Customer Reviews

The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia: Baseball Stuff You Never Needed to Know and Can Certainly Live Without

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a baseball junkie who's not content just knowing the mundane statistical trivia associated with our National Pastime - such as Cobb's .367 lifetime batting average, Henry Aaron's 755 career home runs & Bob Gibson's 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the '68 World Series - I want to know the weird stuff too; why Wade Boggs just had to eat chicken every day (for good luck), and why the Baby Ruth candy bar is still popular today, while the Reggie Bar never quite made the big time.

For anyone fascinated with every possible aspect of the game; especially the ludicrous and zany antics from all sections of baseball's inner sanctum; this book is for you. I loved it.

I also loved the reverse psychology Robert Schakenberg uses to convince readers they really need to have this book; the title explains that strategy. The truth of the matter is, the baseball junkie may be able to live without this particular piece of irreverent folklore, but life's more interesting knowing all this ridiculous stuff. So get a copy for yourself; you won't regret it.

The subtitle is indeed accurate, but still, it would be a shame NOT to know much, if not most, of the trivia, minutia, and flotsam in this volume. The randomness of what is included and what is not may be part of the charm, but it did leave me a bit wistful for something more, well, encyclopedic. Trivia does have to BE trivial. But that aside, I certainly enjoyed the read, learned a little, laughed routinely and found myself reaching for other references to follow up on a morsel or ten as I went along. A good time, all in all.

If you're like me, you fondly recall playing RBI Baseball on Nintendo,
remember watching Jose Canseco on The Simpsons, and think the name
Rusty Kuntz is funny. Those are the kinds of things you'll read about
in the Underground Baseball Encyclopedia, a book that takes a
historian's commitment to research and accuracy and unleashes it on
baseball's pop culture connections, minutiae, and inanity. Not only is
this a great trip down memory lane, I also learned a few things I'd
never heard about (did you know the woman behind Mrs. Fields cookies
was an Oakland As ballgirl?). It's also got a lot of unusual and
interesting photos of mascots, board games, baseball cards, and so on.
One of the more enjoyable baseball books I've read in some time, and
one of those books your friends will want to borrow.

The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia is nothing more than one fan's distinctly biased hodge podge of thoughts about various things, some only tangentially related to baseball. It would be better if not so heavily slanted to reflect the author's likes and dislikes, and sometimes even his politics. He provides snarky commentary on George Will and Ken Burns, yet not a word about Bob Costas? He obnoxiously observes (at least twice) that Bruce Springsteen used "incorrect terminology" by referring to a fastball as a speedball in his song "Glory Days" (yawn). There is a disucssion of baseball figures appearing in The Brady Bunch, Seinfeld, and Mr. Ed, but no mention of The Munsters which prominently featured baseball more than once. And then there's the factually inaccurate discussion of the baseball classic "Ball Four" and its author Jim Bouton. Strat-o-Matic, Earl Weaver Baseball and various EA games get plenty of ink here, but one would think that APBA never existed!

Did you know that Charlie Sheen starred in the movie "Major League"? Apparently the author did not, though he did recognize Bob Uecker and Wesley Snipes.

There is little more here than a rehash of tired anectodes that any true fan will have already heard elsewhere.

Schnakenberg deserves a truth in advertising award for noting in the book's subtitle that it is something you "can certainly live without."

I really don't think the title does the encyclopedia justice. Most of the stuff in the book is not really "underground" at all as many baseball fans will know much of what is in here. The focus is mainly on the stuff that makes baseball quirky and fun from the mascots to announcers to scandals.

I didn't quite get why there were so many references to the Texas Rangers throughout as who knew they were that influential? Also, beer and peanut vendor info kind of got a bit carried away. Frankly, hippy dippy beer vendor Captain Earthman is someone that would turn me against attending a game at Coors Field.

I did enjoy other little revealing bits of trivia like the fact that the New York Yankees had a mascot (named Dandy after "Yankee Doodle Dandy") for a very brief time in the late '70s and early '80s. Or that baseball bobblehead dolls were first made in Japan. Or that Chief Noc-A-Homa feuded with Homer the Brave in Atlanta's fight for mascot supremacy.

Yes, much of what I took from this book had to do with mascots and, although that may be a strength, it is also a weakness. After awhile it's seemed like it was mascots-a-go-go. Yet just to have any book acknowledge the San Francisco Giants' misguided Crazy Crab mascot is worth its weight in fool's gold.

I like the idea behind this book. It takes on the baseball books which treat baseball like the Vatican and don't dare mention anything negative. It deserves ample credit for mentioning everything from the ugly double knit uniforms of the 1970's along with Astroturf and big afro's. I enjoyed the more serious aspects of the game they called out. For example Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter is called out for being a racist for his opposition to Jackie Robinson playing baseball.

This is a fun, silly book and very enjoyable. It's not terribly revelatory but still enjoyable to read. I strongly recommend it!