Inside the Baseball Hall of Fame
forward by Brooks Robinson (Simon & Schuster)
If you can’t make it up to Cooperstown to help celebrate Opening Day, this Hall of Fame home companion is a fine pinch hitter. It’s packed with photos, descriptions and accounts of some 200 items from the HOF — both wacky and historical. Some of our faves include a 1887 umpire’s ball-strike indicator (the rules then had five balls and four strikes), the San Diego Chicken costume, Shoeless Joe Jackson’s shoes and scouting reports for both Tom Seaver and Roberto Clemente.
Beyond Home Plate
Jackie Robinson on Life After Baseball
edited by Michael G. Long (Syracuse University Press)
It’s only a couple of weeks till the release of the new Jackie Robinson movie, “42.” In the meantime, here’s a book which offers insight into post-baseball Robinson. In addition to his work as an exec for Chock full o’Nuts, Robinson wrote a column for the New York Post from 1959 to 1960 and later for the Amsterdam News. Not restricted to baseball in his writing, Robinson still questions why the Red Sox are an all-white in 1959. Other subjects include civil rights, his wife, Rachael (big fan), and Malcolm X (not a fan). Robinson was a man who was not afraid to speak his mind.
The Bird
The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych
by Doug Wilson (St. Martin’s)
There have always been a lot of characters in baseball. Fewer are the characters who are also great ballplayers. Mark Fidrych was one. He burst onto the scene with the Detroit Tigers during America’s Bicentennial in 1976. With his floppy yellow hair, Fidrych was nicknamed The Bird. The young pitcher talked to the ball, manicured the mound with his hands, was filled with boyish enthusiasm. He went 19-9, was named Rookie of the Year and became the first athlete on the cover of Rolling Stone mag. Sadly, due to injuries, he was out of the game after 1980, retiring to a farm in his native Massachusetts.
The Victory Season
The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball’s Golden Age
by Robert Weintraub (Little, Brown))
Hundreds of ballplayers switched uniforms during World War II — and let’s just say the fill-ins weren’t as good. Weintraub tracks the return of stars like Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Bob Feller, the failed attempt by players to unionize, Mexican League millionaire Jorge Pasquel’s raids on the big leagues and lots more action. Of particular note is his reporting on the European Theater’s “World Series” at the end of the war in 1945.
Put It In the Book!
A Half-Century of Mets Mania
by Howie Rose with Phil Pepe (Triumph Books)
Queens-bred Rose has been the radio voice of the Mets since 1995 — when Bobby Bonilla and Jeff Kent were in the opening-day lineup. He picks his top-five important, iconic, indispensable Mets: Seaver, Hernandez, Gooden, Hodges and Piazza. Rose recalls his first Mets game: July 6, 1962 at the Polo Grounds, where he witnessed Gil Hodges hit his last home run (and a victory over the Cards). As enjoyable as a day at the ballpark.