Customer Reviews

Baseball by the Beach: A History of America's National Pastime on Cape Cod

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My father was one of the Cape Cod Baseball Leagues prestigious umpires. Curly Clement umpired in the Cape League for 35 years and the stories that he tells about the "kids" who played baseball during their summers from school can be read within the covers of this book. It is a must book to read if you love the game of baseball.

Have owned this book since it first came out and my husbnd and I (and now my son) often refer to it upon attending different CCBL ganmes! We love the Gatemn....they are the best in our "book"

This book is wonderful...full of history and insight...it brings you back to the true hereos of basbeall. A must read! Chris Price does a remarkable job of catching just enough info and history and stats. We are looking forward to an updated edition to catch all the wonderful games and plays that followed this edition.

GO GATEMEN!

Chris is able to take over 100 years of Cape Cod baseball history and form it into a summer read as refreshing as the breeze at the beach. Much like the Cape's summer season, Price comes with a wonderful combination of bright tales and waves of important moments of what might be the best example of what is good about the Cape and baseball. The first part of the book, a chronicle of the history of the game on the Cape, melds both the important points of the league along with the stories that make the Cape League the special place it is. The second part, which goes through the history and characters of the teams, is even more enjoyable, as Chris manages to really bring out the spirit of baseball on the Cape. From Pie Traynor to Mo Vaughn, Price has them all. The best part of the book, however, is the epilogue, a brief four or five pages that is nothing less than a love letter to the Cape and game. If you've ever buzzed down Route 6, ate fried clams at a shack, strolled th! e dunes of the National Seashore, or popped up your head at the sound of wood hitting rawhide on a summer evening, you can't pass up this book. The Cape League is a special thing, and Christopher Price captures its essence. For a first book, it's a keeper.

I picked up Mr. Price's book on the advice of a friend who lives on the Cape and knows how much I love the game. I couldn't put it down.

This is a book for all those who have lost faith in baseball at a national level and want to reconnect with the game as it was in their youth. This is, as the author suggests, baseball "the way it should be."

This history is flawless and, as other reviewers suggest here, the vignettes at the end of chapters really make this one sing. This is a tour de force for baseball lovers young and old.

Well done, Mr. Price.

Mr. Price, well done. I heard of the Cape Cod League through a friend, and was fortunate to catch a few games during a summer vacation a year or two ago. Of course, the Major League strike soured my taste for the game. But your book helped bring back the images of how beautiful the game is. Like you say - The Game The Way It Should Be.

The most enjoyable part of the book was the end-chapter vignettes, talking about the great teams and/or pennant races that closed out some of the most memorable seasons. The chronological steps through its history, then the intimate portraits of the teams themsleves, gave me everything I need to know about this great league. Now, it's a matter of when can I head back up there and see it again!

Bravo, Mr. Price, bravo.

Without a doubt, Christopher Price lives and breathes the Cape Cod Baseball League. His work is a stellar performance of tremendous journalism.If you love the game, then buy this book! Each page sparkles with incredible pace and rhythm. A brilliant ride into the annals of possibly the best form of the game remaining in the USA. Watch out Peter Gammons Thomas Boswell and George F. Will, there's a new baseball demigod for Generation X: Chris Price!

I was able to get my hands on an advance copy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love the cape and baseball and this book gets it just right. Anyone who enjoys baseball and it's history will love this book. The author is able to bring a fresh perspective to some of today's biggest stars. Once I started it, I couldn't help but reach for it every free minute I had. I can definitely see myself re-reading this again on the beach this summer. I thought I knew the Cape League already but after reading this I know I do. Highly recommended.

While I enjoy an afternoon at the game as much as anyone, I've never considered myself a baseball fan. I read this on the recommendation of a friend, however, and found it to be enjoyable on several levels. On one level, while it's quite clear where the NFL and NBA get their talent, MLB's methods aren't quite as visible for the non-fan; Price's book shed some light on how pro hopefuls work their way into the big leagues.

But more importantly, "Baseball by the Beach," shows why baseball is truly America's favorite pasttime. While recent events involving pro players have soured our memories of what makes baseball so magical, the history of the Cape Cod league as presented by Price reminds us of a time when the game was pure -- and the accounts of the league's present-day incarnation give us hope that this sense of magic might yet make a comeback. It's enough to renew this fan's faith in the game.

I think the book is great but, just too short. It took quite a while to find it, but I finally did.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the game of baseball, because it gives a great history of the best collegiate baseball league in the country.
I played 3 summers in the Cape League, Wareham 1975, and Harwich 1976 and 1977, and they were truly 3 of the best summers I have ever spent. The jobs weren't the greatest, but the baseball sure was. If any college player ever gets the opportunity to play in this league, they should jump at it.
Reading this book and seeing the names of ballplayers I was fortunate enough to play with, sure brought back a lot of memories.
When does the sequel come out?

The Cape League is just one of those things you have to experience to understand how special it is. But the next book thing is this book which not only appeals to local fans of this special summer league, but to the generic fan with stories of current major leaguers before they were famous. This book was wonderfully done.