5 comments about Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy.

1. I have a better understanding of integregation and how it affected every American no matter what his race or beliefs. Baseball was a pioneering vechicle for social questioning and challenged many men other than Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson into greatness. They were courageous men who had to fight convention and who lead other Americans to follow their example. I realize the impact integration had on everyone involved Black or White: the team owners, the players, broadcasters, vendors, and families. Many individuals sacrificed to improve their freedom and the freedom given to other humans. Mr. Rickey and Mr. Robinson are not portrayed as mythological figures but rather as real men I can respect more because they are like all of us. I am convinced that Mr. Robinson endured because he had strong character and determination and he believed in "the experiment." I feel I know him better now that I know more about his struggles and triumphs. I kept reading because everything was explained simply and with logic and with an absence of bias.



2. This scholarly yet readable look at baseball integration from 1947-1959 goes well beyond the inspiring story of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. Author Jules Tygiel also informs about such secondary figures as Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Hank Aaron, Pumpsie Green, etc. Tygiel shows that integration proceeded slowly and in the face of strong resistance - the Boston Red Sox didn't add a black player until 1959, three years after Jackie Robinson retired. We also see how baseball integration spurred civil rights, while hastening the end of the Negro Leagues. I'd have liked more coverage of baseball's declining attendance after 1949 (probably caused by television), and the suspected correlation between athletic dominance and underclass poverty. Still, BASEBALL'S GREAT EXPERIMENT is a well-researched look at an interesting period in sports history.



3. I purchased this book to learn more about Jackie Robinson and his relationship with Branch Rickey. Jules Tygiel gave me that (in an unbiased, thorough manner with great historical perspective) and then some! I gained an increased appreciation for the role of the Negro Leagues in the development of Major League baseball. I gained insight into the changing perceptions of baseball management, players and fans toward African-Americans and their contributions to the game. I was momentarily transported to that time, not as long ago as I would have thought, where non-white players were treated as second-class citizens. It was really an eye-opener. In addition, Mr. Tygiel's style was so honest and even-handed that I can't wait to read his book, "Past Time: Baseball As History," which I ordered today!



4. THis is a wonderful book that I can't praise enough. If you - like me - have been putting off reading about Jackie Robinson and the other black baseball pioneers of the late 1940's and 1950's, this is the book for you. It's a shocking description of just what life was like for blacks at that time. It's a real eye-opener that needs to be read by all baseball fans and all students of American history.



5. This is the book from which John McCain and his ghost writer "borrowed" most of the content, both of facts and of rhetoric, for the first chapter of McCain's "Hard Call". The ghost does acknowledge Tygiel, but merely in passing.
   
   And this is surely the deepest historical biography of any sports figure ever written. Jules Tygiel is a professor of history at San Francisco State University, and the author of a fine dispassionate biography of Ronald Reagan, as well as the book "Baseball As History", which quite brilliantly examines the culture of America in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries through the lens of baseball.
   
   You can read "Baseball's Great Experiment" simply for pleasure, as a baseball lover, or you can read it for historical insight, which it offers aplenty. It's a great irony that baseball and the army were integrated meaningfully long before corporate business, the mainline Christian churches, the federal bureaucracy, or academia!
   
   Tygiel writes firm straight-forward prose, with a minimum of sermonizing (McCain's big fault as a writer) or academic pomposity. His portrayals of Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson are well-rounded and believable, with both their strengths and their weaknesses. Even if you have a total indifference to baseball, you'll find the human drama fascinating.
   
   As for yours truly... Do it again, Red Sox!

5 comments about Mickey Mantle: Stories and Memorabilia from a Lifetime with The Mick.

1. This book contains many seldom to never seen photographs from the Mantle family archives that make the book priceless. The inserted reproductions of Mantle memorabilia are a perfect supplement that give the reader an insight to Mickey that you can't get anywhere else. Top that off with great stories from Mickey Herskowitz, David Mantle and Danny Mantle and you have a real winner.
   
   Mantle was a one-of-a-kind ballplayer that the sport has not seen since his retirement. Almost 40 years later, Mickey still holds many baseball records including the fastest time from home plate to first base (3.1 seconds), the longest measured home run (565' even though he hit a few in excess of 600' that could not be measured) and most World Series home runs (18).
   
   The legend of #7 will live forever.



2. The book was given to my husband as a gift and he enjoyed it so much that we bought one for a friend. Our friend was equally impressed with the book from the different memorabilia to the overall presentation. It's a book you want to look over again and again.



3. My favorite player (my nickname is 'Mickey'). Well done different presentation. I really enjoyed



4. I got this wonderful book for my father for Christmas and he loves it! It's his favorite book on Mickey Mantle. As a Yankee fan myself I also love the book-it's very touching how Danny and David Mantle talk about their Father.The photos are beautiful and all the little extras are really neat to look at. I recommend this book to Mantle and Yankee fans everywhere.



5. Book was nicely put together and contains some great pictures as well as reproductions of his first contract, a letter from Richard Nixon, a love letter to his wife, etc. I'm sure there are better books out there in terms of the amount of information about Mantle. Buy the book only if you want to own reproductions of Mantle memorabilia but skip it otherwise.

1 comments about Designated Hebrew: The Ron Blomberg Story.

1. Very good book except Ronnie never played football in high school or ran track. Other than that, interesting story.

5 comments about Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By.

1. Jackie's Nine is broken down into values rather than chapters. Each is a true value that Jackie Robinson lived by. His daughter, Sharon, also lived by them after his death. Jackie was a great baseball player of his time who fought for his rights to play ball. Sharon shares his stories and other people's stories of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence. Sharon uses flashbacks of when Jackie first started playing Major League baseball and of her childhood days to explain some of the values. I feel this would be a good book for baseball lovers and young adults. It is a good book that helps people understand what Jackie's family went through when he started to play Major League baseball. This book is unique because it not only tells Jackie's values of life, but it demonstrates other famous people who share similar values. I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. Athletes of all kinds can come to enjoy Jackie's Nine.



2. Jackie's Nine is broken down into values rather than chapters. Each is a true value that Jackie Robinson lived by. His daughter, Sharon, also lived by them after his death. Jackie was a great baseball player of all time who fought for his rights to play. Sharon shares his stories and many other people's stories of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence. Sharon uses flashbacks of when Jackie first started playing ball and of her childhood days to explain some of the values. I feel this would be a good book for baseball lovers and young adults. It is a good book that helps people understand what Jackie's family went through when he started to play Major League baseball. This book is unique because it not only tells about Jackie's values, but it demonstrates other famous people who share similar values. I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. Athletes of all kinds can come to enjoy Jackie's Nine.



