The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century [Hardcover]

Philip Seib (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2003

Christy Mathewson (1880-1925) was baseball's first superstar pitcher who still ranks among the all-time leaders in wins, earned run average, and shutouts. Mathewson was in the first group elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, with Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson. At a time when professional ballplayers were regarded as hard-living rogues, Matty was a soft-spoken college boy who espoused clean living and did more than any other athlete to elevate the place of sports in American life. Parents longed for their children to model their lives after his. He even wrote children's books to help instill the values of hard work and determination. With a diverse cast of characters including Teddy Roosevelt, Edith Wharton and Scott Fitzgerald, The Player is an exciting, cinematic evocation of a singular American life — and what that life means today. Photographs are featured.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his laudatory testimonial to Mathewson (1880-1925), Seib leaves no doubt that he considers the New York Giants pitcher to be one of the outstanding men of his generation. Mathewson's credentials are indeed impressive-a multisport athlete at Bucknell, Hall of Famer baseball player, author, actor and army captain in World War I. Moreover, Mathewson's behavior on and off the field was always beyond reproach, and he was one of the first athletes considered suitable to be a role model. Seib cites Mathewson as "a gentleman in a ruffian's game, a sportsman among brawlers" who "exemplified personal virtue as an American characteristic." Because of his talent and demeanor, Seib argues convincingly that Mathewson played a key role in making professional baseball accepted by the American public. In addition to his exploits on the field, Seib writes that Mathewson's high morals, strong work ethic and honesty reflected what was best in America in the early decades of the 20th century. There is no argument that Mathewson was an admirable man who crammed in a lot of living before he died at 45 from tuberculosis, but unfortunately, Seib's portrait of his life is more drab than colorful. Indeed, Mathewson's archrival, the nasty Hal Chase, comes across as a more exciting character, proving again that it's often more fun to read about the sinners than the saints.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

We all watch with amazement as today's athletes become media darlings seemingly far out of proportion to their accomplishments. Seib, an award-winning journalist, explores the nature of fame by studying the career of baseball Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson, the first athlete to become a mass-media darling. He was handsome and self-effacing, a perfect role model, and he set new parameters for sportsmanship in baseball. He volunteered for duty in World War I and was exposed to poison gas; the lung damage was a contributing factor in his premature death at 45. Of course, as a New York Giant, he was in the media capital of the world, and every aspect of his life was related in great detail by the press. As the nation's love affair with him grew, so did its interest in baseball. His hold on the country's imagination became still greater during his losing battle with the lung infections that took his life. This is a fascinating, revealing biography, both for the story it tells about Mathewson and for the context it gives to today's media assault. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568582684
• ISBN-13: 978-1568582689
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Of Baseball's Greats Gets His Due, October 4, 2003

By 

W. C HALL (Newport, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century (Hardcover)

It's been almost 90 years since Christy Mathewson last threw a pitch in a major league baseball game, and more than 75 years since his untimely death from tuberculosis. Yet time has left his on-the-field achievements and his greater legacy undiminished. His 373 career wins are still third highest in major league history. In this slim, gracefully written volume Philip Seib explores not only Mathewson's role in the game, but in the context of the larger society as well.

Professional baseball at the dawn of the 20th century was still seen as a haven for rowdies. The college-educated Mathewson represented a new standard, one in harmony with President Theodore Roosevelt's affirmation of the active life. As America moved toward involvement in World War I under the idealistic Woodrow Wilson, Mathewson's willingness to serve was once again in synch with the mood of the era. When Matty stood against the corruption that infected the game in the late teens, it was a precursor to greed and scandals that seemed to dominate national life in the 1920s.

Seib's book is a worthy tribute to a great player, and more significantly, a great man.--William C. Hall

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very deep, May 10, 2004

By 

Aaron Armstrong "pctec100" (St. Louis, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century (Hardcover)

This book is a decent read but it is less a biography of Mathewson than it is a commentary on the times and events that he lived through. I had hoped to learn about who Christy Mathewson was and what made him so great and instead I felt like I read an overview of the major events in baseball and history during the late 1800's to the mid 1900's.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was Plesantly Surprised, November 12, 2003

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century (Hardcover)

Considering the book is less than 200 pages long I wondered what this book would tell me about Christy Mathewson I haven't already read somewhere else. Author Philip Seib emphasizes the positive role model Matty played both as a player and as a private citizen. The author also provides us with details of former major leaguer Eddie Grant who lost his life fighting in World War I. His monument used to appear in center field in the Polo Grounds, and I was pleased to read details I hadn't read before. Mathewson enlisted in World War I, and came in contact with poisonous gas in a training drill in Europe shortly before The Great War ended. He returned from Europe to help McGraw as a coach with the Giants, and once again encountered the crooked Hal Chase whom Matty had in his brief tenure as manager of the Cincinnati Reds after his (Matty's) playing days were over. He was an observer of the 1919 World Series between the White Sox and Reds, and to his dismay, observed what he believed to be crookedness in the play of the Chicago team. His cough persisted, and progressed to tuberculosis. Matty spent time at Saranac Lake in upstate New York where the dry air was thought to be helpful to patients. He felt well enough to join the Boston Braves in the front office, but had to return to Saranac Lake where he died during the 1925 World Series. This would be an excellent book for both beginning readers of Christy Mathewson, or those who have a more extensive knowledge of one of the first five members elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame.