Baseball Anecdotes (Hardcover)

by Daniel Okrent (Author), Steve Wulf (Author) "This first story was passed down as the gospel truth by sportscaster Bill Stern, and though it has absolutely no basis in fact, it is..." (more)
Key Phrases: home run home, bonus babies, sixth game, New York, World Series, Red Sox (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This history of baseball in anecdotal form contains many familiar stories, but many more that will be new to fans. Okrent ( The Ultimate Baseball Book ; Nine Innings ) and Wulf, senior editor for baseball at Sports Illustrated , recount such tales as Fred Merkle's failure to touch second base in 1908, Babe Ruth's alleged calling of the spot where he would hit a home run and the time three Brooklyn Dodgers all wound up on the same base. There are off-diamond gems, too, including accounts of catcher Moe Berg's avocation as a spy, manager Casey Stengel's testimony before a congressional subcommittee on antitrust that left the senators completely baffled, and Dizzy Dean's reply to critics of his English: "A lot of guys that ain't sayin' ain't, ain't eatin'." The book is fun to read, especially consumed piecemeal. 45,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- A chronologically arranged, entertaining collection of colorful anecdotes. The book begins by debunking the theory that Abner Doubleday "invented" baseball and espouses the evolution rather than creation theory of the origins of baseball. The first game of something called Base Ball was played on June 19, 1846, and this book begins with an account of that game and carries baseball through the World Series of 1986. Although most anecdotes concern colorful characters, there are also entries with titles such as "The Rabbit Ball," "1920s Players," and "The Move West." An index makes this collection suitable for light research, but its real value will be as enjoyable reading or browsing. Baseball lovers of all ages will relish this book.
- Patricia Lilly, Holub Middle School, Alief, TX
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (April 20, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195043960
• ISBN-13: 978-0195043969
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,097,676 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Semi-Interesting Anecdotes, Not-So-Crisply Told, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Baseball Anecdotes RI (Paperback)

This is not a bad book: It's just very sluggisly paced without much style. In the hands of real sportswriters it could have been a gas. The authors are far too reverential: Cooperstown to them is some kind of holy shrine, and anyone with even a smidgen of skepticism is an Unbeliever. Hey, it's already late 1998. Why write like it's 1958?

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Anecdotes, November 12, 2008

By	K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Daniel Okrent and Steve Wulf have compiled over 300 pages of major league anecdotes and trivia, dating from pre-Civil War to the modern era. The authors begin with Alexander Cartright and Abner DoubleDay, and just keep on going. There's a lot here in these readable pages, from personalities like Cap Anson, Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Willie Mays, Pete Rose, etc., to some of the more more successful and more colorful teams, key World Series', etc. The book covers each era, from the post-civil war teams of the later 1800's, to the dead ball era, the roaring 1920's, the Depression and War years, postwar baseball, expansion, etc. Hard core fans will recognize many of the anecdotes, but there's so many here that some are bound to be new. Actually, I wish the authors had included more pages of information, but this still makes good reading for baseball fans.

Thinking fans should also read Okrent's NINE INNINGS, a dated but superb look at baseball and baseball strategy.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun stories from the national pastime, November 29, 2001

By	Bruce Allen (Dover, NH United States) - See all my reviews

Here is a treasury of great stories from the game of baseball. Collected and ordered from the 1800's down to today. You see some of the great characters from the game, and a look back to simpler times. Some very amusing stories are sure to keep you interested.