Rating: 
Summary: All business, no game
Review: I've long considered Bob Costas one of the best sportscasters ever - right up there with Vin Scully and a handful of others. The wit and insight he brings to his commentary are unrivalled among his peers in the profession. I'm also a huge baseball fan (BoSox, sadly), so Fair Ball was a must-read for me. I was severely disappointed, however. He spends almost the book's whole length talking about what's wrong with the BUSINESS of baseball, and barely touches on what's wrong with the GAME. Bob doesn't seem to grasp that it won't matter if you align the teams in proper divisions, change the revenue structure, or any of the other things he proposes, if the game itself has so many inherent problems. With games now averaging about three hours long, Bob's suggested changes won't help with the lengthy delays when batters constantly step out or pitchers step off the rubber, etc. And what about the growing disparity between offense and pitching in the majors? The business side is undeniably very important, but Bob's discussion makes for boring reading, especially when it's written like a Master's thesis.
Rating: 
Summary: Costas Makes Me Realize Who Wrong I've Been
Review: As editor of an online sports magazine... I've often railedagainst the evils of a salary cap. At the same time, I've seenbaseball, the sport I love above all others, torn asunder by financial and organizational strife. Costas's book brings home all the things that are *right* with baseball, all the things that are *wrong* with baseball, and gives a comprehesive solution for correcting the wrongs while capitalizing on the right. This is a book that I read very quickly, because I wanted to know how hed put it all together.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Book By One of Baseball's Best Announcers
Review: Fans can buy this book on Amazon for a reasonable ten dollars (fifteen after shipping and handling) which is a worthwhile purchase. That the publisher wants 20 dollars for such a short book is ridiculous. This is a quick read and is straightforward about its proposals. No one can debate Costas' knowledge of baseball both on the field and behind the scenes. Most of his plans make sense -- especially getting rid of the DH and the wild card -- and the argument he wages is both eloquent and persuasive. His revenue sharing plan is something that should have been implemented ten years ago. The idea for a salary ceiling and a salary floor is also appealing (although it's difficult to imagine the Montreal Expos or the Minnesota Twins having a 40 million dollar player payroll). Unfortunately, the selfish Players Association is too greedy to accept such a proposal, despite the fact that it would help more players than it would hurt. Under Costas' salary recommendations, young and marginal players would benefit immensely while the richest stars would be forced to play for an insulting ten million (everybody is permitted to cry now). A lot of players, like Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey, Jr., would likely have no problem with having a personal salary limit, but others, like Juan Gonzalez and Kevin Brown, would despise such a situation. Plus, the agents, who are every bit as greedy as the players, would certainly cry foul. All of this is underscored in the thesis of Costas' book: the players need to realize that the fans are the ones responsible for their riches and that, without the fans, most of these superstars would be working at gas stations. It's time for the Players Association to admit that it has become too extreme, forgetting what the game is supposed to be about, leaving very little reason for the public to sympathize with their organization. This book is certainly not brilliant because it operates on the theory of common sense. It could have been called Common Sense. Costas outlines a plan that baseball should implement as soon as possible, but the problem is that both the owners and players are too stubborn to agree to such compromises. We can only hope that Bud Selig, the reigning idiot chief of the sport, will read this book. Oh, I'm sorry -- he's too busy keeping Pete Rose from attending the 1975 Big Red Machine Reunion. He doesn't have time to read any books. Silly me.
Rating: 
Summary: Bob Quixote?
Review: Perhaps it is because of my own high expectations of Costas that I am unable to give his book a better review. In just 177 pages, Costas addresses the major economic issues facing baseball today, and provides intelligent, realistic solutions to them. Why the low rating, then? To put it bluntly: I've heard them all before. While I agree with just about everything he says, it's what he doesn't say that troubles me - exactly how do you convince Bud Selig and Donald Fehr to make such sacrifices when it is the fans, not the players or owners, who would reap the lion's share of the benefits? Fair Ball offers a good overview of both baseball's problems and potential solutions - in this respect, it is worth reading. It is not, however, a comprehensive strategy on how to implement these changes. Take the title literally - it's meant as a rallying cry for baseball fans, not a negotiation plan for owners and players. Unless Costas gets a seat at the bargaining table on account of this book, his ideas represent just another noble cause doomed to failure.
Rating:
Summary: The fixing of baseball.
Review: This book addresses the real needs of the state of baseball. Bob Costas shows his deep knowledge and concern for the state of the game with his remedies for repairing baseball. Most of the ideas he presents are very workable and are rooted in common sense. It is obviously the work of a true FAN. I think this book is a great arguement for Bob Costas being the Commissioner of Baseball. I would have given this book 5 stars, except it did drag a little during some areas, but all in all, it was an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful & Informative
Review: Bob Costas is an excellent commentator, as well as sports journalist, and let's not forget his matchmaking abilities with Amhad Rashaad on Thanksgiving day. In this book, he shows off his excellent ability to reach out to his readers. In Fair Ball, he exemplifies all that is wrong with the game of baseball, and offers a good plan, loaded with programs involving things like revenue sharing and salary caps, to correct these wrongs. Unfortunately, this will probably never happen, but I applaud Costas' effort to point these things out. Costas uses a nice flowing language to make the book enjoyable and entertaining. He peppers his argument with an extraordinary knowledge of the game, and uses his journalistic abilities to hammers his points home. Fair Ball is an easy read, and will be enjoyed by all baseball fans.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and Obvious
Review: In less than 200 pages (with very large margins) Costas says practically nothing. Salary cap, revenue sharing, yada, yada. At the end of the day we all know what SHOULD happen, but how can we MAKE it happen? If Bob takes up the mantle as baseball's next commisioner, I fully support it. But for now his book is a waste of paper. And please don't tell me how Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Rating:
Summary: So What Else Is New?
Review: Mr. Costas has again hit the nail right on the head and instead of being a crybaby and just pointing out what's wrong with America's pastime, he offers viable solutions to the problems. What I especially like was his ideas on "ceiling and floor" salary caps and his "3-0" approach to doing away with the ridiculous wild card playoffs. On the other hand after getting through about half this book I felt as if I were locked in a meeting room with the owners, player's association reps and commissioner listening to Mr. Costas giving a Power Point lecture on the problems with baseball. The only problem with this book is that folks like the Steinbrenner's, Turner's and rest baseball's greedy can only read financial reports.
Rating:
Summary: baseball owners should read this book
Review: Costas has hit a home run here. He offers well-reasoned, concrete proposals for making baseball more competitive, interesting, and fair. From revenue sharing to player salary limitations (both maximum and minimum) to abolishing the wild card to realigning the leagues to abolishing the DH to intelligent thoughts on instant replay, umpires, etc. this book has a wealth of good ideas about how to improve our national pastime.
Rating:
Summary: Someone Send Selig A Copy Quick!
Review: Bob Costas offers an insightful look at what is wrong with the game of baseball and a clear-cut plan on how the problems can be fixed. Revenue sharing, salary caps, and recreating the pennant races through the elimination of the wild card would surely benefit baseball far more than shiny new ballparks for teams with no talent. The important thing to remember is that while some players and owners would have to sacrifice initially to make the plan work, in the long run the integrity of baseball would be restored and everyone-most importantly THE FANS-would benefit.
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