Customer Reviews

The Lip: A Biography of Leo Durocher

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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.

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.