As a player and as a manager, John McGraw came to beat you, and he usually did. If winning could be done within the rules, that was fine; but he would use any means fair or foul if necessary. There were always those who claimed the "Little Napoleon" preferred the foul, but McGraw happily debunks that misconception, and the most famous umpire-baiter in history here reports why he believes an umpire’s authority must be respected.
A small man with average physical skills, McGraw and his famous teammates on the Baltimore Orioles of the 1890s dominated the game by intimidating the opposition and umpires alike, by trick play and subterfuge, but also by smart, creative offense and defense. Named as manager of the hapless New York Giants as his playing days were ending, Little Mac soon showed the world that the fine baseball mind and leadership skills he had shown with the Orioles wend just as far when he managed.
From 1902, when McGraw took the Giants’ helm, until he retired in ill health in 1932, the club was inordinately successful, yet their heart-breaking defeats became part of baseball legend: the Merkle Boner of 1908, the Snodgrass Muff in 1912. The irrepressible McGraw tells all the stories, evaluates the players of his day, sounds off about unions and contracts, debates the benefits of a college education, harks back to his good old days, meditates on the science of managing, and relates forty years of colorful anecdotes.
