Review of “Homestand”

Finishing up a great month of reading with a book about baseball in a small town that lost its minor league team but is still enjoying baseball. Here is my review of “Homestand.”

Title/Author: “Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight For the Soul of America” by Will Bardenwerper

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review: 

Batavia is a Rust Belt town in western New York that like many of its brethren, has seen better days economically. Many of its small businesses have been shuttered although there is still some activity. For many years the town had a minor league baseball team, the Batavia Muckdogs. Then they lost that team in 2020 when Major League Baseball contracted 42 teams, one of which was the Muckdogs. 

However, the town did not completely lose baseball as a local couple purchased a team in a league of teams composed of college players on summer break, located it in Batavia and kept the name Muckdogs. This book by Army veteran and baseball fan Will Bardenwerper not only chronicles the 2022 Muckdogs season, but it also is a story of a small town, its residents and the fans who made the trek to Dwyer Stadium. 

These stories of people are excellent and the best parts of the book, both for the reader and to show the best of Bardenwerper’s writing. Whether it was two middle aged ladies who don’t consider themselves sports fans yet attend every game, an elderly couple raising their great-grandchildren while enjoying summer nights at the ballpark, the town’s curmudgeonly playwright (who is a Mets fan like the author) and even the stories about Barderwereper’s own family (especially his six-year old son Bates), a reader will feel like they are at Dwyer Stadium or in one of the town’s establishments. The portrayal of Batavia and its team will tug at the reader’s heartstrings.

But those are almost negated by the repetitive and frequent mentions by Bardenwerper about baseball’s current economic model and use of statistical data. It got to the point where I thought I should play a drinking game while reading and take a drink every time he mentioned that MLB eliminated more than 40 minor league teams. He also was frequently criticizing current economic and business principles on “efficiency” and use of technology. These were interspersed within the chapters on the town’s people or the Muckdogs games. That interrupted the nice flow of those great stories. These topics were important to the message Bardenwerper was saying, but they would have been better had they had their own chapters. That may have also reduced the repetition of several points made.

Those issues notwithstanding, this is still a nice look at baseball in small town America. Yes, it may not be professional or affiliated with MLB, but the people still enjoy it, the players are pitching and hitting and at least a small piece of the American experience that the author is lamenting is dying at least has some life in Batavia, New York. 

I wish to thank Doubleday for providing a copy of the book. The reviews expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Homestand-Small-Baseball-Fight-America/dp/0385549652/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 

Review of “Together We Roared”

Another bus ride to a game meant more reading time - in this case it was this book co-authored by a former caddie for Tiger Woods. Here is my review of “Together We Roared”

Title/Author: “Together We Roared: Alongside Tiger Woods for His Epic Twelve-Year, Thirteen Majors Run” by Steve Williams and Evin Priest

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: As a reader who has read several books about Tiger Woods, I was quite interested in this one given the special relationship that Woods and caddie Steve Williams had during Woods’ incredible stretch of greatness at golf’s four major tournaments. The book did not disappoint as Williams and co-author Evin Priest share some great stories during that special era of golf. 

Some of the stories are known by golf fans, such as the time when the Woods-Williams team nearly ran out of golf balls in the bag. Some are not as well known, such as Williams meeting Woods in the parking area of courses as Woods would change to his golf shoes there with his upbringing at public courses where this is the norm. Whether the information is well-known or Sun known until being read here, a reader will be well informed and well entertained by reading them. 

While the book certainly goes into details about Woods’ major victories and the statistics (which Williams kept meticulously), what really makes the book a special one is the bond between Woods and Williams. From Woods supporting Williams’ auto racing hobby to signing the flags Williams took from the last hole when Woods won a major, each story and conversation between the two of them was great material. That made the end of their working relationship even tougher to understand but it did seem inevitable.

A reader does not have to be a golf fan to enjoy this book on a great relationship, both personal and professional, between arguably the greatest golfer ever and his caddy during the years when he played his best golf.

I wish to thank William Morrow for providing a copy of the book. The reviews expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Together-Roared-Alongside-Twelve-Year-Thirteen-Majors/dp/0063418703/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 

Review of “Clouds Over the Goalpost”

Three books finished in three days - not bad considering that the bulk of this audiobook was heard on one trip to and from a baseball game.  Here is my latest review.

Title/Author: “Clouds Over the Goalpost: Gambling, Asassanation and the NFL in 1963” by Lew Freedman, narrated by Noah Michael Levine

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review: In 1963, professional football was just starting to enjoy its ascent into the minds and television sets of American sports fans. There were two professional leagues and two of the more stories franchises, the Chicago Bears and New York Giants, faced each other in the NFL championship game. But two other events really shaped that season and they covered as well as the action on the field in this book by Lew Freedman.

