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michaelnlibrarian's review
4.0
This is a remarkable book; I was more than a little surprised. I had not heard of this book - somehow I thought Ball Four by Jim Bouton, published in 1970, was the first tell-all first person memoir by a starting major league pitcher - but no, there is this.
Bouton was much criticized at the name for revealing certain truths about specific players and baseball players more generally, which is why there is a Wikipedia article about the book. Brosnan's revelations were of a much lesser level but apparently he was also somewhat criticized for not having a "what happens in the clubhouse, stays in the clubhouse" mentality. And his book preceded the 1960s, not following them.
This is a straightforward description, day by day, of Brosnan's 1959 season from spring training through the end of the regular season. (His team didn't go to the playoffs.) Brosnan conveniently played for two teams, the Cardinals and the Reds, which allows certain comparisons that make the book more interesting.
I am not someone who grew up with baseball as an interest, but the last five years I have attended a fair number of Nationals games. Ideally a baseball memoir is entertaining and easy to read, isn't vindictive or annoying, and occasionally provides some insights about the game and how it is played. This certainly does all of that well.
The author is a white professional athlete writing in 1960. I would say he comes across as a fairly progressive guy for that time, but still, you realize when reading it how much some things have changed. (And also, I guess, that some things still need to change some more.)
Apparently this has been republished in a Kindle edition. I read a 2002 edition that has a new preface by the author, but the preface is short and not worth going to the trouble to read this particular edition. Because it was published in a fair number of editions, many public library systems likely have it - that is where I got the copy I read.
Worth reading. Reads _very_ quickly.
Bouton was much criticized at the name for revealing certain truths about specific players and baseball players more generally, which is why there is a Wikipedia article about the book. Brosnan's revelations were of a much lesser level but apparently he was also somewhat criticized for not having a "what happens in the clubhouse, stays in the clubhouse" mentality. And his book preceded the 1960s, not following them.
This is a straightforward description, day by day, of Brosnan's 1959 season from spring training through the end of the regular season. (His team didn't go to the playoffs.) Brosnan conveniently played for two teams, the Cardinals and the Reds, which allows certain comparisons that make the book more interesting.
I am not someone who grew up with baseball as an interest, but the last five years I have attended a fair number of Nationals games. Ideally a baseball memoir is entertaining and easy to read, isn't vindictive or annoying, and occasionally provides some insights about the game and how it is played. This certainly does all of that well.
The author is a white professional athlete writing in 1960. I would say he comes across as a fairly progressive guy for that time, but still, you realize when reading it how much some things have changed. (And also, I guess, that some things still need to change some more.)
Apparently this has been republished in a Kindle edition. I read a 2002 edition that has a new preface by the author, but the preface is short and not worth going to the trouble to read this particular edition. Because it was published in a fair number of editions, many public library systems likely have it - that is where I got the copy I read.
Worth reading. Reads _very_ quickly.
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