Customer Reviews

Mendoza's Heroes: Fifty Batters Below .200

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"Mendoza's Heroes" is a treat for any fan of baseball books - indeed, all true lovers of the game will be quickly caught in Al Pepper's world of sub-.200 batsmen. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, the stories of these mediocre Major Leaguers unfold across the course of the three centuries pro-ballers have been attempting to smash that stitched sphere into fair play (and beyond). From William Traffey of the 1878s Chicago White Stockings and 1883s Cincinnati Red Stockings to Mike Stenhouse, whose four-year MLB career a hundred years later spanned "cups of coffee" with the Expos, Twins and Red Sox, readers get rare insight into the workin' level of The Game. From the ubiquitous Bob Uecker to Ray Oyler, Bill Plummer, and Mario Mendoza himself (all in my own personal pantheon because they wore Mariner blue), readers are treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the guys who batted just a little better than you and I might (although their other on-field accomplishments are heroic in many instances). Slug-stars they are not, especially in this era of Bonds, Sosa and McGwire. Even so - by virtue of appearing in Major League uniform - neither are they mere mortals. Fun reading this, and congratulations to Pepper for a terrific, offbeat, homespun style that makes you want to read "just one more" of the player bios. "Mendoza's Heroes" is a grand slam for Pocol Press, which is batting 1.000 with its line of books on baseball history.

While not an avid baseball fan as I'm sure most of you are, I found this book to be full of interesting facts and trivia. Baseball players of the old days are included and make for interesting reading! I passed my copy on to my dad for his leisurely reading (he is an avid baseball fan) and there was much for him to learn from Mr. Pepper's research. Thank you to him for compiling this information. For you lifetime baseball fans, happy reading!!

the superstars get all the ink. but the slap-hitter, the third-string catcher, that's where the fun is. and al pepper has done a good job mining the ranks of the unimpressive for interesting nuggets and storylines. 'mendoza's heroes' is a fun read.

Excellent book full of great barely known players who contributed more to the game of baseball than any of our modern day baseball "greats". Whether you are a rabid fan or the occasional observer this book helps you to understand the true meaning of a players love for the game. Most books on baseball easily lose you in the statistics and the numbers, Mr. Pepper keeps you in touch with each of Mendoza's Heroes, from their batting averages to their individual contributions to the game and their fellow players. The amount of detail and effort put into this work by the author is obvious from the first page. I recommend this great and easy read.

The difference between a line drive into the left field bleachers and a pop-up to the shortstop is a matter of a few vertical millimeters on the bat. In this well-written, entertaining book, Al Pepper gives us some insight into the careers of fifty ballplayers who were just that close to being stars. In fact, they were that close consistently.

Although these players had batting averages in common, their stories are surprisingly varied. Pepper does a good job of keeping the narrative moving and the reader will learn a great deal about the twists and turns of baseball careers.

Easy read, the writer had great knowledge of the game