3. It is Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon who first came up with "Jackie's Nine" as part of an educational program called "Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life," an in school program supported by Major League Baseball, which used baseball-themed activities as teaching tools. These nine values are the ones that Sharon Robinson sees as being instrumental in her father's life, a subject which she has written about previously in her family biography "Stealing Home: An Intimate Portrait of Jackie Robinson." She picked nine because a baseball team has nine players and a game is nine innings long.
   
   As far as I am concerned Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth are the two most important sports figures of the 20th century from the perspective of their impact on society. My argument would be that the popularity of other athletes like Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan are separate issues from their social significance. You can claim such stars are, in a way, the Babe Ruths of their day, and while Ali and Jordan may well be more popular around the world than the Babe ever was, Jackie Robinson has a legacy that can not even be approached, let alone be equaled (I remember that Larry Doby was the first African American to play in the American League, but I could not tell you who broke the color barrier in the NBA or NFL.). We can argue about who is "best," but who is "first" is a much easier argument to make.
   
   "Jackie's Nine" is essentially an anthology, which includes autobiographical passages from both Jackie Robinson and his daughter as well as profiles of people she sees as carrying on her father's legacy in terms of each of the nine values: (1) Courage: Elizabeth Eckford; (2) Determination: Christopher Reeve; (3) Teamwork: Pee Wee Reese and David Robinson (her brother, not the basketball player); (4) Persistence: Roberto Clemente; (5) Integrity: Muhammed Ali; (6) Citizenship: Marian Wright Edelman; (7) Justice: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; (8) Commitment: Rachel Robinson; and (9) Excellence: Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey. This book also includes the eulogy for Jackie Robinson delivered by the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
   
   "Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By" is what I think of as a nightstand book, where you read a section each night before going to sleep because it is beneficial to mull over each of the values and how they manifested themselves in the public careers of Jackie Robinson and these others. Of course, then it becomes impossible not to consider how your own live exhibits these values (or fails to). This is not a book that preaches, but rather one that tries to makes it point by example. Do not be surprised if after reading "Jackie's Nine" you are not interested in reading all of "I Never Had It Made" by Jackie Robinson, "Stealing Home" by Sharon Robinson, "Still Me" by Christopher Reeve, " or any of the dozen books from which excerpts are drawn for this volume.



4. "A Hero for Everyone"
   .
   Reviewed by Joseph Rosenberg
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   
   Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By
   
   written by Sharon Robinson
   Scholastic, 2001
   
   On August 25, 1945 a scant three weeks after the atomic bomb destroyed the city of Hiroshima, Jackie Robinson sat down in an office at 215 Montague Street in Brooklyn, NY and signed a contract to play baseball with the Montreal Royals, liberating a nation divided by pigmentation from its own horrific past.
   
   This book, written by Robinson's daughter, is a simple primer of the values this man lived by in his too-short life: courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment and excellence.
   
   Every chapter explains how each of these values was a part of the author's and her father's life, using as examples events or writings from other people Ms. Robinson considers heroic. Although aimed at young adults, the book's 181 pages have a message for anyone who seeks meaning from a less-than-ideal world.
   
   At first Jackie Robinson's courageous efforts as a baseball player were like a paper-cut on the segregated, bigoted American psyche. As his career progressed and the African-American athlete became accepted by his peers, the press and the public, the paper-cut became deeper and deeper, until at last Martin and Malcolm and their followers shamed the white establishment into making the lovely words of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution into a reality.
   
   Jack Roosevelt Robinson started a process that still evolves and resonates in our lives.
   
   I grew up in Brooklyn, and my first memories as a Dodger fan are of rooting for them in 1950, when they lost out on the last day of the season to the Philadelphia Phillies. The next year, when I was 9, I started going to the public library and began taking out books on baseball and my hero, Jackie Robinson.
   
   I recall the day when I went to check out about a half-dozen books on Robinson, and the lady stamping my books looked at the name on my library card and said, "Figures, all of youse is just nigger lovers." This was not Mississippi, but nice Jewish and Italian Bensonhurst. Somehow, I felt like I was not fitting in.
   
   Later, as an adult, I read in Roger Kahn's books how in the very conservative Dodger clubhouse, Jackie Robinson warmly greeted Edward R. Murrow, another hero, while owner Walter O'Malley openly wondered why such a "pinko" was in his house.
   
   Now revisionists say that Branch Rickey just signed Robinson so he could line his pockets with revenue from African-American fans and that Robinson himself was a chronic malcontent. The truth is that Rickey sowed the seeds of his own demise in a power struggle with Walter O'Malley, who forced him out of the Dodgers in 1950 because O'Malley implied Rickey destroyed the status quo of baseball and angered its establishment.
   
   After two years of silence, the same man who battled the US Army about a seat on a bus, who was an All-American football player, basketball and track star, showed that he could fight back and hold his own with anyone.
   
   I recall seeing him recently on an old episode of "Happy Felton's Knothole Gang," a show that aired before Dodger home games. There, some kids catch and throw, and the best get to play catch with a favorite Dodger. In this episode, a young Italian kid won the right to chat up Jackie Robinson and asked him a complicated question about the infield fly rule. With a slight smile on his face and in a "man to man manner," Robinson answers the question, looking the kid and the camera right in the eye.
   
   In the same forthright manner, I remember Robinson explaining in 1960 why he backed Nixon, and later how he was interested in Black enterprise, and finally, in his last appearance at the 1972 World Series, saying he'd be really satisfied if he saw a Black face in the third base coaching box.
   
   I believe it was Rickey Henderson, in many ways a poster child for the immature, unaware athlete, who, when asked about Jackie Robinson, answered that he was nothing special, that he was doing what a Jackie Robinson was supposed to do.
   
   No, Rickey. You are wrong.
   
   I remember Jackie Robinson following Bobby Thompson around the bases in the Polo Grounds in 1951, making sure he touched every one. I remember him stealing home in the 1955 World Series, the only World Series the Brooklyn Dodgers won against the lily-white Yankees. His autobiography, exerpted in this book was titled I Never Had it Made.
   
   And I remember reading about an old bearded man in Ebbets Field one day shouting, when Robinson delivered a game-winning hit, "Yankel, Yankel, atta boychick, mein hero!"
   
   Kids like me worshipped the Dodgers, the Willie Mays/Monte Irvin Giants, the Larry Doby/Satchel Paige/Luke Easter Cleveland Indians.
   
   It is a shame the institution of the Negro Leagues was destroyed by baseball's integration. But many good institutions like black-only academies were harmed by the growth of integration.
   
   Some Englishmen said the leaders of WWI were forged on the playing fields of Eton. The values of a progressive post-war America were formed on the hard chairs of Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and other places where we were exposed to people like Jack Roosevelt Robinson, and the values he has come to represent.
   
   They called Jackie Robinson "Ty Cobb in Technicolor," but to me Cobb was just a monochromatic, self-absorbed egoist compared to the self-sacrificing, most important athlete of our times, Mein hero.
   
   
   
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   Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.



5. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball since the nineteenth century. He had to deal with much criticism and harsh environments because some of the United Sates was still segregated. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919, the youngest of five children of Jerry and Mallie Robinson. He grew up in Pasadena, California and lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track at UCLA. He was widely regarded as the finest all-around athlete in the United States at that time. After three years in the Army, he played with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Negro Leagues in 1945. Later that year, in a historic move that ended decades of discrimination against blacks in baseball, he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. After a successful season in 1946 with its farm club, the Montreal Royals, he became the first black player in the Major Leagues since the nineteenth century. I would really recommend this book because it is very interesting and has many morals in it.
   I like this book because of the character traits shown. There are nine chapters in this book and each has one character trait. There are nine character traits: courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence, which are explained thoroughly. In each of the chapters there are three sections. Most of the time there is one written by the author, Sharon Robinson, one written by Jackie Robinson himself, and one written by another famous leader that elaborates on the character trait. They all give an example of them showing this trait and say how it is good.
   I also like the stories told in this book. There are many stories told about the character trait written by different people. There is one written by Christopher Reeves, Martin Luther King Jr., and Roberto Clemente. All of them include elaboration about why it is good to show that trait and a story of when they showed that trait. Sharon Robinson, the author of the book, had many stories being that she is Jackie Robinson's daughter. She had hard times sometimes because of the segregation so she writes about them and how she still showed the character traits to get through it.
   Finally I like the characters in this novel. The most important one is Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was such a great leader to all African Americans pursuing a goal because even through all of the hard times he had and all of the nonsense he had to go through he still showed great integrity to not let it get to him. He fought through many obstacles to get to where he is now and that says a lot about him and to any other minority pursuing a goal.
   This book has lots of good knowledge that the reader can achieve about being a better person. It shows that through all of the good and bad you can still come out on top. It shows how being determined can get you anywhere you want to go and how striving for excellence can take you to far places beyond your dreams. I would highly recommend this book to anybody because of the character traits shown and how it teaches you to become a better person.
   
   - Byron N.

5 comments about Ty and The Babe: Baseball's Fiercest Rivals: A Surprising Friendship and the 1941 Has-Beens Golf Championship.

1. I have now read all of Tom Stanton's books, and I have enjoyed them all. I am one of many that had certain perceptions of Ty Cobb's character based on stereoptypical opinion of Cobb in recent years. But Stanton sets the record straight in allowing us to get to know a different Ty Cobb; one who is a great competitor, but no where near the "evil" man that he has been portrayed as. The Babe is as fun loving as ever in this book and it is a fun read. I would recommend it to baseball fans, and golf fans too!



2. This book was very interesting and informative and obviously well researched since the author is a baseball historian. It makes you feel as if you know the players and are living in their time period but it isn't the most enjoyable book I've ever read. You rarely smile or laugh, there's very little that's amusing even though these are two very colorfull and bigger than life characters so I felt the book could have been a little lighter. Also check out two of my favorites - The Teammates by David Halberstam and When Life Was Baseball Teams and Egg Creams by Craig Howard, the last one being much lighter and more about life in the time period than baseball itself. Good nostalgia though.



3. This is a strange little book. For one thing, it presents a far more positive picture of Ty Cobb than one often encounters. Second, golf becomes a key part of the relationship between two bitter antagonists--Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.
   
   Ty Cobb was an exemplar of the old fashioned "scientific" approach to baseball, bunts, stolen bases, sacrifices, etc. Babe Ruth was a harbinger of a new era--focusing on the home run.
   
   Cobb versus Ruth, while they were in the major leagues together, had a pretty negative relationship. Cobb had little respect for Ruth; Ruth despised Cobb.
   
   The book tells of their slowly evolving relationship, to the point where they expressed respect toward one another by the end of Cobb's career.
   
   Their rivalry took a turn after their respective retirements. Both became avid golfers. They took part in a series of golf matches, where there was much greater camaraderie than when they played baseball.
   
   The book chronicles that strange evolution in their relationship.
   
   There is a nice appendix, which chronicles those games in which they opposed one another. Interesting. . . .
   
   An offbeat little book that ends up humanizing Cobb.



4. An excellent resource for the Baseball fan, who is always looking for good books about the Legends of baseball.



5. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.
   
   Two of the greatest names ever to play Major League Baseball and a pair of the most fiercest rivals on the diamond. Ruth was the new-school slugger whose gargantuan homers matched his pursuits off the field. Cobb was the oldest of old-school, a master of "small-ball," who saw the game of titan shots with "juiced" baseballs as an utter abomination.
   
   "Cobb disliked much about Ruth. But one of the things that pricked him most was Ruth's lifestyle. The Babe lived with wild abandon, ignoring curfews, staying out all hours, drinking, partying, overeating, and snaking through towns in search of sex," writes Stanton. "Cobb was nearly fanatical about taking care of himself, about being prepared for games, and about the need to sacrifice for the long term. He felt confident that Ruth's nocturnal adventures would eventually undermine him."
   
   But in retirement, the pair were kept at arm's length by the top executives in the game - Ruth never got a shot at managing a club and Cobb was tarnished by a 1926 gambling scandal "cover-up" - though each eventually found the time to frequently chase a golf ball around 18 holes. Ruth was a five handicap and Cobb a nine.
   
   Author Tom Stanton tees up an interesting dual biography of the legends that is built around a 1941 charity golf match which pitted Ruth against Cobb. Along with coverage of every baseball game the paired played against each other, Stanton drives into the professional hatred which erupted into near brawls and vicious taunts, but eventually evolved into a cordial friendship.
   
   Even the biggest fan of baseball history will find some new gems, especially about Cobb, which is a salute to the solid short game of Stanton; meticulously lofting up to the green buried facts from the sand traps of historical fiction.

5 comments about My Prison Without Bars.

