Lefty: An American Odyssey [Hardcover]

Vernona Gomez (Author), Lawrence Goldstone (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 15, 2012

A baseball legend distinguished by his competitive nature, quick wit, and generous spirit, Lefty Gomez was one of a kind. Told for the first time, this is his remarkable story.
 
Born to a small-town California ranching family, the youngest of eight, Vernon “Lefty” Gomez rode his powerful arm and jocular personality right across America to the dugout of the New York Yankees. Lefty baffled hitters with his blazing fastball, establishing himself as the team’s ace. He vacationed with Babe Ruth, served as Joe DiMaggio’s confidant, and consoled Lou Gehrig the day the “Iron Horse” removed himself from the lineup. He started and won the first-ever All-Star Game, was the first pitcher to make the cover of Time magazine, and barnstormed Japan as part of Major League Baseball’s grand ambassadorial tour in 1934. Away from the diamond, Lefty played the big-city bon vivant, marrying Broadway star June O’Dea and hobnobbing with a who’s who of celebrities, including George Gershwin, Jack Dempsey, Ernest Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe, George M. Cohan, and James Michener. He even scored a private audience with the pope.
 
And even when his pro ball career was done, Lefty wasn’t. He became a national representative for Wilson Sporting Goods, logging over 100,000 miles a year, spreading the word about America’s favorite game, and touching thousands of lives. In 1972 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Three baseball fields are named for him, and to this day the top honor bestowed each year by the American Baseball Coaches Association is the Lefty Gomez Award.
 
Now, drawing on countless conversations with Lefty, interweaving more than three hundred interviews conducted with his family, friends, competitors, and teammates over the course of a decade, and revealing candid photos, documents, and film clips—many never shown publicly—his daughter Vernona Gomez and her award-winning co-author Lawrence Goldstone vividly re-create the life and adventures of the irreverent southpaw fondly dubbed “El Señor Goofy.”
 
“I’d rather be lucky than good,” Lefty Gomez once quipped—one of many classic one-liners documented here. In the end he was both. A star-studded romp through baseball’s most glorious seasons and America’s most glamorous years, Lefty is at once a long-overdue reminder of a pitcher’s greatness and a heartwarming celebration of a life well-lived.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Advance praise for Lefty

"In the darkest decade of the American Century, the 1930s, 'Lefty' Gomez gave baseball fans--which is to say, sensible Americans--something to cheer for and to admire. His story transcends sports and gives us a much-needed lesson in grit and grace."—Jon Meacham
 
“In a loving and beautifully written tribute to her parents, Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone recapture the magic of a time when baseball and Broadway were our true national pastimes. Be prepared to be transformed, and to discover stars who were stars in an age when that word really meant something.”--Mike Greenberg, New York Times bestselling author and co-host of ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning”

“The authors brought back great memories to me in this book. I always loved the way Lefty made my dad laugh, and I loved listening to the stories about Bing hanging out with the baseball gods in their prime. These stories allowed me to see my father as he was long before I was ever born. My sisters and I loved it when Lefty came to visit—we got to watch TV because Lefty would turn it on for us. My dad always deferred to Lefty and house rules flew out the window! Thanks for such a nostalgic and entertaining book.”—Kurt Russell
 
“An absolutely great read and not just for baseball fans. This book brings the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, in particular, alive in such a fun and exciting way. I loved it.”—Louise Russell
 
“Baseball fans everywhere will appreciate the book. Here was a man who wagered with Ruth, laughed with Gehrig, and roomed with DiMaggio. He was known as the fire-throwing left-hander of the successful Yankees teams of the 1930s and as the man that made clowning around the diamond famous. Lefty’s adventurous stories both on and off the diamond will have readers talking about this book for many years to come.”—Steven Tellefsen, president and CEO, Babe Ruth League, Inc.

About the Author

Vernona Gomez is the daughter of June O’Dea and Vernon “Lefty” Gomez. As a child, she bounced on Babe Ruth’s knee, made sand castles on the beach with Joe DiMaggio, and won at cards with the legendary Cy Young. Growing up in a baseball family, Vernona brings an eyewitness account to the adventures chronicled in this book. She is a concert pianist, owner of the Creative Coaching Music Studio in Southport, Connecticut, and has two sons, John and Andrew.
 
Lawrence Goldstone is the author or co-author of thirteen previous books of fiction and nonfiction. One of his novels won a New American Writing Award, another was a New York Times notable mystery. His work has been profiled in The New York Times, The Toronto Star, Salon, and Slate, among others. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife and daughter.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 15, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345526481
• ISBN-13: 978-0345526489
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An intimate look at a great Yankee pitcher March 31, 2012

By Barry Sparks VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Co-authors Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone present an intimate portrait of Yankee Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez in "Lefty: An American Odyssey." Vernona is the daughter of Vernon "Lefty" and June Gomez.

Gomez was the glue of the Yankees' clubhouse and pitching rotation in the 1930s. He was the game's highest paid pitcher in 1935 with a $20,000 salary. The southpaw compiled a 189-102 won-loss record, won 20 games four times, led the league in shutouts and strikeouts twice and ERA twice. He fashioned a 6-0 record and a 2.86 ERA in five World Series.

The book focuses more on Lefty's personal life than his baseball career. For example, many more pages are devoted to Lefty's highly publicized marital problems and near-divorce (he and his wife, June, a Broadway dancer, reconciled and were married for 55 years) than any of his World Series performances.

The book offers a thorough account of Gomez's boyhood. Gomez started playing semi-pro ball at age 14 and played in the Pacific Coast League before joining the Yankees in 1930. Always a tough competitor, Lefty pitched in plenty of crucial games.

Although he was known as "El Goofo" for his humor and wit, he was astute and intelligent. Gomez roomed with Joe DiMaggio from 1936 to 1942 and they became lifelong friends. Lefty had the gift of gab and made friends wherever he went.

The book offers an interesting chapter on the 1934 Tour of Japan by Gomez, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and other major leaguers.

Arm problems led to the Yankees releasing Gomez in January 1943. He finished his career with one appearance with the Washington Senators in 1943. He retired at the age of 33.

The final 90 pages cover Gomez's life after he retired from baseball. Gomez worked for Wilson Sporting Goods for many years, traveling more than 100,000 miles, attending banquets, baseball functions, putting on clinics and promoting youth baseball. In 1957, he suffered a nervous breakdown caused by exhaustion and alcoholism. His daughter provides a lot of insight and stories about Lefty's personal life and relationships.

Lefty Gomez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1972, becoming one of the few HOF pitchers with fewer than 200 wins. Lefty died Feb. 17, 1989, at age 80.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Up-Close Bio of a Hall of Famer June 6, 2012

By Edison McIntyre VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

They didn't call Vernon Louis Gomez "Goofy" for nothing. The New York Yankees pitcher was never much of a hitter, especially when up against the likes of Bob Feller, the young fireballer for the Cleveland Indians. In a late afternoon game on a misty day, when Feller's fastball was hopping and the sun was going down, Gomez came to the batter's box and pulled out a match. As he lit it, the umpire asked, "You think that's going to help you see the ball?"

"No," said Gomez, "I just want to be sure Feller can see me!"

"Lefty" Gomez was one of the great wits of baseball, as much loved and admired for his humor and generosity as for his skills on the mound. He was the backbone of the New York Yankees pitching staff through the 1930s, winning twenty games or more in four of his fourteen Major League seasons. With Gomez on the mound, the Yankees won five American League pennants and five World Series (1932, 1936-39, finishing second in the league in 1931 and 1933-35). Lefty also was the winning pitcher in the first Baseball All-Star Game in 1933, and he would be named to the American League team for the six following seasons. Gomez's career stats are not spectacular - overall he won 189 games and lost 102, with a 3.34 earned run average (per nine-inning game) - but that's still the fourth highest winning percentage, .649, among pitchers who started their careers between 1900 and 1950 and had 200 decisions or more, and fifteenth highest among 200+ pitchers all-time.

