Customer Reviews

Nice Guys Finish Last

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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.

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.

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.

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 !!!

Over a third of a century has passed since Leo Durocher's book was first published in 1975 soon after he retired from baseball. This new edition offers an opportunity to relive the life of Leo The Lip for those of us old enough to remember him and a chance for later day baseball fans to get to know one of the game's most influential managers.

I began following baseball in 1951, the year Durocher's New York Giants stormed from 13 1/2 games out to force the playoff with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League pennant in which Bobby Thomson settled it with the shot heard round the world. It also was the year Willie Mays broke into the major leagues and Durocher stood by him when he struggled to live up to expectations. Durocher already had more than a quarter of a century in baseball before I walked in. This book provided me with a good look at his early life, his career as an ordinary player whose never quit style compensated for his lack of talent, and the great years as the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team he took from chronic loser status to one of baseball's most successful franchises before moving north of the Brooklyn Bridge.

I contend Leo really was a nice guy because it is clear he recognized Mays' greatness and his need for a mentor like Leo to bring out the stardom in him. He also was a nice guy because he told the truth even when it hurt like when he made it clear to Giants brass that the team wasn't nearly as great as they thought it was. They chose to ignore him and went rapidly downhill after the wonderful 1954 World Series where they swept the heavily favored Cleveland Indians.

Durocher stood up to two commissioners and he details his experiences with them here. Leo recognized that Happy Chandler was a buffoon unfit to be baseball's czar and he writes about their differences. Then there was the time Leo and his wife double teamed Bowie Kuhn and challenged efforts to set Durocher up. Bet Bowie never issued another breakfast invitation to Lynne Walker Goldblatt Durocher!

This is a well written, easy reading story. If you don't read it you'll finish last whether of not you're a nice guy.

NICE GUYS FINISH LAST is an entertaining read that really captures the life and times of Leo "The Lip" Durocher. Leo Durocher was considered "The All-American Out" by Babe Ruth, but his fiery temperment more than made up for his lack of prowess in the field. Durocher was a very good manager, and shared in many of baseball's finest moments. His quarrels with Larry McPhail (President of the Brookyln Dodgers) are legendary, as a drunken McPhail fired Durocher many times, only to re-hire him the next day. This duo of characters added even more accent to a team that was called, 'dem bums". Of course, this book wouldn't be complete without highlighting his days in the Giants and Astros organizations, and him pointing to Mel Ott and referring to him when saying, "Nice guys finish last." Good books finish first, and this is one good book.

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."

Leo Durocher's autobiography is easily one of the top 5 baseball books ever written. This is a man who sat on the bench for the '27 Yanks and managed Jerry Reuss. That's covering quite a bit of history.
Leo's takes on what he was around such as the differences between Ruth and Gehrig, Hugh Casey's passed ball in the '41 WS, Jackie Robinson's signing, the Bobby Thompson HR, the '69 pennant race and the coming of free agency in the 70's are written from an inside perspective, and full of humor.

Although he is often over boastful (he claims to be the best friend of both Ruth & Sinatra, for instance), he is never boring. The chapter of his relationships with the umpires is alon worth getting the book. Any baseball library is incomplete without this classic.

It was good to see how Durocher dumped all over The Pizza Man, Ron Santo.The Chicago Media has built up Santo for years. Its
good to see that somebody has told the truth about Santo, one of the most overrated ballplayers of my lifetime.
Wayne Tietz, Oswego, Illinois

I first read this book over 25 years ago. Leo saw it all, from the '27 Yankees, through Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, to the dawn of the new era of baseball. I can never forget his description of The Miracle of Coogan's Bluff. If you are a baseball history fan, this is great reading.