We are now ankle deep in baseball. So here’s a look at five good reads to get baseball start. Just my opinion, and only books I have read thus far, but all are nice companions for the summer game.
Wherever I Wind Up by RA Dickey and Wayne Coffey. One of the ways I can judge a book is how fast I learn something I didn’t know before, even about someone in front of the public eye so much. The story of knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey’s life is full of such little tidbits, from his love of Larry Bird to his off field interests to his play at the University of Tennessee with a host of current MLB’ers, including Todd Helton. There are lots of pages about the abuse he suffered as a child which makes the book more reveling than many baseball fans may need to know, but throughout you get the feeling that R.A. is a guy we should all root for. A very easy read.
Driving Mr Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball’s Greatest Gift by Harvey Araton. Another book that tells a tale largely untold, by one of America’s best writers, brings baseball fans, not just Yankees fans, along for the ride as Guidry, who had played for the Yankees during Berra’s time as a coach and last run as manager, picks up the legend every year at Tampa airport. The rides and the stories flow from there as easily as the other rites of spring training. As he does in all his works, Araton extracts so many facts and anecdotes from the pair that even the most knowledgeable of baseball fans learns more than ever before.
Imperfect by Jim Abbott and Tim Brown. If Jim Abbott were still pitching today his exploits on the field and how he overcame the adversity of having only one hand would make him an internet and social media phenomenon, on par with Jeremy Lin or even Tim Tebow. However the soft spoken Abbott probably prefers it the quiet way, and tells his story of overcoming his physical challenges and making it to the Majors with the Yankees, throwing a no hitter along the way, in an inspirational tale that is a nice fit for young people short on role models and looking for heroes.
Summer of ’68: the Season That Changed Baseball, and America, Forever by Tim Wendell. From Bob Gibson’s almost unhittable season to the social unrest off the field, baseball became a metaphor for change in 1968, and Wendell does a great job of interweaving all the goings on in the clubhouses through a year of political and social unrest. Much deeper than maybe some casual fans want to know, but a great mix of sport and society.
Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick by Paul Dickson. It is another anniversary for the legendary “Veeck As In Wreck,” perhaps the best book by an owner about owners, penned by the late White Sox, Browns and Indians owner himself. The story is updated and retold for a new audience by Dickson, who can now include the later in life tales of Veeck with his shorts wearing and scoreboard exploding Chicago White Sox, Veeck’s views on politics, and a look at what may be missing from the MLB game today.
