Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History [Paperback]

Rob Neyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS.

BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME.

Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why?

Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders.

· Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series?

· What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal?

· Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant?

· How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"?

· How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really?

· Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst?

· Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps?

· What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime?

· Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking?

These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rob Neyer is the best of the new generation of sportswriters. He knows baseball history like a child knows his piggy bank. He knows how to pick it up and shake it and make what he needs fall out." - Bill James

About the Author

Rob Neyer has written about baseball for ESPN.com since 1996 and appears regularly on ESPNews. He has written four baseball books, including The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers (with Bill James) and Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups. His website, www.robneyer.com, contains additional material related to this and his other books.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743284917
• ISBN-13: 978-0743284912
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #851,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good analysis makes for an interesting collection, April 29, 2006

By 

Craig (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History (Paperback)

Given the title, one might think that this is a book where Neyer spends 250 pages criticizing boneheaded decisions, but it's not. Instead, Neyer takes the time to examine about 50 blunders, taking the time to analyze each decision instead of simply pointing fingers at those making the blunder.

While the first blunder examined took place in 1917, this book is heavily weighted towards modern times. Only 15 take place before 1960, and almost half take place after 1970. Each incident is given about 4-7 pages of analysis, and many of the entries include side stories that Neyer includes in the margins. Many of the entries will be very familiar to baseball fans - the selling of the Babe, the trade of Roger Maris, and the Bagwell-Andersen deal. There are, however, many that aren't nearly so famous, like Tom Runnells' decision to shift Tim Wallach across the diamond, or the Pirates' benching of Kiki Cuyler during a stretch run. It's a good mix that Neyer has created.

Along with the regular entries, there are several "interludes" to break things up, including a couple about bad trades, and a funny entry about managers who never should have been in that position.

Neyer is, in my opinion, the most improved baseball writer over the past several years. He's always been a brilliant baseball mind, but now he seems to have found his touch as a writer. This book is enjoyable not only because of the cases he chooses to discuss, but also because of his style. There's plenty of analysis, some good humor, and little in the way of ridiculing or finger-pointing, which would have been easy to do in such a book.

An excellent book, and it's tough to beat the price. I'd recommend it for any baseball fan, even if not everything in here is new to you.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Baseball Book, May 6, 2006

By 

Pedro Villarroel (Maturin, Monagas Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History (Paperback)

This one is very well written baseball book about some very famous and some not so famous decisions made throughout the history of the game. As a baseball fan, and I think you would have to be one too to really enjoy this book, I was looking forward to read about recent blunders , things that I had witnessed in my lifetime or be familiar with, so when I saw that it started with the 1917 Chi Sox swapping firstbasemen I thought I wouldn't enjoy it that much. Well, wrong I was, that first story set the tone of the book and from then on I just couldn't put it down until I finished it.
One of the stories that touched me more was the one about the Oakland A's pitching staff of the early 80's. As an A's fan I clearly remember the Billy Ball era, the A's had a great starting rotation (Norris, Keough, Langford, Kingman, McCatty) and Billy Martin had them pitched some 96 complete games in 1980, after the strike shortened season of 1981 these 5 guys just disappeared from baseball , all of them plagued with arm injuries, undoubtly they had paid the price for all those complete games for an Oakland team that finished 83-79 that year, in a far second place from Kansas City.
This is a great book from Rob Neyer, you won't regret to get it

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How about 3 3/4 stars? Not too bad, January 26, 2007

By 

anonymous - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History (Paperback)

This is a pretty fast, enjoyable read. Nothing too earthbreaking and you will be familiar with lots of the more recent entries, but it's still a lot of fun. While you may quibble with some of the chapters (was the Cubs hiring Dusty Baker REALLY one of the biggest blunders in baseball history?), it's well researched and insightful.

I especially liked the interludes about bad drafts (all the teams that passed on Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for "sure things" you've never heard of) and the chapters on unqualified managers (the chapter on Maury Wills bumbling with the Mariners is hilarious). A lot of the chapters have a theme of "no one could have known how good "X" would turn out to be," which gets a little repetitive, but overall this is a fine addition to your baseball library.