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A review by katscribefever
The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond by Jeff Silverman
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.