The Lip: A Biography of Leo Durocher [Hardcover]

Gerald Eskenazi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1993

A biography of the baseball legend discusses Durocher's childhood, his rookie years, his managing of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1940s and the Houston Astros of the 1970s, and his personal life. 40,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Leo the Lip, perhaps best remembered for his quip "Nice guys finish last," began his baseball career in 1925 as a player for the Hartford, Conn., team in the Eastern League, and left the sport in 1973, when he resigned as manager of the Houston Astros. During those years he played for the Yankees of the Ruth-Gehrig era, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals of Gas House Gang fame and the Brooklyn Dodgers; he managed the Dodgers, Giants and Cubs, leading his teams to three pennants. From a rough background in West Springfield, Mass., as a teenager Durocher was a pool hustler and a gambler (gambling remained an addiction) and developed an abrasive, confrontational personality. As an infielder, he may have been the best of his time, unexcelled with the glove, but he was only a mediocre hitter. As a manager, some players thought him great, while he alienated others. In a book that is primarily a thinly disguised pitch for the election of Durocher, who died in 1991 at age 86, to the Hall of Fame, New York Times sports reporter Eskenazi does not write about Durocher's well-known disagreeable proclivities, such as his jealousy or downright hatred of great hitters from Babe Ruth to Ernie Banks. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Durocher's tumultuous career in baseball as a manager, player, coach, and commentator spanned nearly five decades. His greatest success came as a manager, though his brash behavior kept him in constant trouble with the game's authorities. The author recalls announcer Red Barber's apt remark that "Leo didn't make any mistakes on the field. All the mistakes Leo made were off the field." All those incidents are chronicled here, including ones that went unreported in Durocher's autobiography, Nice Guys Finish Last ( LJ 4/15/75). Altogether, this is a thorough examination of a man who had an immeasurable impact on the game. Recommended for popular sports collections.
- William H. Hoffman, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068811895X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688118952
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,266,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Gyp, August 11, 2001

By 

J. K. Kelley "literary mercenary" (Eastern WA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lip: A Biography of Leo Durocher (Hardcover)

You know, for someone who's written as many sports books as Eskenazi, you'd think he'd have done better.

For one thing, this sizable Durocher biography lacks depth. In many cases Leo's statements vary from those of others. The author definitely did some research into who was lying and who was not, but he doesn't take a stand very often. In a book about someone like Durocher, this is an unfortunate weakness.

For another, it doesn't reveal much that we didn't already know. Peter Golenbock, in _Bums_, was far more candid about Durocher. For another, it's not funny or even very entertaining. How one could make a subject like Leo Durocher dull is a difficult question to answer, but Eskenazi succeeded.

What's far worse, though, is the weighting of coverage. My copy is 315 pages. Eight years of Durocher's managerial career were spent managing the Cubs and Astros in the late sixties; dozens of players and executives from that era who worked with Leo are alive, well and probably willing to discuss it, but Eskenazi seemingly didn't think that was worth his time: the part about the Cubs begins on page 292. 292 pages for childhood, Yankees, Reds, Cards, Dodgers, Giants and Dodgers again; 23 for Cubs, Astros and Durocher's penile implant.

I recently ordered another baseball book by Eskenazi. I sure hope it's better than this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent and Readable, if Flawed, March 30, 2008

By 

K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lip: A Biography of Leo Durocher (Paperback)

This is a readable if uneven look at one of baseball's most fiery managers. Author Gerald Eskenazi begins with a look at Durocher's upbringing in Springfield, Massachusetts, and his entry into baseball as a brash rookie with the powerful NY Yankees of Babe Ruth in the 1920's. We also see his career as a slick-fielding, weak-hitting shortstop with Cincinnati, St. Louis and Brooklyn during the Depression and into the 1940's. As expected, a majority of these pages are devoted to Durocher's managerial days. The author concentrates heavily on Leo's stints with Brooklyn (1939-1948) and the NY Giants (1948-1955). We see that few players were neutral on their gruff and flashy skipper, either loving or disliking him. We also get a look at his celebrity-like, rather troubled personal life. I felt the author gave too little coverage to Durocher's later stints leading the Cubs (1966-1972) and Astros (1972-73), where some felt he was generationally out-of-touch. Cub fans might like more on their team's late-season fold in 1969, partly from the Mets surge, but also because Leo lacked good leadoff men and seldom used his non-stellar bench.

This biography is somewhat flawed, but remains a readable and informative look at Leo Durocher (1905-1991), one of baseball's most colorful characters.