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Out of My League: The Classic Hilarious Account of an Amateur's Ordeal in Professional Baseball [Paperback]

George Plimpton (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


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Book Description

October 1, 2003
A classic of sport, and the first of George Plimpton's remarkable forays into "participatory" journalism, OUT OF MY LEAGUE chronicles with wit, charm, and grace what happens when a self-professed amateur wonders how he would fare on a baseball mound in a major league game.
On an ordinary afternoon in the third-base-line seats of Yankee Stadium, Plimpton hits on what seems an inspired idea--to get on the mound and pitch a few innings to the All Stars of the American and National Leagues. What begins as a fun-filled stunt, for the "average man" to pitch in the Big Leagues, comes to a nearly humiliating end. This honest and hilarious tale features Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Whitey Ford, Ralph Houk, Richie Ashburn, and other baseball greats. What happens when America's favorite sports dilettante tries his arm against the likes of hall-of-fame baseball players recalls every young boy's forgotten dream of heroics on a baseball diamond; and for that fact alone, OUT OF MY LEAGUE remains one of George Plimpton's most beloved works.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beautifully observed and incredibly conceived, this account of a self-imposed ordeal has the chilling quality of a true nightmare. It is the dark side of the moon of Walter Mitty."
-Ernest Hemingway



"Out of My League copes with the problem of the imaginary nightmare of walking every batter and the glittering triumph (the shutout) of striking them out, one after the other."
-Marianne Moore

From the Back Cover

A classic of sport, and the first of George Plimpton's remarkable forays into participatory journalism, Out of My League chronicles with wit, charm, and grace what happens when a self-professed amateur wonders how he would fare on a baseball mound in a major league game.
On an ordinary afternoon in the third-baseline seats of Yankee Stadium, Plimpton hits on what seems an inspired idea - to get on the mound and pitch a few innings to the All-Stars of the American and National Leagues. What begins as a fun-filled stunt, for the "average man" to pitch in the Big Leagues, comes to a nearly humiliating end. This honest and hilarious tale features Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Whitey Ford, Ralph Houk, Richie Ashburn, and other baseball greats. What happens when America's favorite sports dilettante tries his arm against the likes of Hall-of-Fame baseball players recalls the dreams of diamond heroics of every man who still has the noble heart of youth beating in him and the fears of anyone who has taken a lump or two from life.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1592280145
  • ISBN-13: 978-1592280148
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,078,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny look at average fan trying to pitch to MLB stars, June 18, 2004
By 
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Out of My League: The Classic Hilarious Account of an Amateur's Ordeal in Professional Baseball (Paperback)
If you're not familiar with George Plimpton, he was a writer who was famous for trying to participate in pro sports. His accounts of his pathetic attempts to compete are always pretty funny. He's most famous for his book about his pre-season stint with the Detroit Lions ("Paper Lion"), but this book was his first experience as a participant.

He had a deal to pitch to All-Star lineups from each league. The deal was that he would pitch his way through each lineup once, and whichever team had the most total bases against him would win the prize.

His description of the beating he took is hilarious, and so are the notes from a friend he had in the stands. The guy told him that after the P.A. announcer told the crowd that George Plimpton, of Sports Illustrated would be facing the All-Star lineups the fans seemed confused. One kept asking who this "George Prufrock" guy was.

If you've read any of his books and enjoyed them, you're sure to like this one too. If you try this one and like it you should check out his other books:

"Paper Lion" and "Mad Ducks and Bears" - pro football
"The Bogey Man" - golf
"Shadow Box" - boxing
"Open Net" - hockey
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars No, it isn't, January 8, 2000
By 
liffeystynx (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Out of My League (Paperback)
The book referred to in the review below (which should be deleted) is "Paper Lion". "Out of my League" concerns Plimpton's BASEBALL exploits, when he faced the A.L. & N.L. All-Star line-ups in Yankee Stadium in Autumn 1960. It is not as brilliant a book as "Paper Lion", but is certainly a DIFFERENT one.
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2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars NOT BAD BUT NOT GOOD EITHER, June 26, 2005
By 
COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Out of My League: The Classic Hilarious Account of an Amateur's Ordeal in Professional Baseball (Paperback)
THIS IS A BOOK BY GEORGE PLIMPTON WHO WRITES ABOUT SPORTING EVENTS THAT HE COMPETES IN AGAINST A PROFESSIONAL TEAM OR INDIVIDUAL. THIS COVERS PITCHING TO AN ALL STAR LINE UP FROM THE NATIONAL AND AMERICAN LEAGUE. I REALLY WANTED TO READ MORE ABOUT HIS THOUGHTS AND RESULTS DURING HIS ATTEMPT TO PITCH TO THESE MAJOR LEAGUERS, INSTEAD HE TELLS US OF HIS STRUGGLE TO FIND A GLOVE, A UNIFORM AND VARIOUS OTHER THINGS THAT LEFT ME QUITE BORED. ONCE THE BOOK GOT GOING IT WAS OK BUT IF YOU CAN STAY UP LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE IT TO THE SECOND HALF OF THIS BOOK IT IS ENTERTAINING. I FOUND PAPER LION AND OPEN NET TO BE ALOT BETTER THAN THIS OK READ.
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