Customer Reviews

The ball clubs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Whoecver heard of the Chicago Whales? While Chicago would be the last place one would go to find a whale (outside captivity), there was a team by that name at the turn of the century. I enjoyed this book as both a baseball fan and a historian. One fault that I do find, however, is the absence of the Negro Leagues. Maybe this oversight can be corrected in a future edition or even in a separate compendium. Also, while mention is made of the original Milwaukee Brewers AL franchise in 1903 in the St. Louis Browns entry, there is no separate entry listed for that particular franchise. The 1903 Brewers had as colorful a year as the 1969 Seattle Pilots (which themselves became the modern day Milwaukee Brewers).

Highly detailed and at the same time very concise; a true encyclopedia in every sense.

Full of interesting tidbits.

The Ball Clubs is an excellent book. It provides extremely informative backgrounds on ALL major league franchises. I do, however, have two rather nagging criticisms of this book. The first is that the authors seem to be excessively "anti-owner": they seem to take every opportunity to point out every flaw in anybody who ever owned or operated a major league baseball franchise, while rarely (if ever) complimenting these individuals. The second criticism, which in my opinion is much more serious, is their quite STUPID decision to separate "franchises" into separate "teams" (such as the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers). This practice reaches a ridiculous point when a continuous franchise which has played in two different leagues (such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the AA from 1882-1886 and the NL from 1887-present) is given two different entries - for the SAME FRANCHISE!!! (Does that mean that there will be yet ANOTHER entry for the Milwaukee Brewers, since they are transferring to the NL in 1998?)

If you had to buy just one book on baseball then "The Ball Clubs" should be the one you choose. It presents an in-depth look at every professional baseball club in the history of "America's pastime". Everyone knows of The Dodgers, The Yankees, The Braves et al, but how many have heard of The New York Mutuals or Altoona Mountain Citys, who also played a role (however brief) in the formation and history of Major League Baseball as we know it today. Well researched and written, this book should become a standard among baseball literature and will hopefully be updated on a regular basis. The writers demonstrate their love and knowledge of the game and this comes across in the book which not only includes bare facts but amusing side stories as well. This book is an enjoyable read and should form the foundation of any baseball book collection