1. 
   Poor Pete Rose...
   
   After reading Pete's book, Pete Rose, My Prison Without Bars, you just have to think it's such a shame that all those unfortunate events took place in Pete's life. I mean, the man plainly had to have a way to reduce all the stress he was forced to deal with. So Pete turned to gambling. After all, it was his money, wasn't it? Couldn't he do whatever he wanted with HIS money? And hadn't his father taken him to the racetracks and showed Pete how the "big boys bet"? Sure he did. So if Pete's father gambled, and Pete absolutely idolized his father, then the kid had to think gambling was okay...provided, of course, the gambling didn't interfere with the family's livelihood.
   Then too, Pete was afflicted with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), which basically meant he was so full of crap he couldn't sit still long enough to pay attention to what an instructor was saying, though he was doing okay until they told him that Pete was too small to play sports. After that, Pete was so distraught he flunked tenth grade. I might have fallen for Pete's claim to the ADHD problem if he hadn't been so good at numbers, a bookmaker's odds, placing bets, remembering who he owed or who owed him. And we aren't talking chicken feed either. Pete may not have been so much ADHD as he was BWSW (bored with school work), and figured out a way to get around it. Then he had that other problem, ODB (Oppositional Defiant Behavior) that was probably inherited from his mother. She could literally "whup the crap out of you" if someone made her good and mad...and, in fact, often did just that. Basically, what ODB really meant was that you didn't TELL Pete what to do. You ASK him...nicely.
   Pete was no quitter and definitely wasn't lazy when it came to playing baseball. He proved this to the entire world by the baseball records he set, which are to be admired. It was simply all those other rules that seemed to get in Pete's way, so he ignored them. Nobody could make me believe the man didn't know how to read, and Rule #21 was pretty self-explanatory: DON'T BET ON BASEBALL. But Pete did, and as you'd expect, he really didn't mean to do it, he simply couldn't help himself because of the stress. Admittedly, Pete wasn't a very "warm and fuzzy" type person, so relaxing at home with his family was out of the question. It was the excitement of the racetracks and the bookmakers that helped Pete to relax. Of course, the reason he wasn't a very warm and fuzzy type person was because of his childhood. He couldn't remember his parents ever saying they loved him, but he knew they did. Likewise, he never bothered with telling his children that he loved them either. Nope, not much show of affection going on in the Rose clan.
   But let's face it, Rules are Rules. And even though Rules supposedly aren't made to be broken, we all know that most rules are often bent, if, in fact, not broken. Pete Rose doesn't stand alone in the rule-breaking/bending area. However, if the posted rules really don't stand for what they mean, then why have the damn things in the first place?
   Pete Rose didn't do time in the Marion Penitentiary because of gambling. He was given a five-month sentence because of income tax evasion. And even though he may have avoided paying some income taxes, I'm certain he could have paid his fines and back taxes and not had to serve time in a federal prison. Most of those guys in Pete's tax bracket end up trying to beat the tax system in any manner that they can, and even when they're caught, they don't usually end up in a federal prison. Personally, I think Pete got a raw deal.
   Do I think Pete should be forgiven for his betting on baseball and be inducted into the Hall of Fame? I'm not sure and I'm glad that's not my call. I do know there are a lot worse offenses committed by big name athletes today, so if betting on baseball was Pete's only offense, then it does tend to make one wonder. Pete didn't drink, do drugs, or smoke and, he was dedicated the game of baseball. The baseball records he set were earned by his physical and mental ability and done without the aid of steroids...unlike a few other big-name baseball players we know. I guess what it boils down to, is whether or not Pete should be forgiven. We know if this hadn't happened, Pete would already been in Baseball's Hall of Fame. I seriously doubt there's a baseball player out there that in all good conscience would step up to cast the first stone at Pete Rose.
   Finally, I must say I think Rick Hill did a fairly decent job on putting this book together. There were a few areas that could have used a little polishing. I had to laugh at one of Pete's statements when he said, "I got anxious and SWANG right outta my jock". Considering what Hill had to work with, he did okay. This book tells a great deal about Pete Rose's life. If I hadn't read another manuscript given to me by a gentleman that actually served time with Pete Rose in Marion, and recalling the remarks he'd made about Pete, then I might have fallen for some of Pete's story. I just have to keep in mind that this book IS PETE'S STORY, as told by Pete, and not exactly what the other inmates thought of Pete Rose as a person. And if you're a Pete Rose fan, then you don't even want me to go there.



2. Pete Rose was one of the best baseball players, but obviously extremely dumb. He admits at the end of the book that he bet on baseball, but says he did not bet on his team. Betting on baseball itself, is extremely unseemely to hear, and if he lied just about this for 15 years is he still covering up the worst sin of betting on or against his team. I would say a dummy like this probably did bet on his team. I knew after I read "Say it Ain't So" about the Blacksox scandal, that if you bet on baseball you would be banned forever from the game--no excuses!!!. I would recommend to Rose to read that book and study Judge Landis Verdict in that case. I knew this when I was 14 years old and Rose still did not even mention this in his book and still doesn't seem to get it. This guy is a hustler/jailbird and should be banned for life just for being stupid enough to do something like this----- Hey, Rose you didn't mention Judge Landis



3. My Prison Without Bars provides a decent insight into the trial and tribulations of the life of Pete Rose. The book shows the reader both the good and dark side of one of the all time heroes of America's pastime. The first third of the book is dedicated to Rose's childhood, where the reader gains an understanding of how his gambling addiction first happened (his father took him to his first race track at the very young age of 12).
   
   The second third of the book depicts the life Rose had on the baseball field. It emphasizes his love, desire and devotion to the game of baseball. The section puts into perspective how Rose's staggering desire to win, excel, and be the best that won him fame, admiration, and love from millions of people; but ultimately was the reason for his fall. The section illustrates the innocence, or better put, the ignorance, of Rose and severity of the consequences for the crimes he committed as far as baseball is concerned. In Chapter 9 "the Long Hot Summer" Rose says:
   
   I managed my last baseball game on August 21, a night at Wrigley Field... After I shook hands with all the players, I took one last look at the ivy on that old brick wall and turned in my spikes... I figured I'd be away from the game for a least one year. But after what I'd done - one year was fitting punishment... enough time to get my life back on track.
   
   The final third of the book deals with the prison time Pete Rose served for cheating on his taxes. Pete Rose discusses how he could empathize with the inmate who "got started in a life of crime because they came from broken homes - something I could relate to."
   
   Rose ends the book with a very uplifting reference to his family, and how he feels that he has come to the point of redemption. The lasts words of the book are, fittingly, lyrics to the song Amazing Grace.
   
   I highly recommend reading My Prison Without Bars. Rose's story is a very true, very tragic story of success and failure. Diehard fans of Rose will fall in love with the book. Casual fans of baseball will have apprehensions about certain parts of the book that see somewhat fictitious. One aspect of the book that I believe no one will disagree with is that Pete Rose loves the game of baseball.



4. The last twenty years should have been the best of times for baseball. Four incredible records, the all-time number of career hits, the all-time number of career home runs, the record for home runs in a season and the number of consecutive games played have all been broken. Yet, only one of these, Cal Ripken's incredible streak of games played, is untainted. The home run records are tarnished by the likely event that Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds took illegal performance enhancing substances and the record for career hits is diminished by Pete Rose's admitting he gambled on baseball.
   This book is Rose's life story, his incredible drive to succeed and how it spilled over into the thrill of gambling, even to the point where he was gambling his career and stature in the game. I was a big fan of Rose when he played, every minute he was on the field he demonstrated how the game should be played. He played to win every moment; he gave everything he had in everything he did on the field. No one can take that away and he should be commended for that.
   However, the integrity of the game must rise above any individual player, no matter what they have accomplished. While Rose admits to his errors and even served time in prison for them, he never seems to quite reach this realization. No player should be allowed to bet on baseball games, this rule must remain absolute and strictly and in some cases brutally enforced. My high opinion of Rose would have been restored had he said that.
   This book deals primarily with Rose's life off the field, which is unfortunate. Given the length of his career and the great players he was on the field with, the book would have been improved if Rose had spent some time describing his experiences with those players. It is also sad to read how far this man fell as a consequence of his breaking the rules.
   The last point I want to make is that I believe that Rose should be elected to the baseball hall of fame. The off the field conduct of some of the players in the hall was far worse that Rose's. For example, the lives of charter members Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth are horrendous. The rule is that once one pays their debts to society, they are allowed back in. Rose should be allowed back in.



