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brettt's review
4.0
Between 1981 and 1992, Steve Fireovid pitched for five major league teams in parts of six season. And in none of them did he have more than 10 appearances.
The rest of the time, Fireovid pitched in the minor leagues, spending a lot of time at AAA-level ball not unlike a pitching version of Bull Durham's Crash Davis. He kept a journal of his 1990 season with the Montreal Expos' AAA affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, and with the help of co-author Mark Winegardner turned it into the 1991 book The 26th Man. The title refers to the major league roster limit of 25 players -- the 26th man is the one not quite good enough to catch on and stick permanently but too good to just give up and go home.
That image fuels much of Fireovid's journal as he realizes the end of whatever career he may have in baseball is approaching. Indeed, he only pitched one more game in "The Show," as players refer to the big league teams, a 1992 win for the Texas Rangers.
The most interesting parts of 26th Man are the insider looks at what kinds of decisions teams make about the players they promote and the ones they let go. Talent tells, but so do many more undefineable qualities. And as with any endeavor that involves human beings, sometimes choices that seem smart and get made for all the right reasons turn out badly, and the universal sport of second-guessing commences. Would any of the teams for which he played have been better off bringing up Fireovid instead of someone else they did promote? Maybe, but there's no way of knowing, so maybe not, as well. Despite that underlying echo of melancholy, there's a lot of fun in reading his story and often wry observations on what it's like to get paid to play a game.
Original available here.
The rest of the time, Fireovid pitched in the minor leagues, spending a lot of time at AAA-level ball not unlike a pitching version of Bull Durham's Crash Davis. He kept a journal of his 1990 season with the Montreal Expos' AAA affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, and with the help of co-author Mark Winegardner turned it into the 1991 book The 26th Man. The title refers to the major league roster limit of 25 players -- the 26th man is the one not quite good enough to catch on and stick permanently but too good to just give up and go home.
That image fuels much of Fireovid's journal as he realizes the end of whatever career he may have in baseball is approaching. Indeed, he only pitched one more game in "The Show," as players refer to the big league teams, a 1992 win for the Texas Rangers.
The most interesting parts of 26th Man are the insider looks at what kinds of decisions teams make about the players they promote and the ones they let go. Talent tells, but so do many more undefineable qualities. And as with any endeavor that involves human beings, sometimes choices that seem smart and get made for all the right reasons turn out badly, and the universal sport of second-guessing commences. Would any of the teams for which he played have been better off bringing up Fireovid instead of someone else they did promote? Maybe, but there's no way of knowing, so maybe not, as well. Despite that underlying echo of melancholy, there's a lot of fun in reading his story and often wry observations on what it's like to get paid to play a game.
Original available here.
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