Nice Guys Finish Last [Paperback]

Leo Durocher (Author), Ed Linn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

“I believe in rules. Sure I do. If there weren't any rules, how could you break them?”

 

The history of baseball is rife with colorful characters. But for sheer cantankerousness, fighting moxie, and will to win, very few have come close to Leo “the Lip” Durocher. Following a five-decade career as a player and manager for baseball’s most storied franchises, Durocher teamed up with veteran sportswriter Ed Linn to tell the story of his life in the game. The resulting book, Nice Guys Finish Last, is baseball at its best, brimming with personality and full of all the fights and feuds, triumphs and tricks that made Durocher such a success—and an outsized celebrity.

 

Durocher began his career inauspiciously, riding the bench for the powerhouse 1928 Yankees and hitting so poorly that Babe Ruth nicknamed him “the All-American Out.” But soon Durocher hit his stride: traded to St. Louis, he found his headlong play and never-say-die attitude a perfect fit with the rambunctious “Gashouse Gang” Cardinals. In 1939, he was named player-manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers—and almost instantly transformed the underachieving Bums into perennial contenders. He went on to manage the New York Giants, sharing the glory of one of the most famous moments in baseball history, Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ’round the world,” which won the Giants the 1951 pennant. Durocher would later learn how it felt to be on the other side of such an unforgettable moment, as his 1969 Cubs, after holding first place for 105 days, blew a seemingly insurmountable 8-1/2-game lead to the Miracle Mets.

 

All the while, Durocher made as much noise off the field as on it. His perpetual feuds with players, owners, and league officials—not to mention his public associations with gamblers, riffraff, and Hollywood stars like George Raft and Larraine Day—kept his name in the headlines and spread his fame far beyond the confines of the diamond.

 

A no-holds-barred account of a singular figure, Nice Guys Finish Last brings the personalities and play-by-play of baseball’s greatest era to vivid life, earning a place on every baseball fan’s bookshelf.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

 “The delight of the book is its exuberance, its sense of a life lived at full tilt. . . . Durocher is a first-class raconteur.”

(Joe Flaherty New York Times Book Review )

“Hypnotic. . . . Durocher fought and scratched and made enough enemies so that one season he was expelled from baseball ‘for conduct detrimental to the game.’”--Esquire

(Roger Kahn Esquire )

“Mr. Durocher has somehow managed to be involved with more than his fair share of baseball’s mythic moments and situations. . . . This is Leo Durocher talking straight as a low line drive, not Leo Durocher ghosted up for Little Leaguers to hero-worship and copy. . . . If certain reputations lose out, the color and magic of baseball's past comes out a winner.”--New York Times

(Christopher Lehmann-Haupt New York Times )

"A 'must read' for anyone who loves sports. . . . He brings to life with Dickensian relish a whole raft of figures—Ruth, Dizzy Dean, Ducky Medwick, Mays, Branch Rickey."—Publishers Weekly

(Publishers Weekly )

"If you love the old baseball stories . . . if you like the romance and swagger and tough talk of bnaseball in the pre-corporate skybox era, this is fun. Especially if you skip the stuff about the Cubs."

(Joe Distelheim Hardball Times )

About the Author

Leo Durocher (1905–91) spent nearly fifty years in the major leagues as a player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. Ed Linn (1922–2000) was the author of seventeen books, including Veeck--As in Wreck.

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226173887
• ISBN-13: 978-0226173887
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Leo's a Nice Guy, Really July 4, 2001

By Jason A. Miller VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Usually considered to be one of the best baseball autobiographies ever written (by that small subset of us who actually consider the quality of such books), "Nice Guys Finish Last" is a terrific window onto 50 years of baseball history.

Leo Durocher began his career riding the bench in the shadow of Babe Ruth, and ended it as the manager of the glorious 1973 Houston Astros, led by their star outfielder Cesar Cedeno (and we all know what happened to him...). In between such humble beginnings and endings, however, Durocher was there for just about every pivotal moment in baseball history. Rest assured he has opinions on all of them. And he wants to set the record straight.

"Nice Guys Finish Last" is densely packed, full of satisfying venom, and leaves no stone -- or vendetta -- unturned. Whether or not the reader believes all of what Leo is saying is less important than the fact that this is a must read for anyone interested in baseball's previous generations.