Lefty was born in 1908 to a big American family (Spanish-Portuguese father, Welsh-Irish mother) on the shores of San Pablo Bay, north of San Francisco. Early on, he found a passion for baseball and developed into an effective southpaw with a blazing fastball. After several years of sandlot and semipro ball in the Bay area, he played for a minor league team in Salt Lake City and then for the fabled San Francisco Seals of the old Pacific Coast League before the Yankees bought his contract prior to the 1930 season. The Lanky Yankee played alongside such pinstripe legends as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie "Red" Ruffing, Tony Lazzeri, Bill Dickey, Phil Rizzuto, and many others who graced Yankee Stadium in the `30s and early `40s. It was not a long career - eight really productive seasons before a shoulder injury in 1939 precipitated a slow decline. He pitched only twenty-seven innings in 1940, then went 15-5 in helping the Yankees win the 1941 pennant. But Lefty was so erratic that year that he didn't pitch in the World Series victory over Brooklyn, and after a 6-4 season in 1942, the Yankees cut him loose. Lefty would pitch one game for the Washington Senators in 1943 - his last loss - before hanging up his cleats.

Fortunately, Lefty's life off the field was largely a happy one. In 1933 he married June O'Dea, a New York showgirl, and they would eventually have four children in more than fifty years of wedlock. Out of the majors, Lefty worked a few odd gigs before latching on to a long-time job doing sales and promotional work for the Wilson Sporting Goods Co., a position he held for almost four decades before his death in 1989. Lefty's ingratiating personality and humor made him a favorite on the after-dinner speaker circuit, and he also traveled abroad extensively, especially in Latin America, as a baseball instructor and coach.

One might be justifiably wary of any biography written by a son or daughter, but Vernona (Lefty's oldest child) and her collaborator, Lawrence Goldstone, keep a respectable distance from the father-daughter relationship. There's no doubt that this is an affectionate, even adoring portrait of her father and mother (indeed, the book might better be titled "Lefty and June" because of the prominence the ballplayer's wife receives in some chapters). But the authors also include some less pleasant episodes - marital discord, a miscarriage, the death of a son, Lefty's bout with alcoholism in his later years - and handle them openly and without sensation. Vernona must have worked on this book for many years, as she includes accounts based on interviews with a host of old-time players, wives, and other observers, most now regrettably gone.

LEFTY is not only a good picture of this talented, entertaining ballplayer - who finally won admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 - but gives a flavorful view of the Yankees in the `30s, struggling in the early part of the decade and then roaring back in the late `30s to the glory days of Joltin' Joe and the Bronx Bombers. Fans of baseball, and baseball history, will find LEFTY a worthwhile read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Biography, Baseball, Life, Brilliant ! March 30, 2013

By Stewart L. Johnson

Format:Hardcover

I must admit, I was not looking for this book specifically, but my hand automatically reached for it. I knew it would be interesting, but it was much more than that. Certainly, Lefty Gomez was central to the story, but it is a as much about people, history, decades and families. One does not need to be a baseball enthusiast (but it doesn't hurt), as this book is not about idolatry, but it makes these idols of our youth (or lore) people, not hero's. It was a beautifully written book that I looked forward to reading every night before I fell asleep. The only thing I did not care for, was that it had to end. I highly recommend this book as a great biographical, historical, human interest book in which the central figure was a good and descent man; a friend, family man, employee; a funny, witty, well-known guy who had time and a smile for all, from young kids to fellow Hall-of-Famers and everyone in between. Mr. Gomez's daughter Vernona, showed a deft touch for the intricacies involved in writing about her beloved father, her mother and siblings, without over-glorifying. A tip of the cap to Vernona Gomez for a job well done, a family well-loved, and a most enjoyable book. Respectfully, Stewart Johnson