When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of the game more
When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of the game of baseball . . . I
watched games on TV and went to them, and I also read everything
about the subject that I could.
For some reason, I lost interest in it sometime around my teenage
years . . . maybe it was when my mother threw out my collection
of baseball cards (including one signed by Sandy Koufax!) or perhaps
it's when I discovered that girls were frankly more interesting, but
I also forgot many of my childhood memories . . . that is, until I came
across BASEBALL: A HISTORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE GAME
by NEW YORK TIMES sports columnist George Vecsey.
What a joy it was to hear this book over the past several days as
I drove to and from work . . . it reminded me of the days when
I followed both the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers, but
it also gave me a mini-history lesson about the Black Sox 1919
scandal (and why it happened), along with an appreciation of
what it was like to have to play in the Negro Leagues.
I also liked hearing about how baseball became popular in the
United States . . . and learning that Abner Doubleday really had
little to do with the game's development.
It was fun hearing about Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, but
equally interesting to learn about the role of such executives
as Branch Rickey and my personal favorite, Bill Veeck.
And I got a kick learning why Ricky Henderson had so many
doubles in his career . . . it seems he could have stretched many
of them into triples, but held off on doing so in order to then
be able to steal third (and add to his all-time steals record).
I don't know if BASEBALL will get me to return to the ballpark
anytime in the near future . . . yet I'd still recommend
the book to any fan--past, present or future.
My only criticism is that the book is a bit choppy . . . it goes back
and forth in history, whereas my preference would have been for
a straight chronological approach.
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