Customer Reviews

Ballparks Then and Now (Compact) (Then & Now Thunder Bay)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Earlier I had the opportunity to read Josh Leventhal's book Take Me Out to the Ballpark. Leventhal's passion for the game was evident in his well constructed book. Ballparks Then and Now had about half the content and sounded like it was being told by person who was totally bored by baseball.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark actually described the stadiums (outfield distance, peculiarities, history, fence hight, home runs hit, milestones, interesting anecdotes, etc.). Whereas, Ballparks Then and Now came across like an eighth grade report on baseball. "And then the Yankees played at the polo grounds and then they built their own stadium and then the Mets built their own stadium and then the Dodgers moved to Calfornia ..."

What was most bizarre about this book was that the text rarely lined up with the photos. The text would talk about New York baseball in 1900 and the picture is of Yankee Stadium. Later we see pictures of the first baseball games in New York ... while we read text about ... Yankee Stadium!

Do yourself a favor and get Take Me Out to the Ballpark instead.

I have enjoyed several of Mr. Enders' published articles, particularly his list of the 25 greatest works of baseball art in the 2001 All Star Game program (headed by "Who's On First" and including Lou Gehrig's farewell address and the baseball box score, which he further celebrates in his "Play Ball! Baseball Scorebook"). Enders' sense of art and engrossing writing style play together brilliantly in this celebration of ballparks. The photos are excellent, the commentary profound, and what really intrigues me are the fact boxes he creates for each stadium. These include stadium aliases, opening dates, home teams and stadium capacity, and finish with a "Greatest Moment" from the history of each stadium. Truly, Enders has opened himself to swift rebuke in some instances (can Kirk Gibson REALLY own the greatest moments in two historic ballparks?), but some of his chosen moments are insightful. One of my favorites is the story of a fire that broke out at West Side Grounds in Chicago, during which two players beat down a fence to allow fans safe passage to the field. Enders also reminds us, in word and photo, that several Major League parks hosted Negro League teams as well, and his "Extra Innings" has some nice nods to non-Major League fields of interest. All around, well done.

Having purchased nearly every ballpark book in existence, I have to say that this one falls short of the mark. The author, evidently a Dodger fan, (pages and pages on Dodger Stadium and Ebbets field) gives scant information on many of the parks with some really poor pictures, when pictures are provided at all. For example, the author never shows an interior picture of the new Miller Park. There are much better books dealing with ballparks - skip this one, its not worth the money.

I have enjoyed several of Mr. Enders' published articles, particularly his list of the 25 greatest works of baseball art in the 2001 All Star Game program (headed by "Who's On First" and including Lou Gehrig's farewell address and the baseball box score, which he further celebrates in his "Play Ball! Baseball Scorebook"). Enders' sense of art and engrossing writing style play together brilliantly in this celebration of ballparks. The photos are excellent, the commentary profound, and what really intrigues me are the fact boxes he creates for each stadium. These include stadium aliases, opening dates, home teams and stadium capacity, and finish with a "Greatest Moment" from the history of each stadium. Truly, Enders has opened himself to swift rebuke in some instances (can Kirk Gibson REALLY own the greatest moments in two historic ballparks?), but some of his chosen moments are insightful. One of my favorites is the story of a fire that broke out at West Side Grounds in Chicago, during which two players beat down a fence to allow fans safe passage to the field. Enders also reminds us, in word and photo, that several Major League parks hosted Negro League teams as well, and his "Extra Innings" has some nice nods to non-Major League fields of interest. All around, well done.

Other reviewers have it right: the text in this book is not the reason to buy it. There are many better books with details about the parks and more stories.

But there is a very good reason to buy this book even if you've seen every other ballpark book. Unlike so many other books, which seem to use only the most familiar images of each ballpark, this one contains primarily wonderfully unfamiliar images. Some of these images are spectacular and not seen anywhere else.

The spread on Yankee stadium is a good example. They show wonderful aerial shots of the park before and after renovation. (Keep in mind that the "Then and Now" subtitle is a bit misleading. In most cases there are no comparison shots.)

If you treat this as a picture book only, and as something just to augment your collection of ballpark books, you won't be disappointed.

the print is so small it is very difficult to read. the pictures are neat to look at.

I bought this a few months ago, not thinking it would be different from other books on ballparks. To my surprise, I am still glancing at the book today! The pictures are great, even of the older ballparks. The book has great facts about the ballparks, too. I highly recommmend to buy this!

While it is true that the book suffers from poor photo reproductions in a few cases, this book still has much to recommend it. I too have read my share of ballpark books, and I have never seen so many wonderful historical photographs collected in one place as are available in this book. Photos of Union Avenue Grounds, Hilltop Park, Huntington Avenue Grounds and more provide a real sense of how these parks fit into their neighborhoods.

The commentary that accompanies the photographs is also first-rate. The author has brought to light some truly bizarre and comical facts associated with these old parks. (For instance, see page 24 for a description of how a foul ball caused an explosion of beans in the right field stands of Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds in 1903.)

All in all, I would say this book is a worthy addition to the available literature on ballparks.

Given the spate of good "Then/Now" books available which line up old photos with new ones--I find this book's title highly misleading. There is not one comparative photo set in the entire book (and many of the photos are available in other books.)