One Day at Fenway

Rating:
Summary: An "okay" read.
Review: First off, it takes a lot of effort and dedication to complete a novel. Many people talk of writing--I have heard it said that the only difference between writers and everyone else is that they have the confidence to test if they are really any good.

Kettmann has written a very descriptive book, one that I would not have seen on my radar had it not been for the politics surrounding money, publishing, and successful marketing. I am a huge Yankees fan. I loathe the Red Sox with a passion. This year is even better than last year, because we all know the ending. Still, this year is exciting beyond comparison.

The same is not true for this book. Any other two teams, and I would say that this book was a success. The Yankees and the Red Sox are not any two teams, however. If I am going to spend 30 hours of my life (the money aside), I expect perfection. I expect to feel the same level of anxiety and excitement as I do during a 14-4 blow-out. Why do I watch the ninth inning when my team is up or down five runs? Because it is the Yankees! Because it is the Red Sox!

This turned out to be more a picture of a baseball game--but no sound. It's the hotdog at Fenway, without the mustard. It's a picture of Fenway's green monster, but in black and white. There are a lot of details, I can see Jeter in the batter's box but it doesn't feel like Jeter, it feels like someone painting Jeter.

I give the book 3 stars, instead of one or two out of a respect for both the effort the writer must have put into this book, and because I know, just like every Yankees or Boston fan knows, that the wildcard (read: mediocrity) might be enough for normal baseball fans (like SF Giants fans who "luv Barry") but us Yankee and Sox fans demand something more. We demand something magical, because that is all we know.

Amazon would be good to respect the nature of opinion0--, that is, that one is bound to come across one that you don't agree with. That's why it's been set up to allow each person their own. Deleting a post that does not violate the Conditions of Use, and follows the Amazon.com review guidelines gives me pause when considering relying on those same reviews.

My name is Matthew Desario, a business owner in Los Angeles. I am still in a poor mood over my x721 error on DirecTV today during the Sox / Yankees game. The Angels game in my local market didnt begin until after the Sox/Yanks ended, yet I was still blocked out even with a 109 dollar/month DTV subscription, an addition 200 on the MLB Game Pass from DTV, and here is the kicker, another ESPN MLB GamePass for online use that i signed up for today, only to discover that even on the internet, Fox is everywhere. I couldn't even look at Mr. Kettmann's books today because Fox was airing its own version of One Day at Fenway and my use of the book was blacked out until 5PM.

Rating:
Summary: No Commercial Interruptions
Review: Having been born and bred around New York City and being a graduate of Boston University, I have the dubious distinction of being both a Yankee and Red Sox fan; although, I must admit that the Red Sox hold a place in my heart, and a defeat at the hands of "The Evil Empire" is always hard to swallow. It was not until the account of the collision of Johnny Damon and Gabe Kapler in Mr. Kettmann's delightful book that I realized that I had watched that heart-wrencher of a game on TV. It was at best a two-dimensional rendering compared to the multi-faceted story Mr. Kettmann relates. Very familiar names and faces became real persons and Fenway Park came alive. As though in slow-motion, every pitch and every at bat was relived with no commercial interruptions. It was the most attention I ever paid to a baseball game. If you love baseball, I suggest you read this book.

Rating:
Summary: One Day At Fenway
Review: I loved this book. It made me feel like I was there watching the game along with the fans, owners and players that were interviewed for this book. An easy read,but a great way to get through the non-baseball months.

Rating:
Summary: not much to it...
Review: I picked up this book about a week ago while shopping at my local bookstore. I was going to buy it without browsing (my standards for baseball books are fairly generous).

But I decided to thumb through it; and I'm glad I did. The book is profoundly flawed. It's simply written and lacking substance. It reads like the sportswriting in the NY tabloids- mindless and reliant upon truisms and conventional wisdom- an expanded version of the drek I stridently try to avoid. If you're at all educated in the history, traditions, or science of baseball, read what's available on the internet, or, if old-style writing is more your speed, wait for a "New Yorker" in November. Skip this book.

Rating:
Summary: The View Depends on Who/Where You Are
Review: Just what happens on Game Day. This particular Game Day was Saturday, August 30, 2003 and the game was Yankees vs. Red Sox in Boston. Like the proverbial elephant being examined by a group of blind people, the way one person sees the game is entirely different than what another person sees.

In this book a group of top sports reporters united to cover one game, they attempted to find out everything that happened. They each worked with one person and tried to see how that person viewed the game. They covered the mighty and powerful (owner, manager, CEO), they covered the players (on both sides), and they covered several fans. After the game they held in-depth interfiews with many of these same people to produce a better overall view. It's not just a game, it is a slice of American life.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a lot of fun.
Review: Rob Neyer is jealous and wrong about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's not littered with stathead nonsense, but has a simple, fun, joyful look at a day at the park.

This is a fun book. Read it and enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: One Day at Kindergarten
Review: Thank you, Kettman, for bringing me back to first-grade reading class. With the much storied tradition between these two teams, beloved Fenway Park, and the game of baseball, none of these emotions are evoked during the reading of this book.

Other reviewers cite this book as a wasted opportunity. No, it is a waste of my money, your money, and even the single lousy star that I was forced to grant it in this review.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a must read
Review: The author does a fantastic job of capturing the many nuances of Fenway that make her so unique. I was particularly interested in reading about the Red Sox executives and their passion for their team - as fans. As casual fans, we often forget that baseball is more than just a business to the many officials within the sport. We at home often criticize the many decisions that they make, yet most do not have any comprehension of how complicated the business of baseball is. Kettmann does an excellent job in bringing this out to the reader. As another series gets under way between the Yanks and Sox, I feel like I have a deeper understanding of not only what makes this rivalry the best in all of sports, but also what makes rooting for the Sox in Fenway so special. Kettmann and his crew of reporters deserve to be praised for their spot-on coverage of old Fenway. If only they can make Shea seem half as interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat clinical in its approach, could have used more life
Review: The book was entertaining and I felt it worth the read for the baseball angle (I didn't see the game in question so the ending was not spoiled for me in advance). However, I found it a bit ironic that its depiction of a sport so lively and emotional came across as somehow bland and a bit dry. The figures depicted in the story, though real life flesh and blood, came across as wooden and mechanical, even when emoting. Somehow they seemed a little two-dimensional, and the story flowed along almost with machine-like predictability. There were a few exceptions: Marty Martin, the fan who caught Jorge Posada's home run, threw it back onto the field, and was ejected from Fenway Park to find himself an instant hero, John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, and director Spike Lee, whose unpleasant rage-filled diatribes against the Red Sox - despite being given the honor of throwing out the first pitch at Fenway while decked out in his beloved Yankees shirt - brought a rancid taste to an otherwise vanilla-flavored story. Perhaps Mr. Kettman's intention by incorporating the infantile views of Mr. Lee (who feels the Red Sox and their fans should suffer for eternity due to allegedly racist decisions made by former managers long before any of the current team was ever conceived) was to depict the wide range of viewpoints present at Fenway on that day, from giddy to maniacal. However, this component detracted from the appeal and dignity of the story.

All in all this is a passable beach or plane book with some interesting insights, particularly into the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox, but a bit lightweight in terms of plot or character development.

Rating:
Summary: A truly bad book
Review: There are numerous books out there which capture the excitement and intensity of baseball rivalries with better prose, insights, and unknown facts than this lazy, dull, poorly written effort. Red Sox fans, do not buy this just because it's about your team. Your memories are worth more than the $25 it takes to buy this drivel.