OT: Any Suggestions on Good Baseball Books for Gifts

[JimStinson]

Brought back such great memories , Like where they pictured Sandy Koufax rookie card and called it his "Bar Mizvah picture" because he looked so young...

this is from the book.....


Quick, name a major league baseball player who was born in San Remo, Italy, lived in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and couldn't hit. That's right--Reno Bertoia. OK. Name another one. The back of Reno's card is interesting. It says that his average last year was .162 and that, although he did not get to play in too many ballgames, he gained valuable information about American League hurlers that would help him in the future. I suspect that the information he gathered was that every pitcher in the American League could get him out, and that perhaps he should try another line of work.


Now, it is not necessary for me to declare that Hector Lopez was the worst fielding third baseman in the history of baseball. Everyone knows that. It is more or less a matter of public record. But I do feel called upon somehow to try to indicate, if only for the historical archivists among us, the sheer depths of his innovative barbarousness. Hector Lopez was a butcher. Pure and Simple. A butcher. His range was about one step to either side, his hands seemed to be made of concrete and his defensive attitude was so cavalier and arbitrary as to hardly constitute an attitude at all. Hector did not simply field a groundball, he attacked it. Like a farmer trying to kill a snake with a stick. And his mishandling of routine infield flies was the sort of which legends are made. Hector Lopez was not just a bad fielder for a third baseman. In fact, Hector Lopez was not just a bad fielder for a baseball player. Hector Lopez was, when every factor has been taken into consideration, a bad fielder for a human being. The stands are full of obnoxious leather-lunged cretins who insist they can play better than most major leaguers. Well, in Hector's case they could have been right. I would like to go on record right here and now as declaring Hector Lopez the all-time worst fielding major league ballplayer. That's quite a responsibility there, Hector, but I have every confidence you'll be able to live up to it

[JimStinson]

Who the hell is Cuno Barragan , and why are they saying such terrible things about him?...............................lol

[71buc]

I loved the Bullpen Gospels. I have read hundreds of baseball books and this one is is by far one of the most entertaining. I could not put it down. Read it and you won't be sorry.

http://dirkhayhurst.com/books/the-bullpen-gospels/

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

Who the hell is Cuno Barragan , and why are they saying such terrible things about him?...............................lol

My personal favorite from the book...

"Smoky Burgess was fat. Not baseball fat like Mickey Lolich or Early Wynn. But FAT fat. Like the mailman or your Uncle Dwight. Putsy Fat. Slobby Fat. Just plain fat. In fact, I would venture to say Smoky Burgess was the fattest man to ever play professional baseball. Of course, he was not always fat; when he was a catcher...he was merely plump, the way good hitting catchers can afford to be.

But as Burgess grew older a curious tendency began to manifest itself...the older he got and the fatter he got, the better his hitting seemed to become, until at the age of thirty-eight Smoky weighed close to 300 pounds and was hitting over .320.

I don't have any idea what Smoky is doing these days (he retired finally in 1967), but I can tell you one thing for sure, he must be an interesting and instructive sight, now that he's been out of baseball for a few years and has had the chance to really get out of shape."

[jgmp123]

This is modern, but the Josh Hamilton book is a great read. The personal demons that he fought off during his time with the Reds and into his return to baseball...amazing testimony.

[isaac2004]

Originally Posted by jgmp123

This is modern, but the Josh Hamilton book is a great read. The personal demons that he fought off during his time with the Reds and into his return to baseball...amazing testimony.

I concur 100% that the Hamilton book is good. Great story and page turner. I was fortunate enough to get Josh to sign my copy before a game. It amazes me that he tries his best to sign for everyone, doing it for up to an hour before games.

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by MooseDog

My personal favorite from the book...

"Smoky Burgess was fat. Not baseball fat like Mickey Lolich or Early Wynn. But FAT fat. Like the mailman or your Uncle Dwight. Putsy Fat. Slobby Fat. Just plain fat. In fact, I would venture to say Smoky Burgess was the fattest man to ever play professional baseball. Of course, he was not always fat; when he was a catcher...he was merely plump, the way good hitting catchers can afford to be.

But as Burgess grew older a curious tendency began to manifest itself...the older he got and the fatter he got, the better his hitting seemed to become, until at the age of thirty-eight Smoky weighed close to 300 pounds and was hitting over .320.

I don't have any idea what Smoky is doing these days (he retired finally in 1967), but I can tell you one thing for sure, he must be an interesting and instructive sight, now that he's been out of baseball for a few years and has had the chance to really get out of shape."

The funny thing is I have not even THOUGHT of this book in 20 years and after you mentioned it I SIMPLY CAN'T STOP LAUGHING .....Made my day

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

The funny thing is I have not even THOUGHT of this book in 20 years and after you mentioned it I SIMPLY CAN'T STOP LAUGHING .....Made my day

+1 - great stuff. Anytime anyone mentions this book, the first thing I think of is the image of the Unitas card.

[JimStinson]

TOO MUCH....didn't they call him the "Blondest Man Alive" or something like that in the book ?

I just bought two vintage copies of the book off of e-bay for Holiday Gifts, they were $5.00 each plus shipping.

Unitas looks like they just signed his release papers from the mental ward in that card.

[JimStinson]

How about this one from the book...JESUS MCFARLANE who batted .087, with the warning to parents to NOT name their children after famous people because they never live up to expectations....

[byrone]

Originally Posted by Runscott

+1 - great stuff. Anytime anyone mentions this book, the first thing I think of is the image of the Unitas card.

"Is his hair too tight?"

[JimStinson]

RFLOL.....thats it !

Unitas Looks like Charles Manson with a crewcut dosen't he ?