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Roundup - Part 1 /
Part
2 /
Part
4 /
Part
5
Traded
Bill James
Handbook
Graphical
Player
Also Read:
Remembering
Yankee Stadium
Yankees
World Series 2001
Baseball
How to Play the Game
BOOK REVIEW
Spring Roundup (Part 3)
Dr. Harvey Frommer on Sports
The baseball season moves along
and so does the publication of all manner of books on the national pastime
from all levels of publishers. All of this happening reveals the tremendous
depth of the sport, the myriad manners in which to view
it.
Batting in first position is “Cuban Star” by Adrian Burgos,
Jr. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28.00, 302 pages) about “Alex”
Pompez - -the man who was the
preamble to the great run of Latin baseball players that are on the scene
today. Funny, poignant, dramatic, filled with all kinds of insights, “Cuban
Star” is a full fledged bio of the Pompez who was finally admitted into
the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. He cut his bones, as they say, with gambling
revenue to finance and keep afloat the team he owned the -- New York Cubans.
In short, he was number one in Harlem’s numbers scene. He also was a
pioneer later on in his career working for the San Francisco Giants as a
scout and bringing to the team standout Latin American stars. The book is
a keeper.
"Baseball
Codes" by Jason Turbow (Anchor Sports $15.00, 304 pages) is now in paperback.
I liked it in hard cover and I still like it. A revealing look through the
eyes of the players - - "inside
baseball."
"The
Runmakers" by Frederick E. Taylor (Johns Hopkins University Press, $24.95,
272 pages) is a breakthrough look at the way evaluations in baseball have
always beenpart of the scene. Taylor's first book is a home run. He has created
a formula "bases per plate appearance" to measure the efficiency and greatness
of hitters. If you are into the game - - -you will be into the book's potential
runs per game (PRG) measurement tool.
“56”
by Kostya (Sports Illustrated Group, $26.95, 367 pages) is once more to 1941
and Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. It is a many times told story
but there is a good re-playing of the legend and the times he lived in.
NOTABLE: Though not a baseball book, "Wimbeldon" by David Green
sub-titled "101 Reasons to Love the Greatest Tournament in Tennis" (Abrams,
$18.95, more than 100 pages) is a concise and cleverly crafted look at a
sports phenomenon and a showcasing of British culture so much in the air
nowadays. Much to like from the careful research to the excellent imagery
and the trivia and factoids sprinkled throughout.
In 2011, Harvey Frommer will be in his 36th year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is set for March 2011.
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a
readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended
periods of
time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd He is available for speaking engagements.
