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Rating: 
Summary: Setting the Record Straight?
Review: Martin Kohout has given us the definitive biography of one of the most controversial athletes ever to play a major sport. Hal Chase was one of the premier ballplayers of his day, maybe the best first basemen ever, but he possessed, as one teammate said, "a corkscrew brain." He was never convicted of any crimes and was never banned from the game, but Kohout lays out the facts of Chase's career in detail, and the reader can make the call. What emerges is a true cautionary tale of squandered talent and a long-overdue addition to baseball lore and history.
Rating: 
Summary: The Tragedy of Hal Chase
Review: Martin Kohout has penned a fascinating account not only of Hal Chase's eventful career, but of early 20th century baseball as well. One need not be well-versed in baseball lore in order to derive great pleasure from this work. The book rests on a mountain of research. One of its many strengths is the insightful description of how the easy morality of the times spilled over into what I had previously believed to be the pristine world of baseball. The connections which existed among certain owners, managers, and underworld figures during Chase's major league career shatters the myth that the 1919 Black Sox scandal was an abberation. Especially interesting is the linkage that Mr. Kohout finds between the poisonous aftermath of WWI and that scandal. The book is well written and carries the reader briskly along with a season by season account of Chase's exploits, both on and off the field. Unlike Pete Rose, whom this reviewer always found detestable, Hal Chase comes off as a sympathetic, likeable fellow, popular with the fans of every team for which he played. Yet, as Mr. Kohout tell us, he threw it all away -- his career, his family and friends, and his health. One is left wishing that Chase had possessed the character of a Gehrig.
Rating:
Summary: Was He Really That Good?
Review: Sportswriter Fred Lieb wrote that Hal Chase had "a corkscrew brain." Author Martin Kohout provides us with a very detailed account of the life of Hal Chase, "baseball's biggest crook." Whatever you want to know about Mr. Chase can be found in this book and some readers may feel they are being told more than they care to know. Chase is often given credit as being the greatest defensive first-baseman. His strength appears to have been on fielding sacrifice bunts and forcing the lead runner either at second or third base. This account provides the reader with a number of errors, purposely or not, Chase committed during games. In addition, he often was out of the lineup for one ailment or another. Hal bounced around a number of major league teams after wearing out his welcome with the one he was currently on. Each time he pledged to turn over a new leaf. Crooked ball playing took place during the turn of the century, and such times were ripe for a player with Chase's lack of morals. His personal life was a mess as well as his reputation on the field of play. I enjoy reading about players from the turn of the 20th century and was happy to be able to read about teams such as the New York Highlanders, the original Yankees, and players such as Hal Chase, even though he was a shady character. This book is definitely worth your time if you are interested in baseball history. If you are a casual fan, find something that is lighter reading.
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