Why I Love Baseball

Rating:
Summary: simply wonderful
Review: A charming little book about America's favorite pastime. A bite-sized treat that can be easily read in one sitting. There's something for everyone who loves the game in this little gem -- especially Brooklyn Dodger fans --from master interviewer Larry King, for whom baseball is a lifelong, abiding passion (who knew?) Loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging, Entertaining, But Not Much Depth
Review: As an expression of Larry King's sixty-year love affair with baseball, this would have made an enjoyable magazine article. But as a book...if you strip away the Thomas Boswell article, the slightly misquoted Terry Cashman lyrics, and the other padding, you find what seems to be the result of Larry talking into a tape recorder for a couple of hours, with all the positives and negatives that implies. There's plenty of heartfelt enthusiasm here, but little reflection or depth. And as King should know, memory can be faulty, especially with the passage of time. Take his story about his childhood fight with his friend Herbie Cohen, sparked by their position-by-position debate over which team was superior in 1947--King's Dodgers or Cohen's Yankees. As King tells it, they came to blows over who was superior at second base, where he insisted the Dodger rookie Jackie Robinson had the clear edge. The problem with that? As Cohen himself notes when he's quoted elsewhere in the book, Robinson played first base during his rookie season. (Eddie Stanky still patrolled the hot corner for the Bums; Robinson moved to second the next year, after Stanky was traded to the Boston Braves.) This is an entertaining affirmation of King's true love for the sport, but could have offered the reader a lot more.--William C. Hall

Rating:
Summary: Larry King Discusses His Favorite Subject
Review: It's a well known fact that Larry King has a special place in his heart for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and is now a fan of the Baltimore Orioles. Larry provides us with his sentimental reasons why he loves the game of baseball. I, along with him, share that devotion. Larry quotes former Cardinals' star Enos Slaughter as saying he deliberately spiked Jackie Robinson when running down to first base in Robinson's initial 1947 season. This is interesting since Slaughter has denied he deliberately did it in other books. King also mentions he believes the Jewish Hank Greenberg of the Tigers was deliberately walked during the final month of the season so he wouldn't break Babe Ruth's home run record. Numerous quotes from various players and managers in addition to anecdotes are provided that can be found in several other books. I did find a few mistakes in the book. The first cover of Sports Illustrated showing Eddie Matthews of the Milwaukee Braves batting was taken in County Stadium in Milwaukee, not in St. Louis as King mentions. Also, two of the lines from Terry Cashman's popular 1981 song, "Talkin' Baseball" are incorrect. The line "And Alexander's pitchin' baseballs in Washington" should read "And the Great Alexander is pitchin' again in Washington." The other line given incorrectly is "Seaver, Tommy John, and Vida Blue." It should read, "Seaver, Garvey, Schmidt, and Vida Blue." The final mistake I found involved Tigers' pitcher Bob Cain pitching to the midget Eddie Gaedel in August of 1951. The book reads "Bob Cain got down on his knees to throw the pitch. The catcher sprawled prone to catch the pitch." The photo of this at bat in other books shows Tigers' catcher Bob Swift on his knees to receive Cain's pitches to Gaedel. Cain did not pitch from his knees. Several pages of the book are devoted to baseball writer Tom Boswell's "99 Reasons Why Baseball Is Better than Football." King believes Pete Rose should be voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame but "not be let back in baseball again, certainly not to manage." King also discusses the labor problems in baseball, and believes each team should have a minimum payroll of $70 million and anything over $90 million should pay a tax. I don't disagree with Larry King's love of baseball; I share it. This is a very quick read book, and Larry provides several convincing reasons why baseball is the number one game in America. If you're looking for any in depth information on the game of baseball, Larry didn't write this book for you. You will have to look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: An Ode to Baseball
Review: Larry King pays homage to his favorite sport in his book "Why I Love Baseball." This book comes from one longtime fan's perspective about the game of baseball over a span of more than 50 years.

This book is filled with anecdotes from King's life relating to baseball, involving his lifelong friend Herbie Cohen, the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Baltimore Orioles and their late owner Edward Bennett Williams, President George W. Bush, and many stars from the game. The book can be read by anyone who simply loves the game of baseball and is a great read for the summer.

One may not agree with every opinion and suggestion of King's, but one must respect his unremitting love for the game of baseball.