Customer Reviews

The Head Game: Baseball Seen from the Pitcher's Mound

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Do you think you know baseball? Well, read Kahn's latest gem to really learn the game. Why are baseball's greatest pitchers so effective? They've learned the "head game" and use it to perfection. Kahn uses his great writing ability to pen the greatest book ever written about the most important part of baseball -- the battle between pitcher and catcher. As Kahn so well relates through his profiles of some of baseball's great hurlers, the battle transends the physical and is just as much a mental challenge. If you love baseball and think you really understand the game, then you MUST read this book by one of America's premier writers.

Roger Kahn has, AGAIN, written a superb book about the game of baseball! This time turning his keen eye on pitching and pitchers, Kahn brings into sharp focus the art of pitching. So much more than just throwing a ball with amazing speed and pinpoint accuracy, Kahn's analogy of being on the mound and being in a chess game is an apt one. Taking respectful exception to the other lay reviewer, I thought it was marvelous that Kahn found John Tunis and actually interviewed him about his recollections of being at the last game of the first world series, after buying his ticket from Cy Young! Tunis did make a slight mistake in his "The American Way in Sport;" the recounted single to left was actually a single to right . . . forgivable lapse in memory. Other books have been written about pitching, but none as successful, or engaging as Kahn's "The Head Game."

I am a big fan of Roger Kahn so I knew I was in for a good read. Yes, the title may suggest the psychological warfare that exists between pitcher and batter, and some of that does exist in the book. I CAN understand why those who expected more of this in the book would be disappointed. I appreciated reading about players from the 19th century in addition to those who dominated during the 20th century. Kahn didn't disappoint me in what he had to say about the pitchers he discusses. It isn't a tired rehash of what other authors have to say. Roger has a way of expressing himself in ways that I appreciate and find interesting. In regard to the whippersnappers at ESPN who voted Michael Jordan as the greatest athlete in the 20th century, Roger asks you to consider the fact that can it be that "the greatest athlete of the century couldn't hit .250 in the minor leagues." Kahn would pick either Jackie Robinson "because no one was as good as Robinson in as many sports" or Babe Ruth because "Ruth might have become baseball's greatest pitcher if he had not changed course and become baseball's greatest slugger." If you are looking for a technical book about baseball try "Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans." If you want a great read about some of baseball's best pitchers you can't go wrong with The Head Game by Roger Kahn. Trust me on this one.

if what you like is baseball people swapping stories and ideas, then THIS IS FOR YOU. Mr. Kahn recounts conversations and occurances from his vast baseball experience as well as some physics. i now have a much better appreciation for what takes place on the mound. as for accuracy.......accuracy is in the eye of the beholder and history is written by the victors.

Once again Roger Kahn has written the best baseball book of the year.The combination of his innate ability to write and the subject matter make this a worthy companion to his previous successes.The many. many stories and vignettes, especially those pertaining to the turn of the 20th century, are fascinating and entertainingly presented. One can almost see Christy Mattheweson and John McGraw together at the Polo Grounds. Close your eyes and you are there among the baseball pitching greats of yesteryear when the games were played in daylight, on grass, before crowds of knowledgeable fans who had to be restrained by ropes in the outfield. Mr. Kahn's alluding to the writings of John R. Tunis shake the cobwebs from the older fan. Just the title, "The Kid From Tompkinsville" conjures up all sorts of memories. There wasn't the hype then, only the game. This book is a gem, a must for the true fan, the historical fan of Baseball.

As a pitcher through my college years I read this book with great interest. I am not a baseball historian so the look back at the early pitchers in the game of baseball was very interesting. As a pitcher with an average fastball, I had to rely on "The Head Game" to survive.

This ia a must read for fans of the great game of baseball. I have a daughter who plays tennis and I am thinking of having her read this book. The head game played from the pitchers mound is no different than the head game played by the server in a tennis match.

enjoy.

I thought I knew a lot about baseball, but Roger Kahn taught me that I had a lot more to learn. In his entertaining style, Kahn explains that pitching is much more than having a strong arm and putting lots of "stuff" on the ball. Pitching is mental, or as Kahn calls it, "The Head Game". Did you ever wonder why a can't miss pitching prospect does not make it? Read this book and you will understand why. Not only is this an informative book, it is riviting. As a baseball fan, I had trouble putting it down until I finished it.

Roger Kahn has given fans another winner with this revealing look at pitchers and their mental approach to baseball. Readers learn about life on the hill from ancient masters like Christy Mathewson, mid-Century stars like Warren Spahn, and modern artists like Tom Glavine. Along the way we learn about different pitches, grips, exercise regimens, and mental strategies. We also learn about their long hours of practice, varying exercises to reduce strain on the arm, and experimentation with the baseball. As many fans know, not every hurler "pitches by the book." Greg Maddux, for example, usually goes after hitters on 0-2 rather than waste a pitch because at 0-2 most hitters are back on their heels. The author also interviews Johnny Sain and Leo Mazzone, two very capable pitching coaches. I wish Kahn had gone further and interviewed catchers (a vital part of the battery), less talented hurlers, and maybe even some hitters. Still, this is a superb baseball narrative, highly informative, and worthy of a five-star rating.

Readers might also enjoy some of this legendary baseball writer's other fine baseball books like THE BOYS OF SUMMER, MEMORIES OF SUMMER, etc.

Another homerun (although he would not like that analogy for this particular book) for Kahn. He is America's finest bard of baseball (some may disagree, but as Kahn would say, this is the writer's opinion). This is a fascinating look at pitching history through interviews (and historical documents) with the men who created it. From Ol' Hoss Radbourn (pitched over 600 innings and won 60 games in a season) to Christy Matthewson to Bob Gibson (who I wish had more than 10 or so pages) to Leo Mazzone, the book is wide in scope and stories. The book rambles a bit, but frankly the ride is worth taking. For anybody who loves the greatest of all games, this book will give you a new view of the men who make or break it. The pitchers.

I really wanted to like this book. I have been a fan of Roger Kahn's work for many years and I consider his "Boys of Summer" to be the best baseball book ever written. Unfortunately, I found this effort to be repetitive, poorly researched, and lacking in delivery on the promise of the title. "The Head Game: Baseball Seen from the Pitcher's Mound" is really only a series of sketches about some of the great pitchers of the game. One could certainly argue with the editors' choices and omissions but that would miss the point. I expected a work titled as this one is to deliver an analysis of the art of pitching, a discussion of the various theories employed by great pitchers in this greatest of all sports encounters, and the authors' explanations of the things that made each of these pitchers special. I expected these theories to be written in the informative and entertaining fashion I have come to expect from Mr. Kahn.

Instead what I read was a series of biographical sketches of some of the great and near-great pitchers in the game's history. Some of these were interesting, many of them were a rehash of previous material about the athletes. Rarely did I see tremendous insight into the "head game." That apparently will have to wait for a while.

A marginally enjoyable read but not what I expected. Too bad.