Customer Reviews

Prophet of the Sandlots: Journeys With A Major League Scout

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
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This is one of the better "first attempts" at baseball writing ever! Mark Winegardner spends a year w/ baseball's greatest scout and learns & shares all Tony Lucadello has to offer. Pre-draft Baseball is contrasted w/ post-draft Baseball. Several great pointers for baseball coaches and parents!!!! Prophet of the Sandlots (knowingly or otherwise) makes a very strong arguement that Baseball's HOF should make room for it's greatest scout ever.

This book is now out of print. This is unfortunate as it should be required reading for all fans of Baseball. I would make two recommendations to Mark Winegardner if a reprint is on the horizon- 1) Add photographs to the next edition. Ideas: Tony in his player's uniform, Tony at the gravesite of the Ohio born HOF'er, Tony's wedding pictures, Tony w/ Mike Schmidt, etc. 2) Add an index at the back listing people covered in the book w/ page numbers.

The bestseller Moneyball should be read in conjunction with this book for two reasons. First, they are both enjoyable reads, written in dramatically different ways. Moneyball is like a group of interesting and informative short stories/magazine articles. Prophet of the Sandlots, on the other hand, is more like a lovingly crafted tale about an old-time baseball guy, that older gent sitting in the bleachers taking notes on the high school player. It is a story about a baseball life and serves as a tribute to a man and a bygone era.

Second, Prophet of the Sandlots reflects why the old-time baseball scouts are still essential to the talent evaluation aspect of the game. No matter how much statistical analysis is ever done, there is no substitute for the trained and experienced eyes of the Tony Lucadello's of the sport. These contrasts make Prophet of the Sandlots even more interesting, beyond the highly descriptive and evocative prose that Mark Winegardner utilizes to tell this touching story.

I read this book years ago and have recommended it often to not only baseball fans, but also to fans of good reading. Hopefully it will come back into print and will become readily available again.

I first read this book in the eighth grade and was captivated by the story of Tony Lucadello. This is a truly heartwarming and very disturbing portrait of a part of baseball that no one ever really thinks about. This book, I believe, should be dedicated to all of the baseball travelers who drive the summer roads in search of the next Thurman Munson or Duke Snider. This book should also be dedicated to all those ballplayers who don't make it out of the minors. A must read...

First off, I purchased this as a "Used" book through Amazon via another seller, and the quality of the book I received was outstanding ! No problems there !

The book & story itself is certainly a must read for the avid baseball fan ! Well written and informative, with a lot of real-life connections that help make it very real (ever hear of a baseball player named Mike Schmidt ? Guess who signed him ?!). And there certainly were some unexpected twists to the story !

To some, baseball is a religion, albeit a mild one in terms of the actions done in its' name. However, there is no less passion in those who practice it than in those that shout "Hallelujah!" so loud that the rafters shake. Tony Lucadello was such a man, after a brief stint as a player; he became what can be convincingly argued the greatest baseball scout of all time. For a half-century Tony traveled the North American baseball world, signing 49 players that made it to the major leagues, including the greats Ferguson Jenkins and Mike Schmidt.
For approximately a year, Winegardner accompanied Tony in his travels, learning that Tony was passionate about baseball yet a very modest man. He stayed at midrange hotels and was friends with the proprietors. He was known and respected by every respectable baseball man in his territory and adored by the players that he nurtured and signed. Up until the last two pages, this is a book that the baseball fan will devour with relish as Tony's insights into what makes a player good should make it required reading of all aspirants to the majors. Unfortunately, when the Philadelphia Phillies, Tony's employer made some changes, he was unhappy and took his own life. It was somehow fitting that he did it on a baseball field, although no less tragic.
If there was ever a book that could be tagged with the phrase "inside baseball", this is it. A combination of love, soft passion and instruction on how to succeed in baseball, this is a book that all fans of the sport should read.

This book is a very accurate depiction of Tony Lucadello and what baseball scouts were all about. It tells the story of a man who truly loved the game of baseball and embodied everything that is good about the sport. It also has many amusing stories that Tony used to like to tell about his years in the game.This is a must read for any fan of baseball!

This is a very good book, and a great counterpoint to the statistical emphasis that comes across in Moneyball. From the revelation in the preface to the journey you take with Tony across Ohio and over the years, this book is tremendously engaging. It's one of the best baseball books I have ever read. And one other thing -- I'm going to take Tony's advice, and make sure my son has a wall.

Friedman is a very talented writer, and has chosen a magnificent but largely unknown figure to profile in this book. Filled with humor (wry and otherwise), great insight into baseball, and some surprisingly sober turns in the road, this book will be perfect for any hot-stove leaguers. If you can get it.