Customer Reviews

The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a terrific book. It balances nicely between an inside look (and it is quite honest about the players and other characters, showing their true human qualities--it does not pretty them up) and an ode to the one of the last places where the true spirit of the game lives. I had long known of the league, but mostly through the reports of Peter Gammons and Baseball America. It was all numbers and thumb nail scouting reports. This book added layer after layer of humanity to these guys. It also captures quite beautifully the connection of the game and the mythical qualities and the small town virtues. It doesn't overdo it either. The touches are excellent. The narrative is a bit meandering at times, but that is ok, so is the game. A beautiful tribute to the men (mostly Pauly, D'Antona, and Stauffer) and a game that is timeless. Thank you Jim Collins.

An enjoyable work that captures the feel of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Cape league remains popular due to its simplicity and reminder of earlier times. Despite showcasing the best NCAA baseball talent, the league's free admission and small time atmosphere make it a vital part of summer on Cape Cod. The author correctly focuses on a groups of players for the Chatham A's vice a play by play of every game. He tells stories of the big league hopes of a select group of players, from the son of a grocer who loves to fish, to the rich son of a corporate executive who is out to raise his own signing bonus. Despite being future stars/heroes most come off as average college guys, more into beer and girls than anything else.

While the players are interesting, the real story is the team itself and how its long time manager epitomizes everything about the league. He receives little pay, spends thousands of hours recruiting players, and builds his life managing a team in a short season league, that is a mere pit spot for future major leaguers. It was amazing how these young 19 year old children already have agents, personnel trainers, and specialist doctors, but with signing bonuses often in the millions, the smell of big money corporate baseball lies just below the surface of the simple hometown Cape Cod league.

The book reads well and weaves a good story. The author's access to the 2002 team and locals really capture the moment. Certain parts of the book wax sentimental and are a bit heavy on the symbology of baseball and its role in American culture, but most baseball books fall prey to this. The author's love for the game is obvious. I learned much about how young players are prepped for the major leagues. Any fan of good baseball writing will enjoy the book, especially those who have been lucky enough to grab a Cape League game.

I worked for several years in baseball operations for two Major League Baseball franchises, and to this day, one of my greatest experiences was spending three weeks scouting at the Cape Cod League. Jim Collins does an excellent job of portraying the league, its management, scouts, fans, coaches and players. He brings several angles to the book, showing that not all players get along, that there are "classes" of players, and that 20-year old boys will act like, well, boys. For the casual baseball fan, this is an excellent look at something other than the Major Leagues. For the die-hard fan, it is a must read.

I was fortunate to have played 3 summers (1965-1967) for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League - An experience that far overshadows all of my other baseball accomplishments - I fell in love with the town & the league from the minute I first arrived.

But as the years have past, the memories have dimmed, until I read Jim Collin's book "The Last Best League"

I have to admit that I personally know many of the key characters, which alone would indicate that I should enjoy reading the story, but Jim's easy flow writing style invited me in and I didn't want to leave.

As bizarre as it may seem, as the story developed, I found myself totally absorbed as if I was actually there being a part of the scene. Whether it was in the dugout, at coach Schiffner's house discussing strategy or just walking around Chatham.

If you are a baseball fan this book is a must. It clearly takes the reader for a ride as the best college baseball players in the country begin to feel the pressure, as the competition mounts, and their dreams of playing major league baseball may either be achieved or shattered based on their summer's performance in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Thanks for the memories Jim - I enjoyed the ride

Ed Baird

The author clearly loves his subjects: athletes with their chance to make it to the bigs. In particular, he loves baseball at its purist. Pure because there are no guaranteed contracts, no established stars, just college players who see their goal so close and so badly want to make the next step. Each game, and each athlete, is an adventure. It will be fun over the years to see which of the players chronicled in this book become stars in the years to come.

Simply; the finest sports related book I've ever read, and one of the finest non-fiction books I've ever read. An in-depth perspective to the best amatuer baseball league. It is easy to not think of many of today's pro atheletes as real people with their own backgrounds. Their plastered on the screen, and we are only able to relate to them with the stats that they produce and the often poor behavior they exhibit. This book helps break those barriers by telling the story of many individuals on the Chatham A's, the most prolific of the Cape Cod League teams. All the players are interesting, but the most is the Head Coach. Extremely well written, I highly recommend it to anyone.

Once in a very great while, someone sends baseball a great big valentine in book form (David Lamb's Stolen Season comes immediately to mind). Such it is with Collins' book. The Last Best League reminds us of why some of us fell in love with the game to begin with - the pace, the sounds, the smells, the kids without the arrogance. It certainly is the best piece of baseball non-fiction I've read in quite a number of years

Jim Collin's book is THE most enjoyable sports book I have read in over a decade. Maybe it's the ephemeral beauty of a single Cape Cod summer, maybe it's the timeless coming of age saga, or maybe it's just a story of three individuals, any one of whom could be a brother, a friend or a neighbor. I believe it is all of these - you don't just read this book, you feel it - the Chatham fog, the building summer heat, the unmet athletic expectations and the frustration of players sensing their athletic futures unravelling with each unsuccessful at bat. The stories flow together seamlessly . . . I'll be looking for more from Jim Collins.

The Last Best League is a wonderful book, right up there with Good Enough to Dream, The Celebrant, A False Spring, and my other favorite baseball books. Jim Collins takes us inside the Cape Cod League via the Chatham A's, and although the A's didn't have a winning Cape season, it's fascinating to see the changes and growth in those involved. As other reviewers have noted, Collins gets the ins and outs of baseball, and the pace of this book is perfect. As they say "I couldn't put it down"..I'd like to point out that this book doesn't come across as a "tell all", but more as an appreciation. Faults are pointed out, but not exploited. Thanks Mr. Collins for a terrific read. I hope to someday enjoy some summer evenings in Chatham..

I received this book as a gift and it was a very pleasant surprise. Somewhere between Little League and the Major League lies the Cape Cod League. Since I was a kid reading Baseball America, I have been intrigued with the lure of this quiet amateur summer league nestled in the heart of New England. Where basketball has the reknowned Nike summer camps, baseball has this unheralded league that attracts the nation's best college players for three months of a surreal existence of working by day and playing by night (evoking memories of a young Archibald Graham from "Field of Dreams"). This book does something special: preserve the spirit of the young men that head to these sleepy vacation towns every summer with dreams of playing the big leagues as well as the community that awaits them, prepared to provide an education they could never get in college. It's hard to read this book without getting lost in this world that seems a million miles from the majors. You see these future professional athletes at an awkward stage of their careers where they struggle to balance aspiration and the end of adolescence. The cast of characters spans an amazing array of talent, drive, and desire. This book invites you spend a summer with them, watching them grow up and learn about themselves in a unique environment. As a former player whose career never made it past high school, I was constantly reminded of why baseball is so special to those of us who really appreciate the full scope of the game. It goes beyond ball and strikes. It's the comraderie, the strategy, the mental games, and the team dynamic. The egos, the tempers, and the arrogance. The romance of the game is embodied within this book and anyone who appreciates the power of baseball will love "The Last Best League".