Ballparks Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay) [Hardcover]

Eric Enders (Author)

Book Description

Series: Then & Now Thunder Bay | Publication Date: June 10, 2002

Baseball has changed dramatically since its early days. Today, the average ticket costs upwards of $20 and fans can feast on sushi from their luxurious air-conditioned seats. See how much America’s favorite pastime has changed, and how much it’s stayed the same in Ballparks Then & Now.

• Crammed with history and facts, this unique city-by-city tour of America’s hallowed playing fields pairs archival images with modern photos of baseball’s beloved landmarks like Union Grounds, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and the Negro League’s Greenlee Field.
  
• Includes all of the excitement of the 2006 season, including the winners of the 2006 World Series and all of the changes to ballparks around the U.S.
  
• Celebrate glorious wooden palaces like Boston’s Grand Pavilion and Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, constructed after baseball went professional in 1871.
  
• Witness the ballpark renaissance of the 1990’s and the dawning of multi-million dollar corporate naming rights.
  
• With comprehensive data about each park (opening date, capacity, great moments), this new compact edition of best-selling Ballparks Then and Now is the perfect take-along size for fans to enjoy whether they’re sitting in the bleachers or luxury box.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eric Enders is a baseball historian and freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times and other publications. The first ballpark he fell in love with was Dudley Field, where he attended minor league games as a child in El Paso, Texas. A lifelong Dodger fan, he has been to twenty-nine of the ballparks featured in this book. He is a former researcher at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library and is also the author of the Play Ball! Baseball Scorebook. He lives in Cooperstown, New York, where he runs Triple E Productions, a baseball research and consulting service.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press; 3rd edition (June 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571455930
• ISBN-13: 978-1571455932
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 11.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Enders is a freelance writer, baseball historian, and former researcher at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown, New York. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Village Voice, Variety, MLB's World Series program, Yankees Magazine, and many other publications. He has also been a reporter for the El Paso Herald-Post and a freelance editor and proofreader for numerous publishers including Barnes & Noble and National Geographic.

A native of El Paso, TX, and a lifelong Dodger fan, Eric operates Triple E Productions, a baseball research and editing company.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Get Take Me Out to the Ballpark instead., December 20, 2003

By 

James Benson "J LeRoy" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ballparks Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay) (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking you back, back, back, back..., December 13, 2002

By 

Rob Pendell (Manchester, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ballparks Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay) (Hardcover)

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.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 28, 2002

By 

Travis Rogers (Napa, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ballparks Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay) (Hardcover)

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.