5. My Prison Without Bars No one who has been involved with baseball over the last 40 years doesn't know who "Charlie Hustle" is. The unfortunate part of "Charlie Hustle" is Pete Rose himself. I came to this book with an open mind and heart, knowing rather little than most of the scandal that surrounded him when he was thrown out of baseball for gambling.
   
   It wasn't really the gambling aspect and its aftermath that stunned me. It was, rather, the man himself who I came to thoroughly dislike when all was said and done. He comes off as the most arrogant, boorish and narcissistic fools I've ever read about. I did not have the impression that he was in any way sorry for what he did nor had he been, in any way, rehabilitated. Pete Rose is a man on a mission with the end stop being The Hall of Fame. The only hall he's fit for is The Hall of Shame! After all he has been through he's still excusing himself with the words, "that's the way I am!" The things he has missed along the way are the very things that might have re-instated him by now. His only feeling of remorse lies in the fact that he has not yet been able to parlay his arrogant behavior into a second chance...and he won't if he keeps that type of in your face behavior up.
   
   As we all are, Pete Rose is his own worst enemy. He came from nothing but had a talent that was undeniable. His are stats that dreams are made of. Catapulted into a world of money and privilege that he enjoyed for many, many years he was able to live his life as he wished. He was a brash, foul-mouthed, egotistical bundle of power which is still his forte today. The only difference between yesterday and today is that people are no longer listening and he has lost his leverage as a baseball legend and a man. Instead of copping to his lame "that's the way I am" excuse, he should be partaking of psychotherapy every day of his life until he learns humility and true remorse for his disgusting actions. No one cares that that's the way you are Pete! We want to know what you're willing to do to change the way you are and become the man you ought to be.

5 comments about The Wrong Stuff.

1. The Wrong Stuff is a book written by former Red Sox and Expos left handed pitcher Bill Lee in 1984, about a year after his career as a major leaguer ended. It is a fairly quick read at 242 pages. What it is NOT, however, is a "typical" autobiography by a retired athlete. Lee, a California native who attended USC and now resides in Craftsbury, Vermont, instead delivers a real gem of a read.
   
   Humor, insight, irreverence, and honesty are the bedrocks of this book, which follows Lee from his childhood in California, through high school and college, and into ranks of organized baseball. Lee is open and honest about drug use, love, sex, and his personal philosophy on life.
   
   Lee was not a big prospect coming out of college, not like guys like Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman, both of whom he played with briefly before being drafted by the Red Sox in the 22nd round of the 1968 rookie draft. While he didn't throw that hard, he managed to get guys out by being crafty, out thinking hitters, and sometimes just by being crazy enough to believe he could do it. He headed off to pro ball without a lot of hope of making the major leagues. He figured he'd become a forest ranger when he grew up. Thankfully for him and baseball, Bill Lee never grew up.
   
   Lee chronicles his moves through the minor leagues. During these years, he tangled with tough minor league managers (Rac Slider), met future Red Sox teammates (Carlton Fisk), and his future first wife (Mary Lou), and made bets with teammates about who could drink a gallon of milk in one sitting without vomiting (nobody). As he does throughout the book, he chronicles some games he pitched in...there's no bravado here, though...he talks about the good and the bad with the same honesty and good humor. Lee's minor league career didn't last that long, as in 1969 he was called up to the Boston Red Sox.
   
   Once he found his way to Fenway Park (an adventure in itself), Lee appeared in 20 games in that first season, including one start. He only performed so-so, but made the team out of spring training in 1970. He only appeared in 11 games, however, because he was called up for military service. Lee has some fun talking about the absurdities of military life, but is also brutally honest about how he got preferential treatment because he was a pro athlete.
   
   Lee pitched for Boston from 1969 to 1978, and the stories of winter ball fights, teammates, pennant races, trades, near trades, and run ins with management and coaches are all classic. He talks about the Red Sox teams from those years....moves they made, didn't make, should have made, and how he and the team did those years. Lee was a 17-game winner three times in a row from 1973-1975. He rails against the DH and talks about friendships, rivalries, and enemies, both on his team and around the league. He writes about his only All-Star selection and racism in baseball. He acquired his nickname, the Spaceman, during this time. He also experimented with drugs and alcohol, all of which he talks about openly and honestly.
   
   The 1975 season had the Red Sox winning the pennant and going on to play the Cincinnati Reds in one of the greatest World Series ever played. Lee chronicles the season, and the run through the playoffs and the World Series. He started two games in that series, including the deciding seventh game, but did not record a win or loss. He had to leave game seven when a blister popped. The Sox bullpen coughed up the lead, and the Sox lost the series. Lee was fairly philosophical about the World Series loss, reasoning that it was great just to be part of such a great series. He spent two weeks that off-season in Red China as a goodwill ambassador, and came away with some interesting insights and stories.
   
   Lee writes a lot about the 1976 season...a season that saw several players Lee saw as key cogs in the 1975 World Series team traded away, a brawl with the Yankees, his painful recovery, more trades in Boston, his thoughts on free agency, and a lot more. The brawl with the Yankees, who Lee and many other Red Sox flat out hated, involved Lee sustaining a major shoulder injury after being body slammed during the brawl by Yankees third baseman Craig Nettles. That year also saw the death of longtime Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey. Between the shoulder injury, the death of Yawkey, and a managerial change from Darrel Johnson to Don Zimmer, Lee feels that this season was a turning point in his time in Boston, and that his days there were now numbered.
   
   During the 1977 season, Lee and several other "renegades" bound together to form the "Royal Order of the Buffalo Heads", named after manager Don Zimmer, who the compared to the buffalo, considered by many to be one of the dumbest animals alive. Lee also pitched the first game of his career under the influence of a controlled substance that year. He got shuffled between the pen, the rotation, and the manager's doghouse. By the beginning of spring training 1978, Lee was one of only two of the five "buffalo heads", who was still around. Both assumed they wouldn't be around for long.
   
