|
Primers on the nation's pastime
Baseball: It's not just a game; it's an education. As we embark on a new season of baseball, it's a good time to consider how all-encompassing the sport has become. History, sociology, geography, math, science, and literature are all linked to the game, and this season's assortment of baseball books touches all these bases. |
REVIEWS BY RON KAPLAN
The authors do a marvelous job of putting the evidence together, reminiscent of the works of Bill James, the analytic guru who revolutionized baseball statistics. How do the 1999 Yankees compare with other all-time great clubs like the St. Louis Cardinals of the 1940s, or the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s? You want quantitative proof? Dynasties supplies the numbers. Historical context? Got that, too. Amusing anecdotal information? It's here. Neyer and Epstein liven up their reports with accompanying essays and offer their opinions on the worst teams of all time, as well as the best of the Negro League clubs. They sum up with their definitive answer, which is . . . come on now, did you really think I was going to tell you?
The Greatest Teams of All Time By Rob Neyer and Eddie Epstein W.W. Norton, paperback $17.95 ISBN 0393320081
Hardback $29.95
Other landmarks include Bobby Thomson's "shot heard round the world," Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color line, the first night game, and Cal Ripken's ascension as baseball's new "Iron Man," as well as more poignant moments such as Lou Gehrig's farewell. Generously illustrated, Moments is written with the proper respect due such milestones without being overly saccharine.
100 Classic Moments in the History of the Game By Joseph Wallace, Neil Hamilton, and Marty Appel Dorling Kindersley, $30 ISBN 0789451212
One of the more interesting chapters deals with the immeasurable contribution of Henry Chadwick, a 19th century newspaperman, without whose keen mind and foresight we might not have the myriad statistics that are, as he put it, the "mortar of which baseball is held together."
Baseball as History By Jules Tygiel Oxford University Press, $25 ISBN 0195089588
Now get your calculators and slide rules handy. Baseball isn't brain surgery, it's physics, according to Keep Your Eye on the Ball: Curveballs, Knuckleballs, and Fallacies of Baseball, Revised and Updated by Robert G. Watts and A. Terry Bahill. These two engineering professors painstakingly discuss the effects of air and rotation as the ball leaves the pitcher's hand and what happens when it meets the bat. They also tell you why it's virtually impossible for a hitter to, in fact, keep his eye on the ball. It would be interesting to hear what the legendary Ted Williams, one of the most ardent ballplayer/students of the game, would have to say about this one.
Curveballs, Knuckleballs, and Fallacies of Baseball, Revised and Updated By Robert G. Watts and A. Terry Bahill W.H. Freeman and Company, $14.95 ISBN 0716737175
Recollections of America's Favorite Pastime By Garret Mathews Contemporary Books, $16.95 ISBN 0809225611
In the literature department we have The Quotable Baseball Fanatic, edited by Louis D. Rubin Jr. It's not Bartlett's Quotations, but many of the aphorisms will be familiar to fans. Athletes and writers share their wisdom about such meaningful topics as the good old days, umpiring, the business of baseball, and retirement, proving that ballplayers say the darnedest things.
Edited by Louis D. Rubin Jr. Lyons Press, $20 ISBN 1585740128
Batter Up! The Ultimate Baseball Scorekeeper by Benjamin Eli Smith is truly an educational tool, a workbook designed to teach neophytes of any age how to enjoy the game through the joys of scorekeeping. Kids in particular will enjoy this book which also serves as a journal to keep track of all the fun. There are features about post-season play, pages for collecting autographs, and suggestions for further reading and on-line sources. So visit your local bookstore and start boning up. This will be on the quiz.
The Ultimate Baseball Scorekeeper By Benjamin Eli Smith Chronicle Books, $14.95 ISBN 0811826112
Other good new books for those interested in the study of baseball include: Management:
Baseball's Top Managers and How They Got That Way By Leonard Koppett Temple University Press, $29.50 ISBN 1566397456
Classics:
Such Time-Beguiling Sport By William Shakespeare and David Goodnough Barricade Books, $10 ISBN 1569801398
Economics:
Baseball Free Agency and Salary Arbitration By Roger I. Abrams Temple University Press, $27.95 ISBN 156639774X
Literature:
(Writing Baseball) By Eliot Asinof Southern Illinois University Press, $22.50 ISBN 0809322978
Phys Ed:
By Gene Coleman Human Kinetics, $19.95 ISBN 0736003223
History:
By David Nemec New American Library, $6.99 ISBN 0785339604
Ron Kaplan writes from Montclair, New Jersey.
|
As the new millennium approached, we saw a seemingly exponential increase in arguments over "who's baseball's best fill-in-the-blank." Rob Neyer, a columnist for ESPN.com, and Eddie Epstein, a former member of two major league organizations, seek to answer some of those questions in Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time.
Support your 
Another gem in the quest to pick the best is Baseball: 100 Classic Moments in the History of the Game by Joseph Wallace, Neil Hamilton, and Marty Appel. Narrowing down the top 100 out of over 150,000 major league games played is a Herculean task, and the authors acquit themselves well. Rather than ranking the events, Moments moves through the years like newsreels played in old movie theaters. See Babe Ruth slam his 60th home run, a record they said would never be broken. See Roger Maris hit 61 homers, a mark they said would surely never be surpassed. See Mark McGwire vaporize the old standard. Now what are they saying?
Jules Tygiel, a professor at San Francisco State University, takes a more scholarly approach in Past Time: Baseball as History. The author of the acclaimed Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy takes the unusual perspective of examining how America puts its stamp on the game, rather than vice versa. What effect did the growth of radio and later television have on baseball? How did the post-World War II exodus to the suburbs, combined with innovations in travel, change the geographic nature and economics of the national pastime?
For creative writing we have Garret Mathews' Baseball Days: Recollections of America's Favorite Pastime, which reminds us that the game is instilled in us as children. Bill Bradley, Patrick Buchanan, Robert Goulet, Eli Wallach, Monty Hall, Kreskin the Mentalist, Charles Schultz, Edwin Newman, Mickey Spillane, W.P. Kinsella, and Dave Barry are among the dozens of celebrities who share their special memories of growing up with baseball. Not all of the anecdotes are heroic; in fact, many of them reveal a decided lack of talent, making Days more realistic. One of the more amusing tales is told by former major leaguer Rick Dempsey who recalled that his little league coach, unbeknownst to the players and their parents, just happened to be an accomplished bank robber.