Customer Reviews

Dropping the Ball: Baseball's Troubles and How We Can and Must Solve Them

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

 

 

I've grown tired of all the baseball scandals...from BALCO to Pete Rose, etc. I've been a fan of the game all my life, but have kind of lost touch from the strike on up until now. It just seems like MLB and its players are out of touch with the concerns of the average fan and parent. I was surprised to find that this book, written by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, is a positive and throughly researched look at the game and how to make it better. I sincerely hope that the suggestions he's made in these pages are acted upon by MLB execs at the top level and by community leaders and youth baseball coaches at the bottom.

I thought this was going to be another baseball bashing book focusing on the hot-button steroid issue. I was pleasantly surprised that Winfield discusses all the issues that we fans bring up on the various sports radio shows. It's nice to know someone on the "inside" is listening. But the kicker is... he offers solutions -- from the grass-roots little league level to upper management. I was shocked to see George Steinbrenner's most flattering endorsement right on the cover. If these two can make peace, I suppose anything is possible.

When Dave came to Toronto in 1992, he not only brought his bat, but he brought experience and a positive attitude that led the Jays to the pinnacle -- the World Series. Once again, his experience and hope for the game he obviously loves comes thru. This is a good read.

This book did what I expected it to. It laid out some good ideas that Winfield feels would both improve the game of baseball and improve the image of baseball. In these times of steroids (allegedly, of course) and poorly behaved athletes, a clear, "UNITED" manifesto and direction for baseball is something the game clearly needs. Winfield delivers this.

Another reviewer points out that there are no "A-ha!" moments in this. I have to agree with him, HOWEVER, I think that is really actually the point. What Winfield proposes in this book is not earth-shattering, but one must believe that implementing these changes, the game will be better, both on and off the field. What is so shocking, to me, is that implementing a lot of these changes should really be so simple that the true "A-ha!" is that they aren't already being done!

What muddles the book, though, is that the book does get to be a bit rambly. It is hard not to feel like this is a beefed-up transcription of a monologue that Winfield gave one afternoon. It seems to me, though, that any type of book, whether about baseball or politics or knitting, in which the author is making a proposal, or making a pitch to a certain way of thinking, that there will be some extent of "ramble".

I would take Winfield to task, though, in that he at times seems to ignore the white elephant in the corner of the room. He, at times, lets people off the hook a little too easily and does not take them to task. But you should kind of expect that from him. I'm not questioning his integrity, but, as others have pointed out, he has one foot in both sectors of the game- as the former player and the current executive. His allegiances are, unfortunately, prone to being a bit murky.

Having said all this, I still give this book 4 stars, because he has very good suggestions for all aspects of the game, suggestions that will surely not hurt the game. If I were to become commissioner of MLB, he'd be one of the first people I'd bring in.

off the Bat when George Steinbrenner is the doing the introduction then you know anything can be resolved. Brother Dave Winfield is a down to earth cat who pulls no punches and wants to see More Young Black Players respecting and knowing the what the Negro League,Jackie Robinson,Larry DOlby and other Black Ball Players who paved the way through Blood,sweat,tears to play this National past time. Dave Winfield has alot of strong concepts at making the game even better and also a strong future. this is a must read book.

Great book! I really enjoyed reading Dave's prospective of the game I love. I found it purposeful, direct and full of great solutions for improving America's pasttime. Dave has hit another grand slam! He gives everyone an action plan that includes people of all colors, class and creeds.... moms, dads, coaches and the like. Must read for young people and adults alike. Another great job Dave!

Former Yankee slugger, Dave Winfield's put together a thoughtful, from-the-heart analysis of what's wrong with today's major league baseball...but it's a softball (if you will) approach to improving baseball's public image. It's heavily lacking in direct quotes. Anecdotes are few and far between, and fiery criticisms are just not there.

Apparently, Dave told himself one day: "I gotta' write down what's wrong with baseball." -And this is the result. Dropping The Ball is a nice, over-coffee review of everything about the game and what needs improvement and what to do about it. He makes some good points, but very few are of the "Ah-hah!" eye-opening variety one might expect of someone on a mission of change.