   Lee talks about friendships with teammates like Dennis Eckersley and Bernie Carbo, and opponents like George Brett, providing some great stories. The 1978 season started out hot for both the Red Sox (led by slugger Jim Rice) and Lee, although Lee's injured arm would tire as the season progressed. Lee's first major run-in with management happened right after the trading deadline in June. When Carbo, a good friend and solid player, was sold to Cleveland for only $15,000, Lee went on strike for a day. It caused a major uproar, and got Lee into confrontations with team management. The Red Sox began to slip, and the Yankees came on hard. What had been a big division lead evaporated, and the division title came down to a one game playoff between the Yankees and Red Sox. The famous game was decided on a home run by light-hitting Bucky Dent, the Yankees went to the World Series, and the Red Sox went home. Lee, who loved his time in Boston, knew his time there was over. In December, he was traded to the Montreal Expos for Stan Papi, who would appear in only 50 games for Boston, hitting just .188.
   
   Lee began the 1979 season on a new team (the Expos), in a new league (the National), and with a whole new roster of teammates. He was reunited with manager Dick Williams, something he was pleased with. Trouble tended to follow him, though...and in spring training, he admitted to the media that he'd been using marijuana since 1968. This caused quite a stir, including some visits from the FBI, but Lee managed to escape any real trouble. He speaks a bit more at this point in the book on his own drug use, drug use in baseball, and baseball training and the changes that were happening in that area during his career. Again, he hits all topics with humor, honesty, and insight. Lee went on to win 16 games in his first year in Montreal, and the talented team finished in second place. Even success came with its rough spots...Lee was hit by a cab while jogging in mid-season, but only missing two starts. The new teammates in Montreal provide for a whole new batch of amusing stories.
   
   Lee could have become a free agent after the 1979 season, but without an agent, he negotiated himself a new three year deal with Montreal. The contract was probably below market for the time, especially since it included deferred money, but he said he had fallen in love with the city, and that money wasn't that important. He was not a fan of free agency, at all, considering it a bad thing for the game.
   
   Lee had a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the 1980 and 1981 seasons both on and off the field. He hurt himself pretty badly falling from the side a friend's house (he was trying to climb up and tap on the window), and missed a lot of time in 1980. Meanwhile, his marriage was falling apart, and he and his first wife ended up getting a divorce. He had a lousy record in 1980, going 4-6 with a 4.96 ERA in 24 games.
   
   The player strike hit in 1981, and that made for a split season. Lee's personal life continued to be topsy-turvy, with his marriage ending, and him meeting the woman who would become his second wife. Lee pitched pretty well, going 5-6 in 31 games (7 starts) with a nifty 2.94 ERA. Williams was replaced as manager during the season, however, and Lee and the other players soon found his replacement Jim Fanning, wasn't up for the job. The players held a meeting and basically decided to self-manage themselves, so that their new manager didn't cost them a trip to the playoffs. The team did make the playoffs, eventually losing to the Dodgers. Lee was married for the second time after the season.
   
   The 1982 season began with more problems with Fanning. Fanning seemed to have it in for a friend of Lee's, teammate Rodney Scott, who had been the starting second baseman for the previous several seasons. Scott was a good field, not hit player, and Lee felt he was a key to the team's defense. Fanning disagreed, and buried Scott on the roster to begin the 1982 season. Eventually, the team released Scott. Lee again went on strike...skipping the team's game and heading to a bar, where he had three beers while watching the game. When he realized his team might need him to pitch, and not wanting to let down his teammates, he headed back to the park, reaching the clubhouse by the 8th inning.
   
   It would be the last time in a major league uniform, in Montreal or anywhere else. He was released by the Expos on May 9th, 1982. After taking a few weeks off, Lee tried to hook up with another major league team for the rest of the season. Nobody called, and nobody returned his calls. He got more of the same as the 1983 spring training camps began.
   
   Lee believes that he was blacklisted by major league baseball as a troublemaker. A conversation he writes about with Dick Williams seems to lend that theory some credence. Is it true? We may never know for sure...but in 1982, Lee was a 35 year old left handed pitcher who could start and relieve. He was coming off a season with an ERA of 2.94, and had a career ERA of 3.62. In baseball, left handed pitchers who can get people out are always a commodity, regardless of age. The chance that nobody in baseball had a spot for one in 1982 or 1983 seems hard to believe.
   
   Overall, The Wrong Stuff was an excellent read...fun, controversial, enlightening, and thought provoking. Lee is one of the all time great characters in Red Sox, and baseball, history. I consider this book to be one of the top three baseball autobiographies I have read, with Jim Bouton's Ball Four and Ted Williams "My Turn at Bat".
   
   Any fan of the game who wants some insight into the inner workings of major league baseball and one of its wackiest players will enjoy this book. Because of it's blunt discussions about drugs, sex, politics, and other controversial topics, the book is obviously not recommended for young fans of the game.



2. Anyone wishing to escape the blandness of the mass manufactured sports biography should read Bill Lee's "Wrong Stuff." Not your average baseball player but a sharp incisive wit.



3. This book is written in the "I'm a character, ain't I cool" style, and I found it very annoying after about 10 pages. There are the inevitable comparisons to "Ball Four", but before you buy this, remember this: There's a good reason you've heard of "Ball Four", and a good reason you've never heard of this book.



4. Also know the Spaceman. He has been a troubled geek all his life, and socially inept - had few, if any friends growing up, and is still begging for attention. Cheated on all his relationships, which he likes to make a good thing. The baseball stories are true for the most part, but he will publicly state he lies. There are many other baseball memoirs more worthy of the time and expense.



5. Back years ago (more than thirty), Sports Illustrated ran a story on Bill Lee, showing his no-famous picture of pitching with a space suit on. The story was the first I had read about Lee, and my first exposure to Warren Zevon, as Lee called himself an excitable boy. For SI to be somewhere in the vicinity of the cutting edge of pop culture, I am quite grateful, as I became a fan of both. Unfortunately, I am guessing, their careers fell victim to the SI curse. Bill Lee was a talented and prolific winner with the Red Sox in the mid-1970s, an outspoken individual on any number of subjects, and a likable man who has never stopped being a baseball fan. In his best decade, when tell-all books were all the rage, this was his effort, and a fine one it was. But behind the successes and the long decline leading to his continuous unemployment by baseball, I sort of sense that he went from singing "Excitable Boy" or quoting Warren Zevon to being the "Excitable Boy" character, or a character from a Warren Zevon song - going from doing something funny and outrageous occasionally to doing something funny and outrageous continually, because that's what people expect The Spaceman to do. It's an entertaining and fun book about the man, his teams, and the people running baseball in the 1970s, although we may also wonder "what might have been" while the story progresses.

5 comments about Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits.

1. I found this book to be a good one. I like how it feels like Papi is talking right to you. It gives you a look at how it feels to be a big league ball player. Being a Red Sox fan, I especially enjoyed when he became a Red Sox player and all his clutch hits!! Just fantastic! A must read for all Red Sox fans!!
   
