching in to his rating system. I agree with some of his thoughts and disagree with a few, and strongly disagree with one or two--and this is the good thing about the book; it is a starting point for debates.
I agree that this would be a good group read. The arguments (and fun of arguing) are endless.
"The Cooperstown Casebook serves..."
Good points Dave. I have gotten my hands on an advance copy and I'm about 2/3 of the way through. He gives a good historical summary of Hall voting before launching in to his rating system. I agree with some of his thoughts and disagree with a few, and strongly disagree with one or two--and this is the good thing about the book; it is a starting point for debates.
I agree that this would be a good group read. The arguments (and fun of arguing) are endless.
I hadn't checked for the monthly read but this is perfect. I'd requested Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey at the library and picked it up this weekend. I am still reading the Leo Durocher book.
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Lance wrote: "Good choice Barbara. I loved that book - and I did get to see her pitch for the St. Paul Saints when I still lived in Minnesota."Great! I know nothing about her so this will be good.
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I dont know Lance ,my Phillies are coming up real short these days.
I'm going to read, The Bird, The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych.I was stationed in W. Germany at Ray Barracks (where Elvis was stationed) in 76', and didn't see to many ball games on the dayroom TV. The only baseball news for me came from Sporting News, always a few weeks late, and the Stars an Stripes newspaper. Looking forward to this read.
The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych
Doug Wilson
My hat is off to you Doubledf99.99 for making a great choice.
Finished with The Bird, and man what a goooood story, actually was misty eyed thur most of the read, and you just can't help from the loving the guy. Especially his work with charities and visits to the kids in the hospitals. Then I Watched on youtube the game in the ninth inning on the Monday Night Game with the Yankees, pretty powerful stuff.
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Ditto-I too was emotional about The Bird and the tremendous fan base he created in so short a time.
I tuned in during the 6th inning and saw the score 1-0. I decided to watch PBS instead. My bad.
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http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
Lance wrote: "Decided to turn in an "extra credit" assignment as I REALLY enjoyed listening to The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life. Ankiel's story is well know ..."Why did he think arm surgery would cure his yips?
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Lance wrote: "It wasn't to cure the yips...he was still in the minors fighting that affliction when his arm was "tired" - diagnosis was a UCL tear needing TJS"ok=thanks
For my choice of book for July, I decided to read Home Team: The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants by Robert F Garratt.As a Giants fan, I couldn't go wrong with this one. It's very interesting and informative. I think Dodgers' fans might also enjoy it, as it covers quite a bit about the Dodgers-Giants rivalry and O'Malley's role in moving to the West Coast. It's provides great insight into the business side of baseball. Loved the parts on the "close calls" of moves to Toronto and Tampa Bay, and the backstory of the building of Candlestick was fascinating. Well-written. Highly recommended.
My full review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thank you for the review Joy. But just 4 stars? Is that because he didn't cover the World Series?
Yes, also because I think it appeals to a "niche" rather than wide-range of readers. I'm also somewhat stingy with 5 star ratings. :-)
Joy D wrote: "Yes, also because I think it appeals to a "niche" rather than wide-range of readers. I'm also somewhat stingy with 5 star ratings. :-)" Okie dokes
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The Baseball Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Home Team: The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants (other topics)The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life (other topics)
The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life (other topics)
The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych (other topics)
Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Robert F Garratt (other topics)Doug Wilson (other topics)
