Rating: 
Summary: America's Pastime
Review: "Everything gets hard before it gets easy." A well known cliché Jim Morris knows all too well. The Rookie, a true story written by Jim Morris, travels the journey of Jim's dream and how he accomplished it. Morris learned to walk at seven months old, passing up five months or normal development, he had natural talent, and was arguably the best baseball player on any team he played on, whether little league or softball. Morris was even a star football kicker, launching the ball over eighty yards with one swift boot. He knew his baseball skills would take him far, maybe even the major leagues, but there was one little problem that hovered over his stardom; his arm. He had Tommy John Surgery on his throwing arm, setting him back a year, then he had more trouble which was a three inch bone spur in his shoulder, the surgery was said to put the cap on his career. Yet Jim Morris wasn't ready to end his career just then.Every novel has its good points and its poor points, that is what makes it popular. It is hard to find a negative point when the novel is based on a subject that one may feel so passionate about, yet some of the facts presented here in the book make one wonder how they were retrieved. When Jim Morris walked for the first time, he claimed that his parents didn't even see him because they were driving across the country and neither of his parents were paying attention. More than likely this information was conjured up, which in turn makes the story more interesting, but should be omitted. Even though it may have been false information, the majority of non-fiction books tend to have some created information in them. A technique many writers include in their "bag of tricks."
Jim Morris dedicated his life to baseball. He played the game basically his whole life, and loved every minute of it. The emotions Morris encounters are of the harshest; from learning he will never play baseball again, to marital problems at home. He shares these sensitive feelings with the reader, letting the reader inside his mind and head, thus making the story feel more personal. When an author expresses personal experiences wit the reader, sometimes the reader can relate with the emotions and problems, and when a reader has gone through them as well, the book gets that much better. Jim Morris is a passionate man who has a love for America's past time, and never will let that love go. Jim Morris loves baseball.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible Story, YES...True Story, Some Yes, Some No
Review: First, I would like to congatulate Jimmy Morris for reaching his dreams. However, it seems the less documented part of his life (his early years) are some pretty tall tales. For example, being 4 years old and knocking a bird off his roost from 60 feet away and 30 feet up. Come on!! Or how about throwing the baseball 400 ft in the city championship game. Give me a break!! Why didn't Morris just say he threw it in the Camp Bowie Municipal Swimming Pool. The book did bring out what most people in Brownwood, TX already knew about Jimmy Morris. He was a spoiled, conceited, brat and thought everyone owed him something. For example, the so called quarterback duel between Tyler Tabor and Jimmy. Tyler was a much more gifted athlete than Jimmy ever was at the quarterback position and that proved itself out over time. Brownwood won state that year with Tyler at QB. Jimmy Morris and his parents stewed over this situation and probably still do. His hatred for Gordon Wood is evident in this book and is classic Jimmy Morris. Wood was instrumental in Jim even getting a look from Angelo State as a punter and kicker. Coach Wood was a well respected High School football coach in Texas and his record speaks for itself (396 careers wins, 9 state championships). But, by reading this book you would think Gordon Wood was the devil himself. No, Brownwood didn't have high school baseball in the late 70's or early 80's but, neither did anyone in their District or the area(Abilene was the closest and in the largest Class in Texas). Jimmy fails to mention that Brownwood did begin playing H.S. baseball in the late 80's as did all the school in the Central Texas area. Besides, it never stop Jerry Don Gleaton from being an All American at The Univeristy of Texas and #1 draft pick of the Texas Rangers in '79. Morris was a good player, but there were 4 or 5 in town that was better than him at that time. I know all of this because I played baseball against Jimmy Morris in Brownwood. Personally I am glad that Morris overcame the obstacles and made it to the Majors. However, I am disappointed in the way he portrays the fine people of Brownwood, they deserved better from him and this book. But hey, that is the Jimmy Morris that I knew from long ago.
Rating: 
Summary: Morris' Cup of Coffee
Review: Have you ever moved twice or three times in two or three months?Do you like baseball?Do you like football?Do you have any interest in the military?If so,this is a great book for you. I liked this book a lot because of all the problems the main character , Jim Morris faced. Jim faced moving from time to time and not really haveing any friends because of moving. Jim's dad was in the military and that's why they were always moving from place to place. When Jim was 12, he was playing a baseball game and he just pitched a really good game. He went to see his dad and his dad said they were moving to Texas. Then Jim asked if they had baseball in Texas and his dad said no. Jim grew up in Texas and in high school he played football as a QB. To know what happens next please read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A watched pot never boils
Review: Jim Morris chased a baseball dream from early on. But along the way, he had to stop chasing it and think about other people, like his ailing grandfather, dying of ALS, who was very influential in his life, making up for some training his own father didn't give him in morality.