While I listened to the audiobook and liked the story of the 1963 season, my one issue with the audio version is the mispronunciation by the narrator of well-known players, including Paul Hornung.  This is crucial because he and Alex Kara’s are the central figures of one the aforementioned events - they were suspended in 1963 for gambling. This was the most repeated mispronunciation but not the only one.

Putting that aside, the rest of the book was fine - it was the typical book about a particular sports season in which the championship team (here, the Bears) and a few other teams make up the bulk of the discussion. Along with the Bears and their coach-owner George Halas, the Green Bay Packers ger a good amount of text in the book as well, even more than the runner-up Giants.

The upstart American Football League also gets some love in the book, including a full chapter on their championship game. That wasn’t too exciting as the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Boston Patriots 51-10. Other stories about the AFL, thanks to Freedman’s writing, were more exciting than this game.  Overall, the book is fine if you like books on season recaps - just pick up the physical or e-book version. 

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Clouds-over-Goalpost-Gambling-Assassination-ebook/dp/B00E257XJA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kH6GKvsz2myq0BOpCEJwEw.D3pvaHA5VEIJ-7XO37FOx3QWk1Gnp77fkolD59a202Y&qid=1747876689&sr=8-1 

Review of "From Boxing Ring to Battlefield"

While I have always liked to be working on at least two books at the same time, lately I have been finishing the two current books around the same time.  This was the case with this one and yesterday's review, "Sir Lewis."  Like the other book, this book on boxing champion and war hero Lew Jenkins was an excellent read.  Here is my review.

 

Title/Author:

“From Boxing Ring to Battlefield: The Life of War Hero Lew Jenkins” by Gene Pantalone

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

The best way to describe Lew Jenkins in one word is “fighter.”  As a child, he and his family fought poverty to survive.  Later, in the boxing ring, he was a fighter as well as a powerful puncher to earn the world lightweight title.  Then, he was a fighter in the Armed Forces, serving with the Coast Guard in WWII and then in the Army as an infantry man in the Korean War.  His story, both in the ring and in combat, is very interesting and Gene Pantalone tells it well.

I enjoy reading Mr. Pantalone’s books on champion boxers who are obscure to all but the most dedicated boxing fans and historians. Jenkins is no exception as he wasn’t built like most boxers as he had a very lean body.  Jenkins also was not a fan of hard training that most champion boxers do, but he did enough to earn that championship.  His first wife, Katie, had much to do with his success in the ring as well even though as a woman, she could not apply for a manager’s license.  This is the first area where I was very impressed with Mr. Pantalone’s research and writing.  Even though this boxing took place over 80 years ago, it felt like it was just recent news, and I enjoyed this part of the book.

Equally impressive is Mr. Pantalone’s writing about Jenkins’ fall from grace after he won the championship and Jenkins’ subsequent new life in the military.  Jenkins lost the title, his money and Katie due to many drunken escapades and issues with law enforcement.  He was even accused of having an affair with the wife of legendary heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey.  An entire chapter is dedicated to this sordid affair – more proof of excellent research.

Although all of this is good material, the reader will really enjoy learning how Jenkins cleaned himself up by serving in the military in two wars.  He enjoyed being on the battlefield the most – first by the guilt he felt in WWII when he was serving on Coast Guard vessels carrying Marines and later with his heroic leadership and fighting in Korea.  It was enough to earn him a Silver Star, and he made it back to his second wife and son.  Like with the other sections, Mr. Pantalone does an excellent job with his research, his interviews and his telling of Jenkins’ war stories.

Any reader who wants to learn more about a boxer who sunk to new lows in his life and then made good by serving his country in two wars will love this book.  I am very glad to have learned about the life of Lew Jenkins.

I wish to thank Mr. Pantalone for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: From Boxing Ring to Battlefield: The Life of War Hero Lew Jenkins: 9781538116746: Pantalone, Gene, DiSanto, John: Books

Review of "Sir Lewis"

While I consider myself to be more of a NASCAR fan than F1, I am finding that books about the latter are much more interesting for reading than the former and as a result, more of my books on auto racing are falling into the F1 category.  Here is my latest F1 read on Sir Lewis Hamilton.

Title/Author:

“Sir Lewis” by Michael Sawyer

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

Lewis Hamilton has won seven F1 driving titles and yet, some don’t consider that to be his greatest accomplishment.  Being the only Black driver on the F1 circuit, he had to overcome many barriers and challenges that many minority people face whenever they are striving to succeed, in sports or otherwise.  He has done gracefully, with great success and has become a strong activist for equality. How he came to this point, in both his racing and his activism, is portrayed in this excellent book by Micheal Sawyer.

