Batting Cleanup Bill Conlin (Baseball In America) [Hardcover]

Kevin Kerrane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 1997 | Series: Baseball In America

For over three decades Bill Conlin has anchored one of America's best sports sections: the back pages of the Philadelphia Daily News. Conlin has spent his entire career in Philadelphia, starting with the Philadelphia Bulletin, but he is probably best known for his tremendous contribution to the Philadelphia Daily News. This sassy tabloid combines sharp reporting with lively opinion writing, provocative headlines, and its irreverent voice as a self-styled "People Paper." Its sports section, in particular, bristles with what Philadelphians call "atty-tude." "Batting Cleanup, Bill Conlin" is a collection of his best sports writing. From behind the scenes, Conlin presents athletes as all too human but his descriptions of game action convey the magnitude of the athletes' talent, and the demands of the sport itself. His writing is widely appreciated for the way it captures an intricate moment of baseball time through a series of sharp images and dynamic verbs. In making the selections for this volume, editor Kevin Kerrane reveals how Conlin's playfulness with language and ideas led to creative nicknames - like "The Jowly Grim Giant" for Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson - and to entire stories based on outrageous premises. Who else would report a baseball game from the viewpoint of a space alien? Who else would interview God to find out what He really thinks about Randall Cunningham? Conlin's columns deal with just about everything. Or maybe it just seems that way because he brings just about everything to bear on a topic that interests him: lessons from military history, characters from Shakespeare, personal experiences, persistent reporting, amusing one-liners, and laugh-out-loud jokes. His "King of the World" columns offer a fantasy of poetic justice in which fools and knaves are skewered, but with humor rather than heavy-handed moralizing. This humor, insight, keen intelligence, and a true love of sport has made Conlin a cult figure among sports fans. Kerrane explains such admiration this way: "It's not just because of Conlin's fierce honesty, or broad curiosity, or Irish wit, it's also because of his deep feeling for the values of sport - which baseball, in his telling, crystallizes so beautifully." Author note: Kevin Kerrane is Professor of English at the University of Delaware, Newark.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Traditionally, the sports pages yield some of the best--and worst--writing found in newspapers. Philadelphians have such reverence for the crisp wordsmithing of Daily News sports columnist Bill Conlin--known to the rest of the United States as "the fat guy" on ESPN's The Sports Reporters--that they'd consider it sacrilege to wrap fish in him. This superb collection, dating back to the '60s, shows why. Conlin leads with his wit, but his passion's never far behind, regardless of which sport he's covering. His "When I'm King of the World" columns are priceless in their pithy commentary and caustic presentation, and his limerick on Monica Seles's grunting might make Edward Lear grunt with envy. If Conlin's not king, a pretender holds the crown.

Review

"For years, sitting next to him on The Sports Reporters, all I got from Bill Conlin was the spit of his opinions in my ear. His writing is far less messy. It's also brash, charming, intelligent, historical, and at times almost elegant. Batting Cleanup is as big as the man himself, and just as impressive." Mitch Albom, nationally syndicated columnist, Detroit Free Press "Bill Conlin should be in the baseball writers' wing of the Hall of Fame." Jerome Holtzman, Chicago Tribune "Philadelphians won't boo this book. They'll buy this book, because Bill Conlin's obviously a brother the City of Brotherly Love loves." Mike Downey, Los Angeles Times "Conlin is not a sportswriter. Rather, he is a talented craftsman who has chosen The World of Perspiring Arts for his text. There is a difference. If there is a Conlin cult, count me in." Blackie Sherrod, Dallas Morning News

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (April 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566395410
• ISBN-13: 978-1566395410
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Lying Piece of Human Excrement, December 23, 2011

By 

Cleester - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batting Cleanup Bill Conlin (Baseball In America) (Hardcover)

I had the experience of meeting Mr. Conlin and suffice to say his breath was ghastly and his words bombastic and verbose. But the condescending nature of his monologue translates extremely over 200 pieces of narcissistic ranting and pontificating about a sport that he knows absolutely nothing about. His access to his subjects was extremely limited which it came to light that he was violating the ethics of reporting by airing information that truly off the record. If only that applied to his own actions. Then he would be going to jail for the indiscretions he committed with underage boys and girls thirty to forty years ago instead of mocking and ridiculing them from the safety of his living room. In a just world this book would be taken off Amazon and Mr. Conlin would be suffering in a jail cell, going through the same abuse he executed for years on his helpless victims.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Greater Writer, July 29, 2007

By 

John Omara Jr. "phillies diehard" (philadelphia, pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batting Cleanup Bill Conlin (Baseball In America) (Hardcover)

As fine a baseball book there could be. Recommended for any baseball fan, and required reading for any Phillies fan, or any fan of Mr. Conlin. Outstanding.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best sports book i ever read, September 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Batting Cleanup Bill Conlin (Baseball In America) (Hardcover)

the story on his son Pete was the most interesting article i ever read. It must have been very difficult for Bill and Pete during the baseball strike. Bill's columns on Fidel Castro were also very interesteing.