He had to lay it aside for his wife and children, struggling to support a family, paying the price for chasing his dreams with the mediocre jobs he was able to land (he opted out of finishing college, signing early with the Brewers system). He always managed to stay close to baseball, and sports in general, in his "free" time. Finally, he landed a decent coaching job in Big Lake, Texas, and perfected his pitching stroke while daily pitching batting practice. In an effort to inspire the team to "dream big", they dare him to dream. "If we win the division, you gotta try out with the pro's, coach" says catcher Joel DeLaGarza. Morris writes an HONEST account of his recollections, describing how he prayed, not for his dream to come true, but for guidance in salvaging his rocky relationship with his wife, caused by his own lack of communication of feelings to her. Being a father of 3, I could appreciate his dragging them to the pro tryout with him. A great story, not because of how it is told, but because of the honest truth that oozes out of the cracks of it.
Rating:
Summary: Dreams Can Come True
Review: Jim Morris was a kid with big league baseball ambitions and a big league arm to match. Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, he spent time in their minor league system working his way toward the majors until injuries to his arm as well as his shoulder sent him to the hospital for surgery and then back to Texas where he scrambled to make a living. He married and had a family, but he never really gave up his dream. Finally, as he coached the Reagan County Texas High School baseball team to a championship, he made a pledge to his players. If they were successful, he would try one more time to pitch on the big league level. They were and he did. At at time in his life when most professional athletes are thinking of retirement, Morris made it to the majors with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That his old arm problems continued to haunt him seems almost irrelevant. This is a very well written and easy to read story of perserverance and pride told around the narrative of one man's quest to fulfill his dream. The framework of the story is present day baseball, but the quest is timeless. Recommended to all who dream.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Great Literature, But A Great Story
Review: Most people will be familiar with the story of Jim Morris from the film, "The Rookie." In brief: Morris was the son of a career Navy officer who grew up with a single, all-consuming ambition: to play major league baseball. Multiple shoulder and elbow surgeries ended his career while he was in the low minor leagues and in his mid-20s. In the meantime, he had married, become the father of three children, and purused a teaching and coaching career. One fateful day he lectured his baseball team about the importance of pursuing dreams, especially those that seem to be out of reach. His team accepted the message, and he accepted their challenge: If they were to make the state playoffs, he would seek a major league tryout at the ridiculously advanced age of 35. The kids did it...so Morris kept his part of the bargain, expecting it to all be over in a couple of hours. Instead, in defiance of all logic, he found himself throwing faster than he had even before his surgeries. The book ends where the movie did, with his successful major league debut. Some observations about the book and the movie: the film version turns out to be very close to Morris' own story. Morris' isolation while growing up, his often difficult relationship with his parents, all turn out to be true. But while his improbable comeback is the focus of the film, it's only a small portion of the book. This may disappoint some readers, but to me, it added more depth to Morris' story. In the book, he's honest, almost painfully so, about the stresses his marriage endured, in large part due to the pursuit of his dream. I found myself closing this book with a feeling of encouragment and uplift; I think you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Dreams do come true
Review: The Oldest Rookie recounts the improbable journey of pitcher Jim Morris to "the Big Show". Born to young parents, his father a military man who didsdained authority, and a mother who picked up the pieces after each move, Jim always remembers having a ball in his hand. Throughout the many moves, sports provided an introduction to new schools, new friends, and self esteem. Sports also provided a safe haven from the change and the chaotic life at home. Baseball was his first love, and the chance to play minor league ball at the age of 19 was a dream come true. Several years of struggle and injury finally eneded the baseball dream, and Jim moved onto real life, a wife, kids, debt, and struggle. Throughout this time, Jim continued school, played college football (punting for his college at the age of 29). Eventually, he found himself coaching high school baseball. Sensing his love of the game, the students make a bargin, if they make it to regionals, Jim will try out for the major league job he never achieved. At the age of 35, Jim Morris was the oldest rookie to ever start in the big leagues, pitching, no less. The story is remarkable enough, but Morris' accounting of the struggles of a young man unable to realize his dream is compelling. Along with co author,Joel Engle , he tells the story of the man his younger teammates came to call "the Unnatural". A wonderful story for any baseball fan, and a story of hope for anyone who feels they have let a dream pass them by.
Rating:
Summary: America's Pastime
Review: The Oldest Rookie Joel Engel and Jim Morris really did a wonderful job when they wrote the book The Oldest Rookie. The story was so good in fact that it inspired a movie called The Rookie. Although I thoroughly enjoyed both of them I would have to say that the book was better. There are a number of superior qualities about the book. You know it must be really good to because I almost always like the movie more then the book. The Oldest Rookie is easily one of the 5 best books I've read.