   --Gerard Zemek, husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"



2. What Big Papi has done in really such a short period of time as a Boston Red Sox is phenomenal. He has made the city of Boston and all of America fall in love with him by his big personality, love of the game and the respect he shows his team mates and fans alike, and it shows in this book.
   
   He was very honest about the love he had for his team mates in Minnesota but how unhappy he was with the management and ownership of the Twins who did not really know what to do with him. He did not show any bitterness, just a sadness that things could not have turned out differently.
   
   But, then it worked out for the best how he explains Pedro Martinez played a big part in him getting offered a contract by Boston and the rest we can say is history.
   
   Through the book, you can just tell the love and joy that Big Papi has for his family, his team mates, the city of Boston and the game of baseball. You get a lot of insight into how the man thinks and why this sport is so important to him.
   
   You don't have to just be a Red Sox fan to enjoy this book.



3. I am a huge sports fan and I have nothing against Ortiz. He seems like a nice guy and he's certainly a great player. But this book was just not very good. There was nothing controversial or interesting that Ortiz said in the book. Also,the constant ending of sentences in "bro" was extremely annoying.
   
   Ortiz, trying too hard to be the good team player, defends Grady Little's disastrous decision to leave Pedro Martinez in the 7th game of the 2003 ALCS. Sorry, nobody's buying that. We saw the game. Pedro was done, period. While the 2004 Red Sox comeback is an interesting story, there are several books that tell it better. I cannot recommend this book.
   
   One thing I cannot resist mentioning: Ortiz says of his native Domincan Republic that people are so poor they often cannot afford health care. Uh,David,a.k.a Big Papi, whatever you call yourself, are you not aware that there are millions of Americans who cannot afford health care? I know you're a multimillionaire athlete, but can you really be that out of touch?
   
   P.S. I am not a Yankees fan.



4. Too much use of the word "Bro" for me, otherwise, the book was rather light but informative.



5. This book is a combination of a narrative by David Ortiz and some background information by Tony Mazzaroti. Both aspects of the book are informative, especially the Mazzaroti part when he is explaining the rational the Twins used in releasing Ortiz. It has been mentioned in other reviews; the use of the words Bro' and Killin' get a bit weary, but it does feel as if you are having a conversation with Big Papi. The part of the book I really enjoyed is the insight as to how it is to grow up in the Dominican Republic and try to work your way through farm systems to the majors. I have always found the process of becoming an elite athlete fascinating and this book just reinforces most athletes do not "come from nowhere" and become superstars. They have to work hard, have some luck and hope for the best. It appears to have worked out for David Ortiz and he realizes just how lucky he is.

5 comments about Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life.

1. Ira Berkow did a great job writing about Hank Greenberg's life. He has written several books on sport figures. Because of his career as a sport writer and book reviewer I feel he did a nice job with interviewing people and getting information about Hank Greenberg. The book takes a great look at Hank Greenberg life with all his accomplishments. Not only should it be read by every Tiger fan but also every baseball fans in general. Although he missed time through injuries, military service, and early retirement, Greenberg still ranks as one of the most fearsome sluggers in baseball history. The powerful right-hander played only the equivalent of nine and a half seasons, yet produced outstanding career totals as well as exceptional season marks. A native New Yorker, Greenberg was the son of Rumanian born Jewish immigrants who owned a successful cloth shrinking plant. Hank graduated from James Monroe High School in the Bronx, the attended New York University on an athletic scholarship for one semester before beginning his professional baseball career. The 6'4 215 lb. Greenberg's athletic success stemmed from size, strength, and hard work, more than native talent. His high school coach explained: "Hank was so big for his age and so awkward that he became painfully self conscious. The fear of being made to look foolish drove him to practice constantly and, as a result, to overcome his handicaps." Greenberg also took a lot of cruel comments about his religion which made him even a stronger person. He played for the majors from 1933 - 1947 first with the Detroit Tigers and one year with Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the most important decision he had to make was whether to play on a Jewish holiday. He choose not to and that was a very important statement about his heritage. Hank Greenberg retired in 1947 and becomes a smart business man and an excellent Farm Director for the Indians. I feel Hank Greenberg was a success in many things in his life, a truly one of a kind man and a book everyone should read. I applaud Ira Berkow for his commitment to the book.



2. Reading this book gave me a good understanding of Hank Greenberg the ballplayer as well as Hank Greenberg the man. In terms of the former, Greenberg's words as well as the words of others make it quite clear that he was extremely competitive and incredibly hard working as well. These attributes, as well as his size, strength, and intelligence were undoubtedly of the utmost importance in the making of a Hall of Fame performer.
   
   Of course, Greenberg was more than just a baseball player, and one thing that impressed me as I read this book was his ability as a businessman. It's obvious that he handled his own contract negotiations quite well when he was playing, and as we learn in this book, he also became an accomplished baseball executive as well as a capable stock market investor after his playing days were over.
   
   I assume that most people know about the anti-Semitic taunts that Greenberg had do deal with when he played, and this is certainly one aspect of his experience that is captured in the book. However, more importantly, his story allows us to understand that while he hated those taunts, he also used them to motivate himself. This I found most impressive.
   
   Hank Greenberg was certainly not a perfect man, and reading between the lines I can see how his competitive nature and his pride might have rubbed some people the wrong way. Yet, all in all, he comes across as a thoughtful and generous person, and as a role model for past, present, and future generations.



3. Hank Greenberg's parents and the people of his neighborhood thought he would be a 'bum' because all he wanted to do was play ball. As a child and young man he played and practiced. And awkward because of his unusual height and size he in a way hid from the world by being on the ballfield. As a result of this practice he became one of the greatest right- hand hitters the game ever saw, and the first great Jewish baseball star.
   This book tells his story with clarity, and frankness. It very much captures the spirit of a more innocent time. It too is an example of the American dream come true, of how through hard work and application one can rise to the top.
   Greenberg missed four years of his career because of the Second World War but when he came home he again led his team to a world - championship.
   He also proved himself a person of character in the way he dealt with the many insults he received from other ballplayers. He used them to help further motivate himself to excellence on the playing field.
   His parents again feared that he would become a 'bum'. But instead he proved to be one of the greatest long-ball hitters the game has ever seen.



4. This revealing autobiography of slugger Hank Greenberg (1911-1986) makes for excellent reading. Greenberg was baseball's first Jewish superstar, a massive (6-4, 215 lbs), popular, intelligent player. Greenberg's immigrant parents disliked his decision to play baseball, but by the mid-1930's he was slugging the Detroit Tigers to pennants and his mother found herself a celebrity in her mostly-Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx. Greenberg's popularity probably reduced the amount of anti-Semitic abuse he faced - abuse that he often answered with his bat. Greenberg lost nearly five seasons to military service during World War II, and he left the game after 1947 to become a talented baseball executive and later an investment broker. All is described in these readable pages, along with Greenberg's views on famous controversies. Did opposing hurlers purposely walk him as he closed in on Babe Ruth's home run record in 1938? Was he unfairly drafted prior to Pearl Harbor? Should he play on major Jewish holidays? His answers ("no") are given at length. In his last year with Pittsburgh, Greenberg also encouraged a rookie named Jackie Robinson who faced similar but much greater abuse.
   
