Customer Reviews

Birdie : Confessions of a Baseball Nomad

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...I knew Birdie well and know a lot of people who also knew Birdie well and none of us believe that Birdie authored this book. The man we all knew is not represented by the words on these pages. For example, Birdie wrote an article titled, "I'd Rather Catch". This was written by Birdie himself and Birdie spoke about it many times. In the article he praised Newhouser. Having known the man, I never heard him ever criticize another player. On the contrary, he was one of baseball's biggest fans. And he most certainly did not talk like the blue collar, swaggering, swearing person represented on these pages. This is a book published many years after his death. I would keep that in mind as the pages are turned.

Birdie was a great storyteller. This book was not written with Birdie's sense of humor,intelligence, or respect for the people in the baseball industry. I knew him well and do not believe that he wrote it. Unfortunately, since he died three years before he supposedly wrote this book, we can't hear his side of the story. This book is just not worth the paper it's printed on.

Unlike a couple of other reviewers (....), I never knew Birdie, and cannot attest whether these pages seem written by the real man. What does stand out, however, is that any fan of baseball before the present - swing for the fences, no strategy needed - era will enjoy this book. James Morrison has culled many, many delicious stories from Birdie's diaries. Some stories are not brand new to baseball literature, but Birdie's viewpoint on them is worthwhile. Except for some quotes using swear words, I cannot see what Birdie's friends can object to here. The player-manager-scout's humanity and delightful humor ring out on every page. Perhaps the best chapter reviews player-umpire relations in the "old days," but the anecdotes throughout make it hard not to read out loud to others.

My only regret is that short space was given to Birdie's managing years. I suspect he was too busy then to post lengthy diary entries. Perhaps Birdie would have edited the finished product differently, had he lived, but this book will stand out with that of his Tiger teammate, Elden Auker's, as one of the best books on baseball from the '30s through the 50s.

This was a very enjoyable book. Not radically different from other autobiographies, and it's a little hard to articulate, but BIRDIE struck me as having a freshness of approach. Birdie Tebbetts himself apparently was one of the very few ballplayers to keep extensive diaries throughout his life. He also was a good storyteller. Working with his cousin in assembling this book, he did a good job.

Anyone who likes reading about golden age baseball will find a number of stories here about players like Ted Williams and Hank Greenberg, and you'll probably get a few new insights into the game as well.

Birdie Tebbetts' career in baseball covered nearly his entire life and he expresses his opinions on a number of things, oftentimes in strong terms. A New England native Birdie says his best years in baseball were with the Boston Red Sox. After having spent a number of years in Detroit with the Tigers, Birdie says he was booed out of Detroit. Tebbetts says pitcher Hal Newhouser of the Tigers begged his way into the Hall of Fame. Newhouser, he says, had his best years when the stars were off fighting WWII. Could this be sour grapes for his not being in the Hall of Fame himself? As an executive for the Milwaukee Braves during the 1960's Birdie says it was a job he detested. Such things as deciding on a hospitalization plan for the groundscrew and who is to get the contract for paving the parking lot at County Stadium were meetings he had to sit in on. He does provide us with some interesting tidbits in regard to what scouts look for in baseball prospects. I may be wrong, but at times Birdie seems to come across as a braggert. I also didn't feel it was necessary for him to be so flippant in using God's name in vain so many times.

THIS IS A VERY NICE BOOK TO READ. I DIDN'T KNOW BIRDIE PERSONALLY SO I CAN'T COMMENT ON WHETHER HE WROTE THIS OR NOT. BUT I AM FROM CLEVELAND, AND REMEMBER HIM AS MANAGER DURING THE MIDDLE 1960'S. HE DID A GOOD JOB AND WAS WELL RESPECTED BY THE PLAYERS AND MEDIA. I ENJOYED THIS TALE OF HIS LIFE IN AND OUT OF BASEBALL. I AGREE WITH ANOTHER REVIEWER THAT I THINK MORE TIME WAS NEEDED ON HIS MANAGING CAREER. ALSO I WOULD HAVE RATED THIS 5 STARS IF THIS BOOK WAS LONGER. BUT VERY WELL DONE AND QUITE INTERESTING.
VERY RECOMMENDED.