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katscribefever's review against another edition
3.0
If you've been reading my reviews for any length of time, I'm sure it's become fairly obvious that I am someone who has strong feelings about particular things, yes? Baseball is one of those things. (Also, it's spring which means baseball is hugely on my brain.) Listening to this collection reminded me of the days when my family would watch the game with a muted tv and a stereo tuned to Skip Caray; we wanted to listen to his commentary while still viewing the game. This allowed us to partake in a kind of lightning-flash time travel: we could hear Skip report a play and then, three to seven seconds later, watch it happen.
The book includes stories of Joe DiMaggio's surprising (to me at least) hostility towards the sexualization of his legendary wife; detailed accounts of the three times Pete Reiser snuck out of the hospital to continue playing ball; and, of course, the tale of Jackie Mitchell, the woman who pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig—back to back. It's a niche title, but just look at it as a microhistory lesson about a delicious slice of Americana. Or a study in nostalgia.
The book includes stories of Joe DiMaggio's surprising (to me at least) hostility towards the sexualization of his legendary wife; detailed accounts of the three times Pete Reiser snuck out of the hospital to continue playing ball; and, of course, the tale of Jackie Mitchell, the woman who pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig—back to back. It's a niche title, but just look at it as a microhistory lesson about a delicious slice of Americana. Or a study in nostalgia.
jennms_qkw's review against another edition
1.0
Formulaic. The intros were ok. The Ty Cobb story was so wrong. There were maybe 5 chapters that were ok. (especially at the end).
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
5.0
Any time a book has a title like this, it's going to be up for debate. I'm not sure that I would agree that these are the "greatest" baseball stories ever told. But they are certainly pretty darned good. There are thirty short stories in this book, some fiction, some not. Some of them made me laugh, some of them brought tears to my eyes, and some of them just brought back good memories of a time when baseball was, well, to be honest, more fun. Some of them even made me wish I had been born a decade earlier. Some of the stories made me want to read more biographies on the people who were the subjects, such as "Ty Cobb's Wild, Ten-Month Fight To Live." I loved the tale of the little boy who had people believing he could predict the future ("A Scotchman, A Phantom, and A Shine Blue Jacket"). In one story, "The Catch," the author just happened to be at the game when Willie Mays made that famous catch. And who knew that Zane Grey wrote about baseball?? I sure didn't. "Old Well-Well" certainly brought tears to my eyes.
There are stories about Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Pistol Pete Reiser, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. There's even a story about a 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. One story chronicles the home run chase of 1998, involving Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Ken Griffey, Jr.
To begin the collection, we are treated to a verbatim transcript of one of Abbot and Costello's "Who's On First" performances. As many times as I've heard/seen that, it still gets me giggling almost uncontrollably. Also very humorous is a tale called "Casey At the Congress," in which the inimitable Casey Stengel speaks to a Congressional hearing on the exemption of professional sports from antitrust laws. I would have hated to have been the senator who was questioning Casey. Perhaps the best line is the very last one, in which Micky Mantle says, "My views are just about the same as Casey's."
"Greatest" stories? Probably not necessarily. But it is a great book.
There are stories about Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Pistol Pete Reiser, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. There's even a story about a 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. One story chronicles the home run chase of 1998, involving Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Ken Griffey, Jr.
To begin the collection, we are treated to a verbatim transcript of one of Abbot and Costello's "Who's On First" performances. As many times as I've heard/seen that, it still gets me giggling almost uncontrollably. Also very humorous is a tale called "Casey At the Congress," in which the inimitable Casey Stengel speaks to a Congressional hearing on the exemption of professional sports from antitrust laws. I would have hated to have been the senator who was questioning Casey. Perhaps the best line is the very last one, in which Micky Mantle says, "My views are just about the same as Casey's."
"Greatest" stories? Probably not necessarily. But it is a great book.
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