   Greenberg was intelligent, dedicated, and surprisingly modest. He passed away before this book was finished, at which point journalist Ira Berkow filled in the gaps with interviews and anecdotes. This is an intelligent and readable biography about one of baseball's most impressive men.



5. This book was a popular success and it inspired the production of first rate documentary film. Hank Greenberg was a phenomenal baseball player, who perfected his hitting techniques through long hours of practice. As one of the few Jewish athletes in professional sports, Greenberg, who was largely secular in his personal life, became a target for anti-Semites and a symbol to Jewish children and sports fans. Although raised in New York, Greenberg was signed by the Detroit Tigers and spent most of his career in the Motor City. He played on four pennant teams, including two World Series champions. He served in World War Two and rejoined the Tigers in time to help the club win 1945 pennant by hitting a grand slam on the last day of the season. Greenberg won the American League MVP award at two different positions, first base and outfield. He was a productive slugger who drove in runs constantly. Greenberg felt RBIs were the most important statistical category for hitters. After his playing career concluded with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Greenberg became a baseball executive, but the book does not dwell on that too much. Nevertheless, this autobiography is most enjoyable. Greenberg died before completing the manuscript, but a capable baseball writer, Ira Berkow, was able to finish the book.

5 comments about Joe DiMaggio : The Hero's Life.

1. My expectations for the book were low to begin with, but if I'd known DiMaggio had anything to do with Marilyn Monroe I wouldn't have bothered. She's a hack writer/pop culture magnet of the worst sort--and well, this biography is a prime example of the resulting genre.
   
   Half the book manages to discuss DiMaggio's baseball career, in a sort of slap-dash, free-spinning verbal assault way. I suppose if you have the attention span of a gnat this is appreciated, but this approach just makes me unhappy; skip every other sentence and it still reads the same.
   
   The second half of the book is Marilyn Monroe (the less said about that the better), and then DiMaggio's exploitive adventures in the ultimate sucker's paradise, the filthy world of baseball memorabilia.
   
   Given his sources I doubt any of this is told either fairly or accurately... and you know you've got a real weiner of a book when "cease and desist/no comment" letters are included as a way to show "well, I tried to portray both sides but they wouldn't let me!"
   
   I'm sure much of it is true, and I suspect DiMaggio was used, abused, folded, stamped, sealed, delivered. (Hey, at least he wasn't cryofrozen.) I just... gotta wonder why we really need to be told every intimate personal detail about someone, 'cause much of this stuff isn't our business.



2. There are some negative reviews on here, and I'm not sure why. Granted this is probably the least sympathetic biography I have ever read. But I thought it was well reported. It was certainly a smooth read and provided a remarkable amount of insight into an iconic figure in American history. DiMaggio was obviously a moody and selfish superstar who was very concerned about his image and legacy in the big picture, but not nearly focused enough on being any kind of a humanitarian. My respect for DiMaggio the ballplayer was only increased by this book, but DiMaggio the individual left a lot to be desired.
   
   It's not Cramer's fault that DiMaggio's behavior often ranged from uncooperative to downright nasty. I loved the book.



3. Joe DiMaggio was one of the most amazing athletes ever to wear the Yankee pinstripes. He was chosen as the greatest living baseball player in a poll conducted in 1969.
   
   The son of an Italian immigrant fisherman, DiMaggio followed the lead of his older brother, Vince, and abandoned the fishing boat to pursue a career as professional baseball player. Eventually, three of the DiMaggio sons would play in the major leagues: a younger brother, Dominic, played for the Boston Red Sox as a regular; Vince was a journeyman who moved from team to team; Joe played thirteen seasons in New York.
   
   He was not an easy man to get along with and not especially likeable. At an early age, DiMaggio, who had a limited education, felt that he had been cheated out of money in a contract dispute and he seemed to be determined never to be shortchanged again. He was sullen and withdrawn, but how he could play! Rookies were put on notice that DiMaggio had no use for team members who would jeopardize his opportunity to win bonus money by playing in the World Series. He was constantly looking for moneymaking opportunities and commercial endorsements. On television, he became best known for his "Mr. Coffee" ads. He owned an interest in a seafood restaurant in San Francisco for years.
   
   Off the field, DiMaggio had marital problems with his two movie actress wives. His first wife, Dorothy Arnold, was the mother of his only child, Joe, Jr., and his most celebrated union was with Marilyn Monroe. Both marriages ended in divorce, but DiMaggio remained devoted to Monroe and her memory. DiMaggio was a tough customer and he went through periods of not speaking to many of his own relatives if he was displeased with them.
   
   Throughout his playing career, which was shortened by military service and injuries, it was a rarity for an October to pass without Joe DiMaggio appearing in the World Series. During this period, the New York Yankees were a dynasty and DiMaggio appeared in the Series against six of the eight National League teams. New York only lost once in the postseason while DiMaggio was in the line up (the St. Louis Cardinals upset New York in 1942).
   
   DiMaggio could do it all, but he was best known for his hitting and his celebrated fifty-six game hitting streak record in 1941. Interestingly, after the Cleveland Indians halted the streak, DiMaggio pounded out hits in his next seventeen games. DiMaggio retired from baseball at the age of thirty-six. His career was shortened by stomach ulcers and primitive sports orthopaedic medicine that had been unable to repair his damaged knee and foot.
   
   I enjoyed this book. The author did a good job with a difficult biographical subject.
   
   An interesting aside: DiMaggio had been scouted by the Chicago Cubs while he was playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, but the team lost interest in him as a prospect after he suffered a knee injury. Within a few short years, DiMaggio and the Yankees swept Chicago in the World Series.



4. As a baseball fan and especially a Yankees fan I was anxious to read this book and I am glad I did. I am not sure how Cramer obtained as much detail about this god with clay feet as he did. But it is truly amazing the first person stories he was able to get of those who knew Dimaggio. This book is so relevatory, so much better than some of the sports biographies that are out there. You learn much about Joe's family life, or the lack of family life, both as a boy and as an adult. It is a sad story of one who failed at all human relationships, while being admired from a distance by so many. But at times Cramer gives us just a little too much as when he relates how one beauty compared Joe's male organ to Milton Berle and Joe came out champ again.



5. Anyone who has the tiniest bit of curiosity about our hometown hero DiMag has got to read this most awesome book. Blunt, honest, fantastic info. Quick and easy to read too. The Clipper is the best ball player ever, period.