Baseball is part of the nation’s fabric. Most kids have a memory of the game either from playing Little League, attending a major league contest or meeting a favorite player. In Cooperstown that feeling is magnified since we are the official home of baseball. We get to see firsthand what has made the sport the national pastime.
One thing that makes baseball special is the nostalgic aspect to it. It is difficult today to appreciate how close a fan felt to the game in the old days. With the multi-million-dollar contracts and billion-dollar franchises of present-day baseball it’s harder than ever to connect with the players.
Major leaguers once lived in middle-class neighborhoods and worked in the off-season. Today you would be lucky to spot them leaving their gated communities or pay for their autographs at card shows.
One reason spring training has become so popular is that it’s the last remaining bastion where you might feel “close” to the players.
Along with the multimillion- dollar contracts come higher ticket prices. Where a family of four could easily attend a game for $20 40 years ago, it would be closer to $200 today and that’s before being overcharged for hot dogs, soda, and beer. Baseball is still baseball, but the innocence has disappeared.
That’s one reason nostalgia is such an important part of the game. There is nothing like looking back to simpler times. One of the great things about baseball is that the heart of the game hasn’t changed. Because the equipment and dimensions of the field are still basically the same as they were 100 years ago, it’s easy to relate to the past.
It’s a way for fans to hold on to their love of the game when attending major league contests has become less affordable.
Into this breach is a new book seen mainly from the fan’s perspective called “Baseball Fantography.” It is edited by Andy Strasberg and contains photos from ordinary fans plus short stories on many of the unique aspects of the game.
As you will discover, Andy is one of the truest fans you will ever come across. He wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated almost 25 years ago about his relationship with Roger Maris that still ranks as one of the best magazine articles that I have ever read.
In the interest of full disclosure I have to mention that I had the pleasure of penning one of the short stories in the book. I was one of a number of people with a local connection that was asked to contribute including Jeff Katz, Tim Wiles, Jeff Arnett, and Dale Petrosky (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out!).
But we’re not the ones who made this book such a pleasure to absorb (I can’t say “read” because there’s much more to it than that).
It’s really the fans and the photos they’ve shared. Andy intertwines all the stories with photos of the baseball experience and adds fascinating bits of trivia that most baseball fans are unaware of.
If you ever wondered why left-handed pitchers are called south-paws, which Oakland A’s ball girl became famous baking cookies, or why 5,000 fans left at the start of a game in Boston in 1943, the answers are all here.
In addition, anyone with a fascination for ballparks (both ancient and retro) will love this book.
The photos and descriptions of major league venues remind you of what a rich and unique history baseball has endured.
I hesitated to review this book because I clearly have a bias. But I didn’t have to be a part of it to be moved by what it represents. Baseball has lost a lot of its charm because money and commercialism have overwhelmed it.
Andy’s book reminds us that the essence of the game is still something to celebrate. That alone makes the book worthwhile.
Book Notes
May 3, 2012
Book Notes: Baseball book features local contributors
- Book Notes
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- Book covers much more than caddies and golf St Andrews in Scotland is famous as the birthplace of golf. Every few years the "old course" hosts the British Open so all television viewers are reminded that the place is hallowed ground.
- Memoir reflects on 'roller-coaster life and career' Apparently, the third time wasn't the charm. The way Reynolds described him, the third husband was worse than the first two combined and that's saying a lot. Eddie Fisher literally walked away from Reynolds and their two infant children to chase a sex goddess. At least he got his just desserts when Elizabeth Taylor tossed him aside for Richard Burton.
- 'Who's on Worst?' reveals the ugly in baseball The Baseball Hall of Fame celebrates the greatest players, managers and owners from our national pastime. Any of us who have watched Major League baseball have inevitably seen some of these immortals practicing their craft. But we have also likely witnessed a sample of their opposite brethren, players who shouldn't have been in the Major Leagues. Has there ever been a definitive source that "celebrates" the non-accomplishments of the worst that Major League baseball has to offer?
- Book takes readers on path for equal rights One of the most troubling aspects of our history is race relations. It takes a long time to achieve true equality in a society when the heritage of one ethnic group is slavery and Jim Crow laws. Even today African Americans are more likely to be stereotyped as athletes than doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs. The path to a "color-blind" nation is still a work in progress.
- Piazza wasn't considered much of a prospect for the majors It's probably going to be a quiet few days in Cooperstown when Hall of Fame weekend rolls around this summer. The baseball writers did not elect anybody this year despite some heavyweight candidates. The problem was that at least three of the poster boys for the steroids era, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, were on the ballot for the first time. The writers were clearly making a statement when nobody got elected.
- Who would have thought e-books would be so popular? When I was in library school 25 years ago, a future concept was presented that seemed absurd at the time. It was the notion you could read books on a small computerized device about the size of a pocketbook.
- 2012 was a year of great films, future favorites The year 2012 was a blockbuster year for great films. Several of the movies up for Best Picture would have been runaway favorites almost any other time. They will make for easy pickings for the library when they become available on DVD.
- Blockbusters are not the only movies worth watching Hollywood makes enough movies that there are always a few that you don't hear about until they are on DVD. Sometimes they are simply horrible films that end their theater run quickly, but often they are "diamonds in the rough" that made their mark at film festivals.
- Mickey Mantle biography shows the good and the ugly It has become obvious in recent days that bestowing "hero" status on athletes is a misplaced priority.
- Book looks at 50 years of James Bond movies When I was in elementary school, James Bond was all the rage. For some reason I didn't see any of the early films with Sean Connery playing the infamous 007 British spy, but my siblings and several friends certainly did.
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