Jason - The Great American Novel by Philip Roth: Phillip Roth makes me think and makes me laugh. The Ruppert Mundys are like the first sabermetrician's dream with the thought that goes into an optimized lineup, though we know today that lineup changes don't make a big difference on wins through a season, don't we?
Mark - Ball Four by Jim Bouton: I read it in the 1980s, the time of my own rebellion. Okay, I wasn't really a rebel, and I don't think that Bouton's book was, either. The book was a bit outspoken, a bit crass, it opened my eyes to what was happening in baseball. Bowls of uppers to keep the players going? Rampant womanizing? Hangovers? It didn't mirror my life at all. Which is why I think I like it. A gritty, grimy story told in a likeable fashion. I'm assuming that several of the players mentioned didn't care for the book at all and I know that Commissioner Kuhn wasn't keen on it, but I liked it.
Jon - Dollar Sign on the Muscle by Kevin Kerrane: Probably the best book on scouting there is. Kerrane, a professor at the University of Delaware, took an indepth look at the Philadelphia Phillies front-office and scouting department during the early eighties. He was given an inordinate amount of exposure to the workings of a front office, something usually kept very hidden.
1 comment:
Loved Ball Four, and have been meaning to read The Great American Novel for about ten years now.
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