Merry Xmas and stuff

So I guess you know you're getting old when you start getting books for Christmas instead of video games.
I have a lot of reading to do.
Now on my to-do list are The Bad Guys Won by Jeff Pearlman and 3 Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger. Apparently three more books are on the way via UPS according to my wife, and while one of them is undoubtedly The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting - about the greatest American rock band of all time, I'm assuming the other two are probably going to be about baseball.

And in perhaps a further sign that I'm getting old, I'm actually looking forward to reading all of them. I recently finished The Cheaters Guide to Baseball by ussmariner blogger Derek Zumsteg, and it kind of reinvigorated my appetite for good baseball reading.

Reading about baseball (and other stuff) as a kid not only primed me for my present career as a sports writer, but it also probably kept me from either dropping out of or flunking out of high school.
High school was impossibly stupid, the most pointless thing that ever happened to me, but going to class gave me a time and a place to get a lot of reading done. I read four John Irving novels and a few baseball books in my junior year alone, and I didn't do any of it at home during my free time. That's what makes it harder to read as an adult. To do it, I'd actually have to give up some of my own free time. But I'm willing. I'll get started tomorrow.

I'm assuming if you take the time to read this blog, that means you're literate enough to have read a book cover to cover before, and enjoy baseball to some degree, so while I'm on the subject, here are some of the baseball books I've enjoyed best.

*I Love This Game - Kirby Puckett
Puck's autobiography is extremely light weight, and if you aren't a Twins fans or didn't follow his career somewhat closely, you might not have much reason to read it. But it's a fast-moving story that covers Kirby's entire life in pretty good detail. I particularly enjoyed the parts about Kirby's flirtation with leaving the Twins to sign with the Red Sox in the early 90's. He was candid about the situation and it gave a telling glimpse into how the Pohlad's operate.
The books strength is in how it lets Puckett's shiny disposition come to life. Puckett's ex-wife, Tonya, and others made efforts to portray Kirby's "lovable" side as a bogus alter-ego in the later stages of his life, and it's pretty clear that he did have a dark side. But anyone who reads this book will come away confident that he was a great ambassador of the game, a great teammate, and someone who truly did care a great deal about the fans.

*The Mick - Mickey Mantle
Great because Mick pulls no punches. If memory serves (I read it several years ago) he doesn't talk much about his womanizing, and the controversial liver transplant didn't take place until later, but he's otherwise pretty unflinching in his battles with excessive drinking and partying. His story of rising from the Oklahoma farm to the Yankees is inspiring, but the highlights are certainly his late night shenanigans with Billy Martin, many of which had me laughing out loud. The second funniest baseball book I ever read.

*I Ain't an Athlete, Lady - John Kruk
The funniest baseball book I ever read. Written well before Kruk became a terrible ESPN analyst, this book was the reason I knew Kruk was a terrible choice for an analyst the day he was hired. He's anti-intellectual. A Big Mac-and-beer type of guy who never took two seconds to analyze himself, much less the hows and whys of MLB.
It makes for a bad analyst but a terrifically entertaining storyteller. Kruk tells stories about living with a rowdy family, playing with rowdy teammates, and the humorous, aw-shucks demeanor that overshadowed what a great player he was throughout his career is ever-present , but the highlights are without a doubt the stories of the '93 Phillies team and his days playing for Larry Bowa. If you read this book, you'll never look at Bowa - currently a Yankee coach and formerly an ESPN analyst himself - the same way again.

*The Cheaters Guide to Baseball - Derek Zumsteg
Both funny and enlightening, the Mariner blogger does a terrific job of covering the history of cheating in baseball from the dirty play and gambling scandals of the 1800s to the steroid scandals of today. Spectacularly researched, yet it's more than a history, it also does a great job of pointing out (and celebrating) the fine line in baseball between what is considered cheating (steroids, corked bats) and what is considered gamesmanship (stealing signs, lying to umpires). The chapter on the ways a groundskeeper and his crew can affect a game is fascinating.

*Season of Dreams - Tom Kelly with Ted Robinson
Robinson was the Dick Bremer for the '91 Twins, and he does a terrific job of taking Tom Kelly's retelling of the season and putting it in proper context and actually building suspense in a non-fiction book. For anyone who remembers the '91 season as vividly as I do, it's an absolute must-read. From the 2-9 start to the 15-game winning streak to the playoff push, reading it again recently was like looking through a high school yearbook. Loved it.

*Throwin' Heat - Nolan Ryan
Reading this one you can actually hear Nolan's deep, twangy Texas drawl as he recounts an amazing career that spanned parts of four decades. Not just a bunch of stories from his career, but a look into his thought processes on the mound, and how tough it was for a conservative farm boy from Texas to deal with immense celebrity and be a family man at the same time.

*The 20th Century Baseball Chronicle - David Nemec
If there was a class on baseball history (I'm sure there is somewhere) this would be the textbook. Weighing in at five pounds and over 600 full-color pages, it's chock full of stories, photos, stats and figures from each year from 1900-1991.
I learned more about baseball history from this book than any other source ever.

*Hi Everybody - Herb Carneal
If you didn't spend a large number of your summer days and nights with Herb's smooth and steady voice keeping you company while working on the mower in the garage, or relaxing by the lake, or making a long drive, this book won't appeal to you. But if Herb was a big part of your life, and if you visit this blog regularly he probably was, you'll enjoy it. It's like spending a few hours in the cheap seats with your Grandpa.

*Summer of '49 - David Halberstam
So good I've read it three times.
Meticulously researched and beautifully written, one of the greatest American writers set out to create a historical account of one of baseball's greatest pennant races and he wound up writing a novel. Seriously, it's nearly impossible for a non-fiction book to be so totally engrossing.
You don't have to be old enough to remember that season, and you don't have to be a Red Sox or Yankees fan (much of the story focuses on those two). In fact, you wouldn't even have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book.
I was born in 1980, and I feel like I know exactly what baseball, and America's relationship with it, was like in 1949.