They don't make managers like Durocher anymore, and, sad to say, there will be very few baseball autobiographies quite like this in the years to come.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars BRASH October 13, 2003

By Randy Keehn VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Leo Durocher has a story to tell you and you'd better listen because he doesn't care to repeat himself. At least that is the tone I got from reading his autobiography. He hits the ground arguing and never lets up. In the process, we get a good look at a career that spans Ty Cobb to Cesar Cedeno with plenty in between. This book is a must for Baseball history buffs. As a matter of fact, I think it helps if you ARE a Baseball history buff because you might know more about a number of the controversies that Durocher talks about. I was not familiar with a lot of the controversies he wrote about. However, that didn't detract from the book but neither did it add to my enjoyment of it. You come to understand early on that it is not coincidental that Durocher encountered so many controversies in his career. These include controversies surrounding his relationships with his players, his general managers, his owners, the umpires, his real or alleged off-field associations, as well as with various Baseball Commissioners. There is even a controvery or two surrounding his wives although, in fairness, it has more to do with their relationships with their former spouses than with him. In that regard, this is not a "kiss and tell" book. It's more a "now that you've heard everybody else's version, here's my side of the story" book. That's the problem with this book. Although Durocher acknowledges occassional short-comings, he seems to always be "set-up" by others to look like the bad guy. After a few dozen of his "corrections of the record" you come away feeling that this man may have had a hard time with the facts....

Durocher may be apologetic at times but his brash manner, that he never waivers from, emboldens him to give some surprizing frank observations about some icons of the game. He is polite but critical of Jackie Robinson (didn't work hard enough), Ernie Banks (too slow and too lame to be of much good to the team), and Ron Santo (whom he portrays as a crybaby) to mention a few. He has his heroes such as Willie Mays whom he considered the greatest player he ever saw. He has two people that he puts at a level just a notch under Mays; Pete Reiser whose career was shortened by injuries and Cesar Cedeno whom he (typically) detracts in the same sentence he praises. However, the star of this book is Leo Durocher (fair enough, it's his autobiography). Although it was "co-written" with Ed Linn, the book read like a non-stop monologue by Durocher. The book was copyrighted in 1975 but it has stood the test of time. His comments on the high salaries of the 1970's may sound ridiculous compared to what has happened since then. However, his comments are still valid (when adjusted for inflation). Once I got started on the book, I found it hard to put down. I also found it hard to think I was getting the full story. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite baseball book July 24, 2005

By Koogan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Most of what I'd ever read or heard about Leo Durocher didn't make him seem to be a very likeable character. There are hundreds of stories of his fighting, foul-mouthed, and "win at all costs" approach to the game.

However, after reading "Nice Guys Finish Last", I have new respect for the man. A fierce competitor and someone who genuinely loved the game, Durocher comes across as someone you would like to have had a few beers with while listening to hours of amazing baseball stories.

Durocher has a candid, honest way of speaking, and he doesn't hold back. He speaks with great admiration about many players, managers, and even umpires, but also doesn't hesitate to blast anyone he thought was unfair to him.

Some of his stories are probably a little exaggerated. I've read some accounts elsewhere that weren't quite as interesting, or that didn't put Leo in such a positive light. However, if you like baseball and are looking for a fun read, this is a great book. I consider it one of my favorite sports books, right up there with Art Donovan's "Fatso" and Sparky Lyle's "The Bronx Zoo."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Irrascible, Iritable, Controversial = Leo The Lip July 28, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Durocher never shied away from controversy while he was manageing, nor did he back down when he wrote this book. Read his candid (and less than flattering) opinions of Ernie Banks, Milt Pappas, Joe Pepitone and many others. It would be nice to have Leo still around to deal with the players union today. Bet there wouldn't be the labour problems that the sport has been plagued with !!!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars funny, point-blank, opinionated, entertaining October 26, 2000

By J. K. Kelley

Format:Paperback

Leo Durocher was one of those characters people either love or hate. A win-at-all-costs player and manager, he never really developed much tact, and he was definitely a product of his era. But I've never heard anyone say that he, or his teams, were boring.

What the Amazon entry for this book doesn't tell you is that it was written with Ed Linn, who sadly passed away not long ago. Linn had the unique gift of preserving the subject's style so perfectly that you'd be hard pressed to tell that there had been a co-author at all. What this means for the reader is that the book is much better than it would otherwise seem: you get treated to Leo's pungent, egotistical and judgmental style as though he was talking to you in person telling old stories. That's what makes it so much fun.

If you are a baseball fan, this belongs in your library and is well worth the search.