In the intro to her contribution, Susan Perabo offers up a reason for once again delving into the subject of baseball: "As with love, the topic is inexhaustible because it feels like personal property to everyone who holds the sport dear." The love connection shows clearly in these sweet, sometimes sentimental essays, penned by more than enough authors to field a team. Heavy-hitters George Plimpton and Frank Deford observe the overlooked virtues of playing right field and the mysterious ubiquity of the baseball cap. An excellent piece from Caitlin Horrocks introduces America to Pesapallo, a Finnish version of the game, while Rick Harsch battles it out with umpires as the manager of a ball team in Slovenia. Only a few of the essays strike out; despite occasional cloying nostalgia, clichés (one essay is actually titled "Ya Gotta Believe"), and a characteristically incoherent foreword by Yogi Berra, the collection offers a wide enough range to please both casual fans and the stat-obsessed. They may be circling a well-worn literary path, but most of these writers find, as Perabo suggests, "there is always something new-something original, something crucial-to add to the conversation."
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Review
" . . this one is a collection of 20 essays that hit hardball from all angles." -- Doug Miller, May 5, 2008, MLB.com
"An exceptional collection--a lively, rewarding read." -- Robert W. Creamer, former Sports Illustrated writer and editor and author of Babe: The Legend Comes to Life
"Baseball's most lasting gift may be its power to stir our curiosity, memory and imagination into such a rich and loving tribute." -- Robert Lipsyte, author of The Contender
"When your team is slumping, when the scandalous headlines have got you down, or when winter seems like it will never end, Anatomy of Baseball will remind you why you fell in love with the game. This is one of the finest baseball anthologies of all time." -- Jonathan Eig, author of Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
Product Description
"These charming essays on baseball themes range from topics like first gloves--mine was a Rawlings Marty Marion model--to the tragic story of the Billy Southworths, father and son, to being relegated to right field or having troubles playing first base. These are tasty morsels."--Fay Vincent, former baseball commissioner
"Twenty wonderful writers--that's just enough for two full all-star teams--and two designated hitters."--Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist
Stefan Fatsis sends his "stunningly perfect, consummately perfect, why-would-anyone-use-anything-else? perfect" glove to be restored by the Glove Designer at Rawlings; Susan Perabo considers retiring from her imaginary career in the majors and assesses the likelihood of women finding actual careers on the baseball field; Sean Wilentz imagines a Cooperstown Fans' Hall of Fame, with its cowbells, frying pans, bedsheet banners, and more. And in one of the three previously published, now classic pieces in the collection, George Plimpton reflects on the slow demotion of aging or slumping players from pitcher to first base, to the outfield. United by the authors' fervent love of the game, these essays remind us of the unique role baseball plays in our national history and collective imagination.
A collaboration between SMU Press and the literary journal Creative Nonfiction.
About the Author
LEE GUTKIND is the founding editor of Creative Nonfiction and prize-winning author or editor of over a dozen books, including The Best Seat in Baseball, But You Have to Stand! The Game as Umpires See It. ANDREW BLAUNER is a literary agent in New York City and editor of Coach: 25 Writers Reflect on People Who Made a Difference.
