In reply to: it's an outstanding book posted by jt
I'd recommend "the Bronx Zoo" by Sparky Lyle about the 1978 Yankees.
I was never enamored of Peter Golenbock's writing. The guy couldn't even spell players' names correctly.
The second funniest baseball book ever written was "I'm Gald You Didn't Take it Personally".
there were just a lot of funny anecdotes in Bronx Zoo, which is made even funnier with some basic understanding of what a strange cat Lyle was in real life (sitting naked on birthday cakes, as an example).
The advice he shares about (and I paraphrase) chasing girls is actually kind of accurate, in a crude sense. "Every time you want to chase girls, jack off and throw a 5 dollar bill in the trunk of your car. At the end of the year, you'll have a lot of money and you'll have had a better year playing ball."
"Ball Four" to this day. I recall Lyle saying that Reggie went "oh for Anaheim," but I don't recall that much from his book. Some of that may be b/c I had a paper copy of "Ball Four" that I wore out, while I borrowed "Bronx Zoo" from a sectionmate who had it.
My favorite line about Lyle was Nettles saying that he went "From Cy Young to Sayonara" after the NYY acquired Gossage.
EDIT: I still recall Talbot reacting to getting roughed up by the '69 O's. He said: "We got no business scheduling these guys. This club sure can fluff up your ERA."
Talbot getting served w/ a (fake) paternity suit was another classic.
My buddy Murph and I often greet each other on the phone with "Hiya, Blondie, how's your old tomato?"
is topped by Doug Rader in "I'm Glad You Didn't Take it Personally".
I do agree, the Bronx Zoo was an entertaining book and it was also interesting to read Lyle's views on pitching.
I wish they made a movie of it, because Sam Elliott would be perfect casting for Lyle. Practically the same mustache, and if you ever heard Sparky talk, paractically the same voice. He used to do commercials for Levi Garrett chewing tobacco, fit perfectly.
got red in the face after reading the Rader birthday cake story. We were in a free reading period at the end of a school day. The teacher took notice and asked the guy to hand him the book and the passage that he found so hysterical.
It wasn't hard reading but as someone in grade school, there were some good adult lessons in the book. I'll never forget the part where, with his signing bonus, he paid off his dad's long-running tab at the general store/bar in rural North Carolina. It brought his dad to tears.
There's also great stories about him loading up.
The Boys of Summer isn’t really a baseball book - it’s a character study masquerading as a sports book.