The Love of Baseball by Publications International

The Love of Baseball Reviews

• 
  Karen

  I have had this little coffee table book on my bookshelf for at least 10 years. I remember buying it to encourage my son, who is a huge baseball fan, to read more books. This book didn't really interest him so it remained on my shelf, unread and unloved. I am truly missing baseball at all levels - t-ball, little league, Cal Ripken, American Legion, USABL, high school, college, minor leagues, major leagues, all of it. Did I leave anything out?
  
  So I thought this book might brighten my day and remind me of the game I love. This book is organized into six chapters. Each chapter contains short summaries of the best players, the best games, the legends of the game, and statistical accomplishments. The highlights for me are the pictures of the players since there is a good mix of old-time players, negro league players and fairly current day players. I also enjoyed the player quotes and the player nicknames.
  
  Here are some of my favorite quotes, listed in the book:
  
  "When Steve and I die, we are going to be buried 60 feet, six inches apart." Tim McCarter, personal pitcher for Steve Carlton
  
  "I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball." Pete Rose
  
  "If I had one wish in the world today, it would be that Jackie Robinson could be here to see this happen." Frank Robinson on being made the first African American manager in the major leagues
  
  Here are some of my favorite player nicknames (more for their meanness than for their humor):
  
  Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove
  
  Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy
  
  Nick "old Tomato Face" Cullop
  
  The book also provides highlights of some of the announcers (but not many), a few managers (but not many) and some of the most avid fans but no reference to mascots or other fan favorite features. There are acknowledgments of some of the most famous ball parks: Fenway, Ebbetts Field, Yankee Stadium, and a few others, but a lot of stadiums were not included.
  
  So, here is my overall observation of this book. Most of the information provided is in this book is subjective and could be debatable. When someone lists the most compelling World Series games, the list is purely personal. The selection of the best baseball movies is again purely personal. But, you're killing me Smalls, if you list The Sandlot as 10th of 10 and list Bad News Bears as the top baseball movie. Anyone who watched and loved the Bad News Bears in the 1970s but watched it again with their kids in the past 10 or 15 years has to admit that the movie did not age gracefully. At least, that's my opinion and I am willing to admit that. As with most baseball books, plenty of people's favorite players, games and stadiums have been left out of this book.
  
  I waffled on rating this book. I think it deserves a solid three stars. I thought might be willing to give it 3 and a half stars and round up, but I decided against it. This book could make a good Father's Day present or a Mother's Day present (depending on the mom). It definitely makes a nice coffee table book or conversation piece. Fans of the game will probably already know everything in the book. But it might be worth reading, just for fun.
• 
  Samuel

  This is a very fun coffee table book for baseball enthusiasts. Loosely organized by general baseball aspects of the game, baseball legends--individual players, certain periodic teams, and specific 7-game World Series--are sprinkled throughout the book with stat lines and narrative accompaniments. Memorable quotes as well as specific baseball moments and careers are chronicled here. Less of a single narrative and more of a collection of fragmented memories, it is easy to pick up the book and skim through to find people and teams of interest. A nostalgic treasure-trove for anyone--who like me--grew up with a father who passed baseball memories off as bedtime stories (including a memorable re-telling of Sandy Koufax's perfect game) and otherwise delighted in relating his memories (as well as the memories of his father) of Stan "the Man" Musial, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, the Big Red Machine, etc., this is a well-titled book. Baseball was my first love, and like love there are a lot of memories--good as well as painful--associated with it. With episodes like the 1919 Black Sox scandal to more contemporary steroid abuse controversies, there surely are some painful and ugly moments to baseball's history, but there are also--and more importantly to me--many moments of inspiring power and resilience (watch Ken Burns' BASEBALL series if you don't believe me... and especially do so if you do). For me, the first World Series I specifically remember taking an interest in was 2001: NY Yankees vs. AZ Diamondbacks. Although neither team was "my team" and I know it wasn't felt by all as baseball is not enjoyed by all Americans, I witnessed and now recollect the powerful healing power of America's past time for not just many New Yorkers but also all American fans. This was a very fun read for me. Enjoy!
• 
  Don LaFountaine

  A good an in-depth book about the history of baseball. There were a number of outstanding pictures, some that are well known, and others that are not so well known. It's a little difficult to carry around, but it is a good summer's afternoon read in the yard on a beautiful day while waiting for the game to start.
• 
  Richard Downey

  This book is for all baseball lovers. It is a collection of tidbits covering the whole field of the subject. The only weakness is that the book is a few years old so some of the stats are outdated, but that is a minor quibble.
• 
  David

  Good coffee table book of baseball facts, history and trivia. Quick and enjoyable.
• 
  Rick

  its ok
• 
  Lew

  A nice little book to read during spring training to get one excited about the new baseball season.
• 
  Jack

  “The Love of Baseball” is a baseball lover’s dream.
  
  300 pages of trivia, facts and unforgettable stories of America’s past time and lots of photos.
  
  You can pick it up, read a few pages, put it down and come back again later for a few more pages..
  
  Skip around - check out the section of defense then read about the players who burned up the base paths.
  
  What about those heavy hitters? There’s a section for them. Don’t forgot the pitches - what a rowdy bunch.
  
  They even had several sections entitled ‘Notable Nicknames”.
  
  Dick “Dr. Strangeglove” Stuart - it was always an adventure when you threw him the ball.
  
  Here are some older players:
  
  Fidgety Phil Collins (not the singer) - no clue about this one.
  
  Pickles Dillhoefer as in dill pickles.
  
  Or how about Harry “Suitcase’ Simpson. I looked this one up. He was called "Suitcase" by sportswriters after the Toonerville Trolley character, Suitcase Simpson, because of his size 13 shoe - he had feet as large as suitcases.
  
  A great gift to give a baseball fan - that’s how I got mine.
• 
  Nick Pearson

  A sappy ode to the game. If you don't already like baseball, this won't do anything for you.
• 
  Glenn

  You have to love baseball to get this book.
• 
  Daniel

  Very enjoyable read on the great plays, teams, players, managers and fans of America's game.
• 
  Chris Dean

  Once upon a time, my sons favorite book. Rich with photographs and quick historical facts, an excellent introduction for the new fan and awash with nostalgia for the old one
• 
  Tom Bentley

  When I was a kid, I devoured baseball books— in the '60s I had a giant Encyclopedia of Baseball that had the statistics of every player back into the 19th Century, even of people who'd batted one time in a game, and I was a total nerd about memorizing stuff like the heights/weights/birthplaces of players. Useful, eh? Anyway, I'm still a sucker for baseball books, and this one, that has a great selection of images of some of the greatest players and events in baseball history, was a delight to read.
  
  Or should I say look at, because the book is really all about the images, which are framed by extended captions. I probably would have given it five stars, baseball softie I am, but it skirted too much around the steroid era, not mentioning any of the taint associated with steroid use (a complicated subject, to be sure, since abuse of substances happened in pretty much any baseball era). Instead, the guys known or heavily suspected of juicing were given the hero's treatment. Regardless, great images, some known, many I'd never seen, and a colorful compendium of baseball history.