Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Baseball [Paperback]

Paul Aron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 2005

Advance Praise for Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot?

"Aron has found the Rosetta stone to all of baseball's enduring mysteries, and he skips it along the pond with utter disregard for the ducks. His fortunate readers will have so much fun they may not even notice that they are becoming, page by page, real experts. Here is surefire water-cooler ammo."
--JOHN THORN, editor of Total Baseball

"Paul Aron puts a distant replay on the most famous controversies in baseball history. This is more fun than if he'd been there with a camcorder."
--ALLEN BARRA, author of Clearing the Bases and Brushbacks and Knockdowns

"Paul Aron has hit a home run for baseball fans. He dissects the evidence on baseball's 28 most charming mysteries. The result is a well-written, enjoyable, enlightening tour of the last hundred years of baseball history."
--ANDREW ZIMBALIST, author of Baseball and Billions

"Paul Aron's book on elements of baseball is both wise and fun, illuminating and entertaining."
--ROBERT ADAIR, author of The Physics of Baseball

"The essential last word for every fan who loves to debate baseball fact and fiction."
--MICHAEL SHAPIRO, author of The Last Good Season

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While some of these two-dozen-plus questions aren't exactly mysteries, Aron, a reporter for the Virginia Gazette, still gives readers plenty to ponder. The queries are bound to capture the imagination of a broad range of baseball fans. Answers to inquiries such as why the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles, or whether Moe Berg, a mediocre, Ivy League-educated player, was a spy, are pretty much closed cases and have been for years. But other questions—can small-market teams compete? Why can't the Cubs win? Were yesterday's players better? Do managers matter?—have no absolute answer and thus make for compelling reading. The questions generally fall into two categories: those with definitive, factual answers; and ones with open-ended, opinion-fueled responses. Aron, who has written two books on American history following this same format, draws on a variety of sources to answer his queries, although he leaves several questions open for debate. Each chapter ends with a brief bibliography, allowing those curious enough "to investigate further." Whether reporting the facts or arguing about the validity of his theories, Aron does a nice job of reminding readers that these ponderables are part of the enjoyment of following our national pastime. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Baseball has its obvious mysteries, even if the curse of the Red Sox is no longer among them. (There's still the Cubs, however, without a World Series win since 1908 and believed to be cursed by a billy goat.) Aron, author of Unsolved Mysteries of American History (1998) and More Unsolved Mysteries of American History (2004), now homes in on baseball's unsolved mysteries, including whether Babe Ruth really called his homer in the 1932 Series versus the Cubs. Also examined: Did Shoeless Joe really throw the 1919 Series? Did Merkle touch second? Does a curveball curve? The jury will remain out on most of these questions, but Aron settles on a reasonable answer and supports it with solid research. His findings won't resolve definitively any of the mysteries he discusses, but it's fun to find the issues discussed all in one place. Carefully researched and entertainingly presented, this should give contrarian fans lots to argue about during spring training. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471482048
• ISBN-13: 978-0471482048
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,362,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Ruth, Babe

More About the Author

Paul Aron is Managing Editor of Publications at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Previously he was a reporter for The Virginia Gazette, executive editor at Simon and Schuster, and editor at Doubleday.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more about baseball mysteries than just Babe Ruth's shot, May 5, 2008

By 

Michael R. Chernick "statman31147" (Holland PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Baseball (Paperback)

This is a very interesting book for baseball fans to read It is not only about Babe Ruth's called shot. That is just one chapter in a text that contains 28 chapters each addressing mysteries and controversy about baseball events and the players on and off the field. The Babe's home run in the 1932 World Series against the Cubs is chapter 10. Other chapters deal with such issues as whether the Giants were stealing the the Dodgers signs when Thompson hit the shot heard round the world, what was Satchel Paige's real age when he finally played in the major leagues for Cleveland, which pitchers really threw the spit ball, why the Dodgers left Brooklyn, why Fidel Castro didn't sign a professional contract offered to him by the Washington Senators, did Moe Berg really spy against the Nazi's in World War II, what took the Red Sox so long to win a World Series, and sone sabermetric questions such as does stealing bases pay, do managers really help, how can small market teams compete and does clutch hitting really exist. These and other provocative topics make for very interesting reading. To find out the answers go pick up a copy of the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A stimulating read, January 15, 2006

By 

Matthew DeFraga "M.A. DeFraga" (Atascadero, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Baseball (Paperback)

Paul Aron is to be commended for this book. It is well-written and interesting, particularly for the casual baseball fan. The mysteries Aron discusses are mostly intriguing and the format--5 to 10 pages per chapter with a bibliography at the end of each--makes it easy to pick up the book now and again without investing too much time in it all at once. Some would say this is a deficiency--after all, the book is not scholarly or particularly in-depth. But baseball, like any topic, needs fun books as well as serious ones--light reading that helps the reader escape for a while. Moreover, there's something here for most types of fan--the sabermetricians, the traditionalists, etc.--because Aron explores the eclectic mysteries in a variety of ways.

This being said, there are a few little problems with Aron's work. While he does a good job answering some of the mysteries, he makes no efforts to answer others. Rather, he leaves it up to the reader after presenting the evidence. I would prefer at least an educated guess, but that's just me. The bibliography has some real gems in it, but Aron tends to be repetitive, citing the same works several times. This would be fine if the bibliographies were a bit longer, but the effect here makes it seem as if Aron hasn't really read THAT much on the topics. Finally, the author doesn't really break any new ground here--most of this stuff will be too familiar to many baseball fans, and some of the "answers" to the mysteries are a bit obvious.

To be fair, though, I don't think breaking new ground is really Aron's intent--he seems to be creating a primer here, not a definitive work. In the end, therefore, a young reader, casual fan, or a more serious fan who just wants to brush up a little on these mysteries will find this a thoroughly entertaining read that stimulates discussion and adequately informs the reader. In fact, noted author and editor John Thorn put it perfectly in his advance praise of the book--"Here is surefire water-cooler ammo."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SOME INTERESTING TOPICS, June 18, 2006

By 

COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Baseball (Paperback)

THIS BOOK ASKS SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS CONCERNING SOME OF THE LEGENDS OF BASEBALL. DID BABE RUTH CALL HIS SHOT, HOW OLD WAS SATCHEL PAIGE, WAS MOE BERG A SPY, AND DOES A CURVE BALL CURVE ARE SOME OF THE SUBJECTS COVERED. BUT MOST OF THE SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN COVERED BEFORE AND ARE NOT REALLY NEW. STILL THE BOOK IS WORTH READING, AND PROVIDES SOME GOOD INSIGHTS. I RECOMMEND THIS FOR THE CASUAL AND THE NEW BASEBALL FANS. FOR THE HISTORIAN OR HARD CORE FANS, MOST THIS IS REDUNDANT AND SAME OLD SAME OLD.