Brooks on Books: Batter up!

OK, the post title is corny, but baseball season is here, and it's time to catch up on some of the books I've read in the past year and a half or so. Here are two of 'em.

Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends: I love all of Neyer's "Big" baseball books, and this is another addictive read in the same format: Short chapters presented in a clean manner, loaded with tidbits and sidebars. In it, the ESPN.com senior writer takes a close look at many anecdotes and stories that have circulated around the game and tries to determine if there's any truth to them. He goes to original source material like box scores and contemporary news accounts when he can to verify the facts. Then he does some analysis to evaluate whether they're tall tales or legit. He examines legends as notable as Babe Ruth's Called Shot and as obscure as a story in a player's little-read autobiography, and overall there's a nice variety of material here.

If you're the type of old-school fan who just wants to let those old stories be and might take offense at being told that, say, an anecdote told by Tommy Lasorda is total BS, then stay away. I think this kind of approach is fascinating, however, and Neyer is an entertaining enough writer to make his detective work interesting. Sometimes he gets a little nitpicky, and even I kind of think, "Well, so what if one of the details in the story doesn't check out?" But this isn't some humorless suit poring over the material for legal reasons; it's a hardcore fan having fun with the whole idea. Highly recommended for the big fan.

The Gashouse Gang by John Heidenry: This one is also recommended for big fans, but mainly because it's not spectacular enough to draw in casual baseball followers. Heidenry crafts a solid account of the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, but I expect a little more from such an intriguing topic. I mean, if your subjects are colorful enough to earn the nickname "The Gashouse Gang," the book should have a little bit more color. I don't doubt the author loves his topic, but the passion doesn't come through very often in the text.

Lovers of baseball history will still find much to enjoy here, and the individual characters are compelling enough to make "The Gashouse Gang" worthwhile. Heidenry's approach, though, doesn't necessarily take full advantage of the opportunity. This book begins as kind of a dual biography of general manager Branch Rickey, who built the team; and Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean, the legend who was the Gang's most entertaining and famous player. Then Rickey fades into the background at some point, and we get a fairly straightforward account of the '34 Cardinals' season. Yet Dean still dominates the text.

I understand the desire to make Dean the star. In many ways, he IS the star, and there has been a lot written about him, back when he played and long afterwards. But I would like to know more about some of the other characters, men like the volatile Joe Medwick and Pepper Martin. The emphasis on Dean often comes at the expense of the larger story.

While I do recommend "The Gashouse Gang," then, I do so with reservations. It's a good enough book with amusing stories and a decent overview of this part of the game's history. It's just not the book you hope for.