Customer Reviews

Haunted Baseball: Ghosts, Curses, Legends, and Eerie Events

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

 

 

If you're a baseball fan, you'll love this one - whether you believe in ghosts or not. It's as much about baseball tradition and folklore as it is about spooks. And unlike the typical baseball history books, there's a lot of information from current and upcoming players.

For this reason, I probably would not recommend this book to someone who doesn't like baseball. There are many interesting ghost stories in it, but there are also fairly long segments that only a baseball fan will enjoy. (It's certainly worth a look for anyone, but there are a lot of other books of true ghost stories that would be a higher priority for a non-baseball fan.)

And don't worry - even though the book is written by a Yankee fan and a Red Sox fan, other teams are covered, too. It's not all-AL East, like some national sports channels we know. ;-)

This one is great fun. Highly recommended.

This is a book that in a compelling way tells interesting stories that make you wonder, that inspire questions and even, at times, raise goose bumps. The ghosts are mostly good -- of the W.P. Kinsella and the Shoeless Joe variety -- but mostly this is a book of baseball and why we so much love the game.

It is part of the fabric of America and inherently carries with it a nostalgia that takes the reader on a personal journey back over the years. The chapter of the Yankees old spring training site in St. Petersburg sent my mind racing back to my own experiences at City Stadium in Lynchburg Va and players obscure but important to me and my own recollections that could be considered "haunted." Guys like Billy Voss, Duane Josephson, Cisco Carlos, George Noga, "Shot" Johnston, Ed Stroud, Danny Murphy, Ed Nottle, Dick Kenworthy and Carlos May.

It's not just the stories, which are consistently interesting, but also the writing. Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon have an easy, clear style that make the pages turn quickly and sometimes even a lyrical quality that make this a book to turn to for more than one read. It gets five stars and a permanent spot on the shelves of my baseball library, standing strong alongside Five Seasons, October 1964 and even the Boys of Summer. This is a gem that needs to be read.

Haunted Baseball is more than just a solid collection of ghost stories and odd happenings. Dan Gordon and Mickey Bradley have given us a book filled with scares and spirit. The book, like the sport itself, tell something about the people in it, and transcends the sport and the ghost book genre. The ghosts are there, and the tight research from the authors offers background into such famous haunts and Yankee Stadium and the Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg. The stories are well researched and delivered in a subtle eerie way. You become comfortable with the facts and then they slip the rug from under you. The ghosts invade the tales rather than overwhelming them. The first hand accounts from some of the most respected and well known names in the game makes the stories seem that more real.
But this book is much more than that. The book tells the history of such infamous curses as the goat of Chicago. These stories are known, but Gordon and Bradley get into more detail and reveal the truth behind the myths. The stories of the deceased still mourned by those left behind are touching, especially when you consider the macho athletes retelling them. It asks bigger questions and gives the reader the ideas of average men who happen to be professional player.
Perhaps the real strength of the book lies in its scope. The stories cover the spectrum of the weird and crosses culture lines. Some of the strongest stories are the ones of the Latin players who cherish the ghosts stories are part of their culture. The book even takes us to the Dominican Republic to hauntings players experienced when they were younger.
The audience for Haunted Baseball might be hard to get a handle on. Are there enough ghosts to satisfy the paranormal world and will sports fans be turned off by an mention of a phantom in Fenway. The authors shouldn't have to worry. The balance they create allows the reader to enjoy each story while keeping an eye on the bigger questions.

I found these stories very entertaining and intriguing. It was interesting to see how superstition and modern day curses influence these athletes & their fans and can play an important role in the game. The story about Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a home run for the family of a 9/11 firefighter was my favorite - very touching. I would recommend this book to any fan one who wants to gain some insight into the baseball world.

I enjoyed reading all of the stories in this book. If you are a baseball fan you will like it. It has the curses that everybody knows about but it also has things that most people will never know.

I thought the book was great. I especially enjoyed the last half of the book about several 'curses' on teams in MLB. It really filled in the blanks about a lot of stories I had heard just bits and pieces of. I liked how it moved from story to story.

I actually bought this book for my son in law for Christmas - but I took a peep at it and wow! It is awesome!! I have read tons of ghost stories over the years so by now I am quite discriminating. These stories are not only good and deliciously creepy - they are all true...Haunted Baseball is also packed with many historical facts that make this read a most enjoyable one.

This book packs alot of baseball history, touching stories, folklore and is of great educational use providing it's reader with true facts about the well known superstitions attached to the game.
Being a Red Sox fan, but a total baseball fan..I was pleased that it
covered various teams throughout the league.
I highly recommend this book for all true red blooded baseball fans and
for would be fans that want to learn more about the game and its superstitions.
Excellent Writing..entertaining and factual.

I bought a whole batch of these and gave them away for stocking stuffers and kept a batch for the start of baseball season...great book. great price.

One of the main reasons that baseball is America's premier sports is that there is such a strong sense of spiritual bond between its fans and the sport. It would only seem natural that there be actual spiritual stories to go with this great American game. No other sport seems full of so many curses and jinxes which is part of the great history of the game. The story is also amusing because it makes fair use of the tremendous superstitious nature of baseball players giving examples of players seeing birds which are supposed to represent deceased friends and loved ones to the example of the great Luis Tiant wearing all white to avoid witch doctor curses.

The book also offers great stories of players experiences in haunted hotels which are great fun to read. Since most teams stay in top of the line hotels which are of course the 4 or 5 star 100 year old variety they are bound to have some ghost stories to tell. Needless to say these stories are very amusing and very entertaining. They offer a unique aspect of our national national pastime and is a very entertaining read!