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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3573
EAN num: 9780809321957
ISBN number: 0809321955
Label: Southern Illinois University Press
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 240
Printing Date: April 07, 1999
Publishing house: Southern Illinois University Press
Sale Popularity Level: 113888
Studio: Southern Illinois University Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A unique--if controversial--look at major league baseball as umpires see it. 11 illustrations.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
If you are an umpire, regardless of level, you will find portions of this book interesting. The author's literary style is wordy (the book could be half as long without losing any substance) but his overuse of adjectives is easily ignored by the reader. It is a fast read and a book you can put down and pick back up at will. Despite some obvious errors ("One hundred and fifty miles south of San Diego, in Bakersfield, California,"), the author introduces you to the people part of umpires about whom you had, largely, only known their names. What could have been an intimate book about umpires and their unique view of baseball is, instead, an uneven account of the 1974 National League season for one crew of umpires. Part hit piece, part historical chronicle of members of our society rarely written about, the book will hold your interest if you both love baseball and are an umpire. Absent being both and you may not see it to the end.
Rated by buyers -
For this genre, the book is mediocre. If anything, I would say that the writing style is wrong. It may be "creative writing" but it reads more like a novel than non-fiction. Now, non-fiction does not mean it has to be boring! Certainly, some of the stories are interesting, but it often became a chore to read. Not a bad book, but certainly not the best it could be.
Rated by buyers 
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The very first thing you should know about this book is it's based on the 1975 season, which means that none of the umpires or players mentioned are contemporary.
Beyond that, this is poorly done and unethically done at that. Late in the book, the author admits that he pretended to be sleeping in order to eavesdrop on the conversation between two umpires in a hotel room. He says he threw away drinks and pretended to be drunk so they'd talk openly in front of him.
If the ethics don't bother you, consider this: how accurate are the conversations he quotes, considering he had no tape recorder and reconstructed them after the fact? Could you relate word-for-word a conversation you had with a co-worker this morning?
Baseball umpires could be the subject for a great book. This isn't it.
Rated by buyers 
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Very few people know what the rigours and stresses of a pro sport official are as well as the personal setbacks and of course the professional flaws. This book has all of the above, excellently written and clearly shows what being a major sports league's messenger (since umpires just enforce the rules) is really like. Just as now, the dealings with overpaid, spoiled players, coaches and managers are well described. One of the best books I've ever read.
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