More Than a Ballgame: An Inside Look at Minor League Baseball [Paperback]

Sam Lazzaro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

More than a Ballgame: An Inside Look at Minor League Baseball is a great picture of the changes the sport has seen. Moreover, it is a picture of the hard work, long hours, and difficulties it has taken to run a successful minor league franchise. Sam Lazzaro has pulled the tarps, sold the fence signs, cleaned the bathrooms, and cooked the hot dogs. He has seen the future of major leaguers and the players on their way out. For those who have been in the game, he tells the truth; those who haven't will experience what it's like to run a minor league franchise. The rise of minor league baseball is a tremendous success story in modern America. Sam Lazzaro tells it well. -From the Foreword, written by Miles Wolff

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sam Lazzaro, 'one of the most respected operators in the game of baseball,' was born in Oswego, New York, graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego, and spent several years in radio sports broadcasting before he began his baseball administrative career with Elmira in the New York-Pennsylvania League. He moved to Salem, Virginia, in 1986. In 1984 he was the New York-Penn League's Executive of the Year, and in 1989 the Carolina League Executive of the Year, among numerous other awards. Under his leadership, his clubs broke franchise attendance records 11 times in 14 seasons. He is married to Sue Lazzaro, and has two sons, Sammy and Justen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Pocahontas Press; 1st edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936015713
• ISBN-13: 978-0936015712
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,002,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of attention by baseball readers and enthusiasts, April 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: More Than a Ballgame: An Inside Look at Minor League Baseball (Paperback)

Books about minor-league baseball are usually from three basic viewpoints: (1) the baseball fan who is severely disgruntled at the major-league level. They travel with family in their van, or with a dog in a Winnebago to a backwater, minor league town for the love of baseball and its positive meaning in American life; (2) the zany antics of the ballplayers and operators are described with great humor and clever photography; (3) carefully crafted minor-league history books with excellent photographs of old ballplayers and detailed, color presentation of old uniforms. Their content, and in several cases their historical accuracy, are quite limited. Sam Lazzaro's book does not fit into any of these categories. For that reason alone it is worthy of attention by baseball enthusiasts. Although Lazzaro does not give accounts of the major-league ballplayers who developed during their stay in the Carolina League, he does give exceptional accounts of the day-to-day operations and the various people involved in the minor-league franchise. Definitely a book worth a good look! David Kemp, quoted from "The Sioux Falls Argus Leader"

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very accurate depiction of minor league front office life., September 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: More Than a Ballgame: An Inside Look at Minor League Baseball (Paperback)

This book is written in a clear, reasonable, direct manner -- the same style Sam Lazzaro exhibits in conducting casual conversation and/or packaging business deals. A sterling sports marketer, Sam recounts his 14 years in baseball's trenches -- at Elmira, N.Y. and Salem, Va. As Sam openly acknowledges, the title of "general manager" in the minor leagues is somewhat of a misnomer; it's not the glamorous life of lounging in the press box, or swapping superstars. The GM hires the public address announcer, selects refreshment vendors, and sells scoreboard advertising. The front office staff in the minor leagues places its emphasis on putting people in the seats, and marketing is an area where Sam has shown much success. He shares numerous anecdotes from his years in the sport. This book is an enjoyable read, particularly for sports junkies who want to know the inside story. I recommend it highly.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I sense a man who loves baseball, so much so he would move, October 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: More Than a Ballgame: An Inside Look at Minor League Baseball (Paperback)

When I visited relatives in Germany, they took me to many of the famous places in Europe; but they also took me to little out-of-the-way places -- streets, eateries, towns, backroads -- that the typical tourist never visits. I got a unique flavor of Europe because my relatives had lived there and they knew far more than what was on the surface. This was my perspective of minor league baseball from More Than A Ballgame. I've never really been to Elmira, but I feel like I have because Sam Lazzaro took me thre. I've never been where Sam has in his associaiton with baseball, but I feel like I have an inside view of it now. On the one hand, I'm still the 10-year-old who says being in baseball for a living would be great. On the other hand, I'm the nearly 52-year-old body who says a baseball career is not so glamorous a ride that I would want to deal with all of the baggage that goes with it. I got the former (without the latter) in More Than A Ballgame. I'm sure getting to know great people in the game was a great thrill. So was seeing people and places "then and now." But mud holes for visiting locker rooms wasn't. Nor long bus rides. Nor aggravating individuals who thought they knew it all because they had money. I sense a man who loves baseball. So much so he would move from state to state and put up with obnoxious people just to be a part of that game. I didn't ask for Shakespeare to write the book. Polish is nice. But it's nothing without the vehicle, and Sam provides that vehicle because he knows whereof he speaks. Having worked in the same Carolina League organization as Sam, I know personally something about his work ethic, his aim for perfection, his planning ahead and getting the job done right and on time -- hopefully with others' help, but sometimes by himself. I know how an organization benefits from Sam's ability and love for his job, and how it hurts when he's gone and there are all those undone things that were taken for granted because Sam did them. He's not flamboyant. Not glamorous. Just solid. Sam is a lot like an umpire. He calls 'em the way he sees 'em. He has a job to do and does it. He expects flak. He makes mistakes. There will always be someone to disagree with him. That happens when you're a man of integrity. I can tell through what he says in More Than A Ballgame that baseball has given Sam a lot, and he is very appreciative for all of it. He chooses to see the positive far better than the negative. He makes me wish I'd been there. And in one sense, I feel like I have. Thanks for the tour. I loved it. Call me when the bus loads again.