Brooks on Books: A Baseball Doubleheader

Yes, I do read stuff other than baseball books, and you'll discover that soon enough, but today I want to share some thoughts on a few diamond-centric tones I recently enjoyed. After all, we have to remember that, yes, football's back, but baseball ain't over yet, bucko.


Is This a Great Game or What? By Tim Kurkjian:

I expected a memoir by this current ESPN "Baseball Tonight" talking head and longtime journalist. Actually, though, there was very little of his childhood or private life, a little bit more in the way of personal anecdotes, and mostly a breezy but entertaining mix of trivia and funny stories. The common thread throughout is how great baseball is and why it is so much better than any other sport, and his stories and info back that claim well.

I sped right through this one and enjoyed it the whole way. His admittedly dorky persona only made it funnier to read him use the f-word--even if it was only quoting another player--and mentioning how ex-manager and ex-"Baseball Tonight" analyst Bobby Valentine used to fart on the set. I would have liked a little more detail on "Baseball Tonight" behind the scenes as it's one of my favorite shows, but what he has here is pretty good. I mean, hey--farting!


Ball Four by Jim Bouton:
It was a reread for me of this classic diary account of veteran pitcher Bouton's 1969 season with the expansion Seattle Pilots (later the Milwaukee Brewers) and the Astros (after a midseason trade). This book was extremely controversial both inside baseball (simply for breaking "the code of the locker room" and revealing so many conversations and antics of players in "their" domain) and outside baseball (for exposing things like rampant amphetamine use, rampant looking up the skirts of women in the stands, and other not-so-wholesome National Pastimes in which players indulge).

A writer helped Bouton edit down his diaries and--presumably--polish the diaries. Many of the entries seem a little too sharp, with a little too much perspective, to be spontaneous. But maybe I am being biased against jocks. Still, I find the book essentially genuine and extremely entertaining. Bouton's candid insights illuminate all sorts of aspects of baseball and the life of a professional athlete, from topics like what pitchers think about on the mound to the logistical problems that face a traded athlete when he has a wife and kids to worry about.

But maybe the most striking aspect of the book is how it exposes the essentially conservative nature of the sport. I don't mean politically--although there is that in, for example, the way Bouton's teammates who wear their hair below their necks are eyed with suspicion--but just the fundamentally resistant-to-change, old-school nature of the institutions of the game. There is such a group-think mentality that comes through in this book that it's quickly apparent why Bouton would be scorned for writing a book. Hell, players, especially in 1969, but by no means limited to those days of yore, are scorned for READING a book. This is interesting not just from a sports standpoint, but from a sociological standpoint, as you see how someone like Bouton (a man with leftist politics, an intellectual curiosity about the world, and a willingness to challenge established norms) tries to fit into a culture that encourages conformity for both professional and social reasons. Again, it's not just political. Even something apparently as simple as getting permission to throw more during games to get practice is a big deal as Bouton has to jump through hoops to do anything that goes outside his coaches' standard operating procedures.

Also recommended if you can find it: Bouton's 1971 follow-up, again edited by Leonard Shecter, "I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally," in which he discusses his entry into broadcasting as well as reaction to "Ball Four." This book is much shorter and doesn't have the same impact, but it's almost as entertaining and a must-read for fans.