One of the forever-recurring themes of the book is that "[MLB] isn't doing enough to market [baseball] properly" hence, he says, the drop-off in fan interest across the board. He gently complains about the inferior abilities of some players, but doesn't address league over-expansion, which may be the cause of it. Too, Winfield could have zeroed-in on the hows and whys of over-priced tickets...and the major-league out-of-pocket costs for game-day hot-dogs, beer, pizza, parking and Pepsi. He didn't. Dave, what about the new pasteurized, kid-friendly, Disney-land-like stadiums that waterdown youngster interest in the game? [Didn't Las Vegas learn that pandering to the under-12 crowd just didn't work?] -And how come corporate elements can easily get playoff tickets while the average fan doesn't have a chance? Dave doesn't say. He (only in passing) mentions the crazy-high player salaries, but our author doesn't attribute big-time fan disinterest in and detachment from the game to them.

--But one thing is clear. Dave gets a little worked up over the decreasing percentages of Black major league baseball players...but then seems to concur with MLB's decisions to go on outsourcing to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. to get large rosters of cheap (but decent) players into today's baseball games. The numbers of White players is also on the decline, he points out, but not a whole lot is made about those stats. On and on, he treats the lack of Black athletes in the game as a true major problem. Maybe it is, but I don't think he fully made his case.

Dave Winfield is still a baseball insider, being an exec for the San Diego Padres MLB team. Maybe that's why this book lacks the focus, luster and impact of a true motivating force. Like MLB itself, the focal point of the book is generally ho-hum. It's like a current US Senator sincerely (?) writing about "making Congress `better'" -without naming names or overtly coming down on all of the "guilty." Now, how would that work?

This book is chock full of warm, heart-felt generalizations and sentiments, repetitions, and excuses. Winfield's put down some lengthy but sketchy plans for his "Baseball United." His "solutions" are all very nice, but "improving" an already successful multi-billion dollar organization [MLB] seems mostly an aimless gesture that leaves this reader flat. Not much fire. Not much "insider" revelation. A fast, pleasant read...but there's not much new or deep here. Winfield kind of dropped the ball on this one....

Okay, I'm based about Dave and I'm biased about the book--because I had the privilege of wriitng it with him. I love baseball and I've always admired Dave, and I can tell you from first-hand experience that there's no one who more thoughtful--or thought-provoking--about the future of baseball than Mr. Dave Winfield. If you love baseball, this is a truly extraordinary book--a conversation about what's really going on in the game, where the fault lines are, and what everyone, from the Commissioner to the players to the owners to the fans, can do. It was a great experience to work with Dave and birng his message to readers. I hope you'll read the book. It's everything you'd expect from Hall of Famer Dave Winfield--insight, humor, and a plan to restore the credibility of the game.

Winfield is probably one of the best if not the best player to play at all-star quality all the way into his 40s. Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken junior are the only other two that come to mind from the past few decades. That's pretty impressive. That kind of lifelong success and years spent in the majors gives his opinions some credibility. He knows what it's like from the player and fan point of view. It's nice to seem some constructive positive points being made. Too many people are crying about the state of baseball without any ideas on how to fix it. Winfield has ideas.

Former star Dave Winfield presents an intelligent, wide-reaching plan for getting baseball back to its status as the nation's number one sport. As Winfield correctly emphasizes, baseball's current profitability and high attendance are not enough. The sport has suffered a loss in terms of popular culture, and the choice game of young viewers on TV and kids in the sandlots. Winfield offers suggestions for re-invigorating the game via an umbrella organization that he calls Baseball United. Under this more unified approach, he foresees more support for the game at the community level, in the inner city, on television, the internet, etc. Winfield recognizes the long-term harm of bickering between players and owners, recommending a baseball-united type of cooperation and eye towards the future. He also calls for increased efforts by the sport to install media-savvy promotion to match (or outdo) that of the NBA and NFL. I'd have liked him to look into complicated issues like anti-trust exemption, and the book did have a couple factual errors. Still, Winfield's love for baseball comes through loud and clear. The overall result is a thoughtful, forward-looking blueprint for a game that has captured the hearts of so many of us.