 If there is any downfall to this book, it would be that for readers who follow F1 or Hamilton closely, there won’t be much new material in the book. As one who would be best considered a casual fan of F1 and only knew about Hamilton’s success with his championships, I found the book to be full of new information that I did not know about him and came away with even more respect for the man than I did before I picked up the book. The many post-race interview transcripts helped formulate this impression, but I can understand where this may be redundant for those who follow Lewis closely.

Because the book deals mostly with Hamilton’s racing and his activism, I did find it to not quite be a “biography” as it is marketed, despite covering most of Hamilton’s life.  It is clear how not only the book will read, but also how Hamilton’s life will be shaped when Sawyer writes about the sacrifices and hardships his father makes so that Lewis can race, starting in go-karts and extending until the McLaren team decided to take a chance on the young but talented driver.  Even in the go-kart level, it takes a lot of money to dedicate the proper resources to the sport, something the Hamilton family did not always have.  Add in the elitism and the racism endured by the family and it makes Lewis’ accomplishments even more astounding.

There is also a great deal of racing material in the book, especially when Lewis’ rivals such as Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso.  The latter was his teammate when Lewis was with McLaren racing and the tension between them is covered quite well.  The same can be said for the rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen and what is most impressive is the class and humility for which Hamilton handles himself when faced with questions about his rivals.  This is true even in the case of the controversial finish of the 2021 F1 season when some questionable ruling on the final lap gave Verstappen the title over Hamilton. 

Lastly, the sections that describes Hamilton’s activism, his quotes about events such as the police shooting of Breanna Taylor and his calm demeanor that makes his statements even more powerful.  He handles this topic as skillfully and masterfully as he does a race car.  In the same manner, Sawyer handles this topic well. While his text when interjecting his own thoughts with Hamilton’s can come across as much stronger, it is written even-handedly and fairly.  For all of these reasons, this reader who wanted to learn more about Hamilton believes this is an excellent book for that endeavor.

I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Sir Lewis: Sawyer, Michael: 9781538769744: Amazon.com: Books

 

Review of “Pinch Hitting”

This is the second of the two books I finished over a rainy week - a very good baseball novel that was a Casey Award finalist. Here is my review of “Pinch Hitting”

Title/Author: “Pinch Hitting” by Morris Hoffman

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: It isn’t often a fictional baseball story will intertwine with a story of a loving couple in which the end is near for one of them, but this is the premise of this novel by Morris Hoffman. 

The baseball story is about Harold Fungo, a janitor who is a slow runner, has false teeth due to tooth loss in his youth and has trouble with socializing with others. But he has a gift of being able to hit a baseball no matter where it is pitched. He plays for the local minor league team which is the AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They eventually call Harold up to the major leagues.

Joe Skelton is a humble man who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He talks about a fictional baseball player and this story is dutifully written by his wife Katherine. That player is…Harold Fungo. That is how Joe’s and Harold’s stories are connected.

The writing by Hoffman for both stories is very good and he develops these three characters quite well. Even though the connection is made early, I still had some issues trying to keep the stories straight. At least by the end of the book, a reader will realize how the poignant stories of both men will be something that will stick with them for a long time. 

I wish to thank Black Rose Writing for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CW1DXQ3F/ref=x_gr_bb_kindle?caller=Goodreads&tag=x_gr_bb_kindle-20 

Review of "The Dark Side of the Diamond"

While the weather was better on Mother's Day (belated Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers or those who perform the duties of mothers) there was still enough wet weather to keep me inside and reading or listening to multiple books.  Finished two in two days - here's the first one, an audiobook that would probably be better read in the physical or e-book format. 

Title/Author:

“The Dark Side of the Diamond” by Charlie Bradford, narrated by Virtual Voice

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Baseball has been rife with scandals and controversies throughout its history. This book by Charlie Bradford sheds light on these events. They are not only told through an objective lens, which is the biggest strength of the book, but the fallout from the controversy is also well documented.  This goes for the players involved, teams involved, the game itself and even the fans.

Just about any issue that made headlines, usually bad ones, is discussed in the book.  Segregation, the unionization of players and the subsequent labor issues that interrupted the 1972, 1981 and 1994-95 seasons, performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) and gambling are just a few of the topics covered.  Also, it should be noted that not just the big headlines are mentioned.  One example: when discussing gambling in the game and its effects, Bradford went beyond just the Black Sox of 1919 and Pete Rose. He talked about when Bowie Kuhn banned Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays for taking jobs with casinos as ambassadors. By working for companies that invested in gambling, they were banned but later were reinstated by Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner who succeeded Kuhn. Covering issues like that was a strength of this book.

While overall this book is very good, if a reader is interested in it, I highly recommend avoiding the audio version and picking either the physical or electronic copy.  The biggest reason is that the virtual voice narration reads the player statistics in a manner that is not done by baseball fans and broadcasters, among several other issues.  For example, the steroids discussion always says PED’s as “peds” (rhymes with meds). There are several player mispronunciations. These all distract from the main points of the book. But because I finished the book and overall, it does give some information that I did not know before listening, it gets a passing grade.

