Once Around the Bases: Bittersweet Memories of Only One Game in the Majors (Hardcover)

by Richard Tellis (Author) "Ed Wineapple might well have been one of America's best-known multisport professional athletes..." (more)
Key Phrases: semipro ball, pitching batting practice, winter ball, New York, Red Sox, White Sox (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Sometimes sad, sometimes triumphant, Once Around the Bases is a nicely told study in perspective: one man's dream--making it to the Majors --is another's failure--getting to play in only one game. Richard Tellis profiles 40 of the roughly 150 of those still living who may have sipped "a cup of coffee" (baseball lingo for a short stay in the Majors), but never got to gulp it down. Their tales are alternately proud, such as White Sox catcher Dutch Fehring holding his ground and tagging a sliding Lou Gehrig out at the plate, and poignant, such as Yankee pitcher Roger Slagle, flush with the adrenaline of hurling two perfect innings in his debut, casually rolling the ball to a young fan sitting behind the dugout. "He was happy as I was at the time," Slagle recalls. "It wasn't until I got in the clubhouse that I realized I had given away my game ball.... I never dreamed that I wouldn't get the chance to pitch again." He did get it once, though, which separates him, and the others featured in Once Around the Bases, from the overwhelming majority of baseball dreamers.

Product Description
Once Around the Bases is a collection of per sonal reminiscences of men whose dream was realised. There a re approximately 150men living today whose baseball career c onsisted of one game, but they were all still major league b aseball players. '

Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (IL); 1st, No Additional Printing Listed edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572432772
• ISBN-13: 978-1572432772
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #838,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read But Not a Homer, July 5, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Glenview, Illinois) - See all my reviews

Once Around the Bases is a good read but falls short of what it could have been. Tellis starts with a great idea, interviewing players that came to the show for a "cup of coffee." However, many of the stories rely on who they met rather than their own struggles. Tellis may have limited himself too much to players that only played one game. A sequel on players that lasted a few months or a single season might gel a little better. The chapter layout makes it a good book to read when you don't have time to read. All in all though its a good book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the All-Time great baseball books!, February 19, 1999

By	Lee Titone ([e-mail]) (Mineola, NY) - See all my reviews

Dick Tellis gives us the stories of players who "came up to the show" for only a few brief moments...but what moments! Whether they struck out or won the game, Dick Tellis captures the feeling most of us only dream about. The sadness of only getting one shot, but also the glory of having that one shot, is treated with great skill from someone who must have also shared in that dream. One of the great baseball books of all time, and one I highly recommend.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very open comments with regard to their experiences., July 21, 1998

By A Customer

I enjoyed the book, having gone through many of the anxieties and disappointments the players went through. However, I noticed a couple of errors that I would like to mention. On Page 110 of the Bert Shepard segment, you describe the P-38 as the Thunderbolt. I believe the P-38 was known as Lightening. The P-47 was known as the Thunderbolt.

On page 174 of the Guy Morton segment, you say that Chattanooga was a member of the Sally League. I remember this team, Managed by Cal Ermer as being in the Class AA Southern Association in 1956.

Finally, I would like to contact Maurice Fisher. We were teammates in 1955 with the San Francisco Seals. He lives some forty five miles north of Columbus, Ohio. Can you give me his exact address?

I have been trying to get the Box scores for August and September 1954. Can you help me?