Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN num: 9780312182373
ISBN number: 0312182376
Label: St. Martin's Press
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 270
Printing Date: March 15, 1998
Publishing house: St. Martin's Press
Sale Popularity Level: 1261272
Studio: St. Martin's Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
For twenty-one major league seasons, Durwood Merrill has been one of the most colorful characters in baseball. Part John Wayne, part Will Rogers, part Elmer Gantry, this performer has made baseball his stage since he broke into the major leagues in 1976. Like on Luciano in his best-seller, The Umpire Strikes Back, Durwood will share more than two decades of laugh-out loud anecdotes, controversial opinions, and sage advice. He'll make calls on:
Managers: From Lou Pinella to Earl Weaver to Joe Torre, Durwood related tales of his often explosive relationships with top managers of yesterday and today, and the vicious and often hilarious barbs they trade during on-field tirades.
The Setting Behind the Diamond: Durwood opens the door on baseball's most private places, from the clubhouse to the umpire's room to conferences at the mound and the banter at the plate.
America's Pastime: Durwood offers up his sage advice and controversial opinion on how to get fans back to the ballpark--including how to speed up the games--and insight into the current labor issues.
The Players: From Reggie Jackson to Ken Griffey Jr., Durwood rates all the top players he's seen in his career.
But You're Out and You're Ugly, Too! is also the warm and wholesome story of a man who loved baseball and decided to give up his job as principal of a small Texas high school and follow his dream of becoming a major league umpire. Durwood shares all of his experiences as he journeys through umpire school, the minor leagues, Puerto Rico, and into the majors.
No one has been closer to American League players and managers than Durwood Merrill. He has a keen sense of what makes baseball work, and no one can lay claim to a better perspective on America's pastime--and the politics that control it. Durwood has witnessed most of the key moments in modern baseball history--from players' strikes to free agency to wild pennant races--and he's going to share all of his thoughts on these issues and more.
So take your seat behind home plate and watch as baseball's most outrageous umpire rips the cover off the ball.
Amazon.com Review:
After decades of abuse and spittle, Major League umpire Durwood Merrill strikes back with some pretty incisive, funny, and no-holds-barred anecdotes. When his book stays in the game, it's a real hoot, light and folksy; how can you not laugh with a guy who can admit that 'Folks around the American League say I've sent a few pitchers to the Hall of Fame before their time because my strike zone tends to swell like George Steinbrenner's ego'? It's his own ego, though, that has him swinging for the seats and coming up short; he's not much of a memoirist. Thankfully, like a good umpire, he keeps his personal interference to a minimum and mostly sticks to business, offering some tough prescriptions for what ails the game, and some solid dissection of the intricacies of his craft. His thoughts on Pete Rose might lead you to believe that Charlie Hustle is the book's title character. -- Jeff Silverman, Sports editor
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Rated by buyers 
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I expected a little more humour from this book judging from the title.However it was still quite interesting. It was nice to read how he worked so hard for those less fortunate. Seemed like he was a guy I would have liked to have had as a friend.
Rated by buyers 
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Somebody messed up badly. Being an amateur baseball umpire I am biased towards umpires in general and those in baseball in particular but Merrill does not do himself and his profession justice. The ghostwriter, assuming there was one, must have been drunk and illiterate and the publisher too lazy, or do we call that cost conscious, to proof read the manuscript. I ended up reading a book that should not have been published and does not do justice to a man who became an umpire in a different and much tougher era. The book does not do him justice, god rest his soul. Maybe the publisher could be so kind and honor him with and revised edition.
Rated by buyers -
When I very first bought this book, I wasn't quite sure what to think. I had heard a few negative things about it, and kind of had a prejudice against it. Boy, was that wrong! I found this to be a very funny, lighthearted read (for the most part). There's some really wonderful insights into what it takes to become a big league umpire - never quite realized all they went through in "Umpire boot camp" (my term). It's not all fun and games, there's a few stories about how an umpire friend of his was attacked and crippled on the streets of Dallas, and the latter part talks a lot about his charity works.
A great book - funny, light, and to be honest, something that surprised me in a very good way. What was personally annoying was that after I read this (during the last month of the 99 season), I wanted to watch Durwood, and then he up and retires during the playoffs (and then died a short time later). Damn. Really wanted to see him after reading his book. Oh well. Check it out, a good light read.
Rated by buyers -
Durwood Merrill just passed away today, after suffering a heart attack last Sunday. Godspeed, Durwood.
Rated by buyers -
It's a light read, but Durwood is very colorful and sincere in his writing. I felt as if he was my Grandpa sitting subsequent to me telling me these wonderfull stories. You'll enjoy it even if you're not a baseball fan.
If you ARE a baseball fan. You'll hesitate the subsequent time you "boo" an umpire at a game. (but only for a second or two)
:)
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