Link: The Dark Side of the Diamond: Inside the Shocking Scandals that Changed Baseball Forever: Bradford, Charlie: 9798338785546: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "After Jackie"

It's not often that I complete books on two consecutive days, but with rainy weather in my area and re-discovering audio books, it's possible to get more books completed now.  This book caught my interest when it was a special on Audible, so I picked it up.  Here is my review of "After Jackie." 

Title/Author:

“After Jackie: Fifteen Pioneers Who Helped Change the Face of Baseball” by Jeffrey S. Copeland, narrated by Virtual Voice

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While the story of Jackie Robinson is well-known, even by people who are not baseball fans, he was not the only Black baseball player who faced challenges in the early days of the integration of the sport. Many fans, managers, fellow players and even teams were resistant to the inevitable change, but by 1959, all 16 major league teams had at least one Black player. Aside from Robinson, this book by Jeffrey S. Copeland introduces the reader to the first Black player for each of the other 15 teams.

The format for each chapter, one for each player, is the same and explained in the preface. The chapter starts with the name of the player and the team with which he entered the major leagues.  Then a description of him in a team picture or with teammates, an interesting story about him, a brief summary of his career, and his major league stats.  It starts with Larry Doby, who signed with the Cleveland Indians later in the 1947 season and ends with Pumpsie Green, who signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1959 to become the final club to integrate.

What made the book enjoyable as a leisurely read was that the stories were not strictly about baseball, social justice or even about the player’s life.  While there was some of these types of stories, they were mostly one snippet of either their time on the field with the major league team or interactions in places like the team hotel or at meals.  One of the better stories was actually one that was well-known.  The story on Sam Jethroe, the first Black player signed by the then-Boston Braves in 1950, was mostly about his tryout with the Red Sox in 1945 – a story well known because Jackie Robinson was also in that tryout.  As it is known, the Red Sox had no intention of signing those players.  It was their loss and the gains for the Dodgers and Braves.

While overall this book is very good, if a reader is interested in it, I highly recommend avoiding the audio version and picking either the physical or electronic copy.  The biggest reason is so that the captions of the pictures make sense since the reader can see those photos.  The other main reason is that the virtual voice narration reads the player statistics in a manner that is not done by baseball fans and broadcaster.  For example, if the player’s batting average is .275, instead of “two seventy-five”, the narration says the batting average is “point two seven five.”  Otherwise, the narration is okay, but it still was strange to hear this.

Link: After Jackie: Fifteen Pioneers Who Helped Change the Face of Baseball: Copeland, Jeffrey S.: 9781557789488: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Out of the Darkness"

This book was one that while I received it before its publication before its 2024 publication date, I just never got around to reading it as I also placed newly received books on top of it in the TBR pile. Thanks to a reading challenge in an online group this month, I finally got around to it and really enjoyed it.  Even this Vikings fan had to read about a Packers legend - the author made it a great book. 

Title/Author: “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rogers” by Ian O’Connor

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  Aaron Rogers will certainly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he was an outstanding quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.  He often makes headlines for comments and actions outside of the football field as well. This makes him a polarizing and complex individual and this excellent biography by Ian O’Connor makes a valiant effort to understand Rogers better.  

O’Connor has written other excellent sports biographies on complex people, most notably Bill Belichick.  He does the same thing here with Rogers, and it goes far beyond the better-known controversies around Rogers such as his stance on the COVID-19 vaccines. O’Connor covers just about every question or topic one might have about Rogers, on and off the field. 

For football related items, O’Connor covers Rogers’ entire career, from his high school accomplishments at Pleasant Valley High School in California to hie devastating Achilles injury four plays into his time with the New York Jets at the star of the 2023 season. For just one excellent example of O’Connor’s work, reading about how Rogers left the University of California early and was expected to be a top 5 draft pick to sliding down all the way to near the bottom of the first round where he was selected by the Packers.  Like in the rest of the book, O’Connor does much research and conducts as many interviews as he could to tell the complete story.

The same approach is done for the more controversial aspects of Rogers’ life, especially off the field.  These include his lengthy self-estrangement from his family, a comment linking late night television host Jimmy Kimmel to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his views on religion after being raised by religious parents. This was quite a contrast to the person that Rogers was portrayed as by teammates and coaches (even those with whom he often clashed such as former Packers coach Mike McCarthy). This adds layers to the complexity that is Aaron Rogers and why telling his complete story in a very balanced manner makes O’Connor one of the best writers of sports biographies in the business today.

I wish to thank Mariner Books for providing a review copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Out-Darkness-Mystery-Aaron-Rodgers/dp/006329785X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0