In the book, you really get inside Jim Morris's head. You can see how he goes from a kid who did nothing except play baseball, to a minor leaguer who had to retire because of arm troubles, to a patient high school teacher, to a major leaguer. In the movie you see him as a kid playing baseball, however in the book he talks about how when he was younger the only toys he would play with were balls and how he was only in kindergarten when the fifth graders let them play in his baseball games because he was so good. Morris explains how the only think he cared about was baseball and he knew he wanted to be a pro ball player all his life. In the movie you are left to either assume that or to not know it at all. One of the most effective parts of the book was when Morris is describing when he went to play in his first major league game. He talks about how the hard journey had been worth it and you can almost feel his happiness as a smile spreads across your face and you turn the page. In the movie there was no way they could capture this moment perfectly. They just had him stand outside of the stadium for a few moments. In the book, you really get to see how Morris's brain works. He explains how he was a perfectionist and that it really hurt his life. They don't even touch this subject in the movie, even though it had drastic effects on his life. Feeling what Jimmy Morris feels really enhances the story.
The characters in the book are also superior to the characters in the movie. They include pretty much every person who ever had an effect on Jimmy's life, while in the movie they pretty much just focus on him. The other characters really add a lot to the story. For example they didn't even mention that Jimmy had a grandfather, while in the book Jimmy says that his Grandpa was perhaps the biggest influence in his life. It was his grandpa who taught him to work hard and to not feel bad for himself when things didn't go his way. Also, they completely changed his parents. In the movie they make them seem like a normal couple, while in the book Morris explains how they didn't even like each other. They only married each other because Jimmy's mom got pregnant and they eventually got divorced. The movie really messed up on the characters.
The biggest part where the book has the advantage over the movie is in the story. There were gapping holes in the movie. In the movie they started at page 1 and went to about page 12 and then they went to about page 200, and the book was less then 300 pages long. They skipped the meat of the story, which is when he is in the minors for the first time. If you watched the movie you'd have no idea he had ever really played in the minors before. They left out how he had started playing pro after his first year of junior college and then went on to the grueling minor league system where he would ride in small buses for countless hours and then stay in cheap motels. Then when he finally did pitch he did horrible and right when he started doing good his arm started to hurt. In the movie they mentioned he had received arm surgery but they did not explain how important to him it had been. In the movie they made it seem as if he had gotten arm surgery and then retired when he had really came only to need arm surgery again the next season. He even got one more after that one before he retired. Then his family went through harsh financial times before the movie finally picked up the story again. The movie plot is very flawed.
The movie tried to do what they do to most inspiring stories, and that is make it feel more like a fairy tail then something that could really happen. They failed to show a lot of the hard work he put in to get where he did. You should really pick up the book The Oldest Rookie , it's a great story and it a speed read!
Rating:
Summary: The Dreams of a Young Boy
Review: The Rookie is an excellent book about a middle-aged man and the love of his life. Now this love is two things and they are the woman that he has always wanted and the world's greatest pastime, Baseball. Now Jim Morris is a middle-aged teacher who use to be a pitcher of a major league baseball team and he hurt himself severely and was not able to pitch another game. So he retired from the game that he always loved to play and watch and married the love of his life. He is now enjoying his life because he is coaching a young high-school team and is married to the woman that he has always loved and cared for all his life. Jim Morris's baseball team that he is coaching doesn't really know the truth about him being a major league pitcher. However after they see him pitch a couple of pitches ranging in the mid nineties they know that with that speed he had to have been a major league pitcher. So the team and the coach put on a little side bet. The team tells the coach if they win the championships than the coach (Jim Morris) has to go and try out for a major league team again and age forty. Jim Morris is a great coach and he then is asked to do this to really show his team what he still has left inside of him. This book is a very exciting and interesting book that has many different dilemmas and altercations in it. Personally when I was reading this book I just couldn't put it down. Every page that I flipped and began reading just made me eager to keep on reading because it was very enjoyable. I have never red a book that has given me this type of feeling. I highly recommend this book to everyone that loves a great book. It doesn't matter if you love or hate baseball this book is perfect for everyone. I can't believe that this book did not win a award or something that is achieved only through a great story. This book has all the qualities of a best seller. It is exciting, interesting, and you could say even touching in a way. Throughout my whole review and summary, in conclusion I highly recommend this book to everyone and I hope anyone who is looking for an excellent book to read to really try and read, The Rookie by Joel Engel and Jim Morris. I did and I am glad that I read this book and wouldn't have been happier if I red anything else for this project.
Rating:
Summary: Shmaltzy, but you knew that already...
Review: This book is inspiring. I enjoyed it a lot. I'd have found it saccharine if it wasn't a true story. As biographies go, though this one is a keeper.
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