What was that about “threes?”
Baseball lost one of its colorful characters when Bridges passed away at the age of 87 on Jan. 27.
Bridges, who played for seven teams during his 11-year career, had one of the classic “chaw faces” of all time.
Bruce Weber gave Monbouquette, who died at the age of 78 on Jan. 25 , the NY Times obit treatment.
Monbouquette was a sturdy pitcher during his 11-year career, winning 20 in 1963 for a Boston Red Sox team that was 76-85. He was a two-time All-Star and threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox in 1962.
He is also another in the line of players who were in the Majors when I was growing up who are passing away. Sad reminder of lost youth.
Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine announced the winner of the 2014 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year is Kostya Kennedy for Pete Rose: An American Dilemma
The showing turned in by Rose was especially impressive given the outstanding field of finalists, which was extended by two books over the normal total of 10 Finalists.
“The judges had a difficult task,” said Spitball editor Mike Shannon, “but they did exactly what they were supposed to do: working independently of each other, they identified the best baseball book of the year.”
“You do not have to have a passionate stance one way or the other regarding Pete Rose in order to enjoy Kennedy’s book,” said Scott Ferkovich, who served as one of the judges. “You do not have to particularly like Pete Rose the person. You do not have to care whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame. I certainly didn’t. I’d already grown tired of the sordid story of Rose. But this book rekindles (indeed reinvents) the debate, the emotion, the shouting and the tumult, the champagne and the glory, the hustle and the hustler, and the seamy underside that was and is so much a part of the life of Peter Edward Rose. Kennedy instills it all with the stuff of Shakespearean tragedy, yet takes no sides. He is an immensely talented writer who knows what he is doing, and he does it better than just about anybody else.”
Kennedy becomes the second two-time winner of the CASEY Award, along with Howard Bryant. Kennedy previously won in 2011 for 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports.
Here’s my Bookshelf Conversation with Kennedy.
After not reading any baseball books for longer than I can remember (probably just a few months, that tells you a lot about my memory), I happily dove in to the new listings on Amazon.
Herewith a sampling of what’s on the horizon. It’s a nice mix of the “comfort food” of baseball lit — biographies, anniversary commemorations, and sentimental topics — and innovative topics, at least relatively speaking. Throw in a smattering of re-issues and you’ve go something for everyone.
Except kids. I hate kids.
JOKE!! But as regular readers know, I do not include books for kids and young adults on this here blog.
So, with introductions having been made, here we go. The books are presented roughly in the order of their release, bearing in mind that some projects, especially those slated for later in the year, might still be pulled, depending on circumstances.
Obviously, since most of the books have yet to reach market, these are merely my first impressions based on subject matter and author. It certainly does not include everything that’s on the schedule. And with all due respect to those hard workers, I have decided not to include in this entry annual publications such as The Baseball Forecaster, The Hardball Times, and Baseball Prospectus, which basically follow the same format, albeit it with updated stats and insightful and entertaining essays. Nor am I including instruction-type publications geared towards coaching on one level or another.
* denotes items I find especially intriguing.
Biographies
Robert F. Burk, whose previous baseball titles have focused on labor issues, publishes a long anticipated biography with Marvin Miller, Baseball Revolutionary
John Malangone was the subject of a heartbreaking Sports Illustrated profile by Gary Smith in 1997. Michael Harrison gives him the full bio treatment in Pinstripes and Penance- The Life Story Of John Malangone
If Larry Doby, the second African-American to play in the Majors, got short shrift despite taking the same abuse as Jackie Robinson, what about those who followed? Martha Jo Black writes about her father’s experiences in Joe Black: More than a Dodger
* Mort Zachter has been a life-long fan of a Brooklyn Dodger favorite and has worked on his book Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life
* A couple of “definitive” titles, one explicit, the other implicit. First we have a 560-page profile of Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed Genius
A more appropriate title comes from Steve Steinberg’s double-bio, The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees
Robert Fitts, who specializes in Asian baseball, will soon release Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer
There are some people for whom one book should suffice. All due respect, but I think Tommy Lasorda is one of them. He published his memoirs I Live for This: Baseball’s Last True Believer
Two “fresher” titles this year takes a look at players who were stars of their generation but have since gone under the radar, perhaps because they were the victims of smaller markets. J.R. Richard, the fireballing pitcher for the Houston Astros in the 1970s, writes about Still Throwing Heat: Strikeouts, the Streets, and a Second Chance
So let’s see, we have had several books abut Derek Jeter and one about Mariano Rivera. And now there’s The Journey Home: My Life in Pinstripes
