In Boston, Michael Silverman wrote former NL President BILL WHITE's book, "UPPITY: MY UNTOLD STORY ABOUT THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY," should "interest anyone who admires someone who doesn't mince words." The book was co-written by GORDON DILLOW, and it is "hard to come away" from it with the "feeling that White loved the game." Silverman: "There is real ambivalence there, a recognition of baseball's conflicts and hypocrisies that have always made it one of the best mirrors we have on American society. But, as he concludes, baseball 'was always a great game to play'" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/24).
ISRAEL BASEBALL LIVES ON: BASEBALL AMERICA's James Bailey noted the Israel Baseball League "lasted only one season, flaming out after financial woes plagued its 2007 campaign." AARON PRIBBLE, who led the IBL in ERA, has written "PITCHING IN THE PROMISED LAND: A STORY OF THE FIRST AND ONLY SEASON IN THE ISRAEL BASEBALL LEAGUE." Bailey wrote, "Thanks to Pribble's diligent journal-keeping, the league will not be forgotten." Pribble "tells his story with wit, a little self-deprecating humor, and an eye for detail." Bailey: "He keeps the action on the bumpy, dusty fields entertaining, despite a level of play that sounds at times to have been just a notch or two above a good 30-plus league here in the States" (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 4/27).
PROFILE OF THE CAPTAIN: On Long Island, Neil Best noted ESPN N.Y.'s IAN O'CONNOR has written "THE CAPTAIN: THE JOURNEY OF DEREK JETER," which will hit bookshelves next month. The "word is Derek Jeter isn't too thrilled" about the book, "at least not about some leaked material regarding his relationship" with Yankees 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ. Best: "The Jeter vs. Rodriguez dynamic consumes a hefty chunk of the book, and leads to most of the negative material Jeter would have liked to avoid. Turns out he could be petty and cold when it came to his old pal" (NEWSDAY, 4/27).
BOOKSHELF: In Florida, Peter Kerasotis noted "REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF THE BOSTON RED SOX," is "oversized, full of pictures, and it has text written by noted baseball historian HARVEY FROMMER" (FLORIDA TODAY, 4/26)....In N.Y., Stefan Fatsis noted N.Y. Times columnist DAN BARRY has written "HOPE, REDEMPTION AND BASEBALL'S LONGEST GAME" about a game in '81 between the Triple-A Int’l League Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings that is "professional baseball's longest game." The book "plunges fearlessly into the realm of baseball poetry and pathos, and Myth and Romance too" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/25)....The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Fred Barnes noted Duke Univ. public policy, economics and law professor CHARLES CLOTFELTER has written "BIG-TIME SPORTS IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES." The book's "central theme is that the time has come to end the strange dichotomy on college campuses, where athletic and educational departments exist in parallel universes and regard each other warily." It "cites coaches' contracts packed with incentives," and it "offers plenty of other eye-opening statistics." But Clotfelter wrote the book is "perhaps most surprising in its even-handed approach to the subject of major college athletics" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/23).
