Book Shelf: Baseball Books Highlight Newest Releases

SI’s Stephen Connelly writes author RICHARD BRADLEY’s new book, “THE GREATEST GAME,” about the ’78 Red Sox-Yankees playoff series, “breathes fresh life into an oft-told story.” Though the series “isn’t quite worthy of the book’s title,” the story is an “incisive look at a transformative era in baseball history” (SI, 4/21 issue). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir examined more books with superlative headlines, including MARK BOWDEN’s “soon-to-be-published” “THE BEST GAME EVER,” which chronicles the ’58 Colts-Giants NFL title game. Additionally, author JIM REISLER in ’07 wrote “THE BEST GAME EVER,” focusing on Game 7 of the ’60 Yankees-Pirates World Series, ADAM LUCAS in ’06 penned “THE BEST GAME EVER” about the ’57 NCAA men’s basketball championship game between North Carolina and Kansas that went into triple overtime, and MARK FROST in ’02 published “THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED” about the 1913 U.S. Open golf championship. Simon & Schuster’s DAVID ROSENTHAL said of superlative titles: “People are conditioned to want superlatives. Why pick up a book about just any game? It has to be the best or the greatest” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/21).

RED SOX NATION: Author Bill Nowlin, in a special to the BOSTON GLOBE, reviews two new books on the Red Sox: Boston’s WEEI-AM sports talk radio host MICHAEL HOLLEY's profile of Red Sox manager TERRY FRANCONA titled, "RED SOX RULE: TERRY FRANCONA AND BOSTON'S RISE TO DOMINANCE," and Boston Herald's TONY MASSAROTTI's new book, "DYNASTY: THE INSIDE STORY OF HOW THE RED SOX BECAME A BASEBALL POWERHOUSE." Both books "offer insight, and a healthy dose of information not familiar to most fans." Massarotti's book offer "a wealth of detail that helps the reader better appreciate the complexity of the baseball business while recounting the career stories of selected key players." Holley's book is, "remarkably, the first portrait of Francona's career" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/20). The BOSTON HERALD's Massarotti wrote of Holley's book, "For those of you who do not know Francona, the book provides a terrific profile of him both in and out of the clubhouse. For those who do know Francona, the book contains details about the manager's health problems before coming to Boston." Massarotti: "The bottom line: Spend the money and buy the book" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/20).

WAY BACK WHEN: Former MLB Commissioner FAY VINCENT appeared on Fox Business last night to promote his new book, “WE WOULD HAVE PLAYED FOR NOTHING: BASEBALL STARS OF THE  1950s AND 1960s TALK ABOUT THE GAME THEY LOVED.'' Vincent: “In the ‘50s and ‘60s there was no union. It was an entirely different era. These guys didn’t make the kind of money (that today’s players earn). They all had families and mortgages and so I don’t know that they would have played for nothing.” Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto: “They didn’t have either the representation ... or the free agency they have today and had they had that they would have been just as greedy and just as motivated by the buck as many claim the athletes are today.” Vincent: “I think that’s probably right” (Fox Business, 4/22). 

MORE BASEBALL TALES: SI Editor LARRY BURKE and author PETER THOMAS FORNATALE in their book "CHANGE UP" offer a collection of interviews with MLB players, execs and broadcasters about "eight seminal moments of the last half century." The interview subjects, which include Yankees SS DEREK JETER and Baseball HOFers CAL RIPKEN JR. and EARL WEAVER, among others, "play off each other in virtual roundtable discussions that are rich with insights ... and humorous anecdotes. ... Talking baseball has rarely been so enlightening" (SI, 4/21 issue).....In Chicago, Kevin Canfield wrote TOM SWIFT in his new book, "CHIEF BENDER'S BURDEN: THE SILENT STRUGGLE OF A BASEBALL STAR," tries to "reassert Bender as an important figure in the history of the game, both as a player and a groundbreaking figure." The book "does well in both ways." (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/20).

ADDITIONAL TITLES: The AP's Sarah Skidmore wrote BARBARA SMIT in her new book, "SNEAKER WARS: THE BROTHERS WHO FOUNDED ADIDAS AND PUMA AND THE FAMILY FEUD THAT FOREVER CHANGED THE BUSINESS OF SPORT," details how brothers ADI and RUDI DASSLER's "experiences shaped modern-day sports business and the close relationship between business and athletics that prevails today." The book "is largely slanted toward the tale of Adidas" (AP, 4/21)....Patriots WR RANDY MOSS is writing his autobiography titled, "ROLLIN' WITH RANDY: THE REAL RANDY MOSS STORY." Author JIM WORKMAN is co-writing the book, set for a February '09 release. Workman said that he is "in the process of finding a publisher for the book" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/20).