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Rating: 
Summary: Mining the Minors
Review: Al Lopez was one of baseball's greatest managers, capable of building contenders out of teams that had pitching and power (1954 Indians) or fielding and speed (1959 White Sox). The problem with this account is the focus on Lopez's minor league career, first as a player, then after a highly successful ML catching career, as a manager gaining experience. Lopez's seasons managing Indianapolis are described in detail that is excruciating unless the American Association is your interest. If Mr. Singletary had devoted as much relative space to Lopez's great years managing the Indians and Sox, the book would be invaluable. Instead, whole seasons when his team was a contender, such as the 1952 Indians that finished 2 games behind the Yankees, are disposed of in less than a sentence. Game-by-game accounts of the 1954 and 59 World Series make up the majority of the chapters on Lopez's ML managing career. These can be found elsewhere (e.g., "59: Summer of the Sox"). The author was apparently inspired to write the book as a booster of Lopez's hometown, Tampa. This may account for the greater detail given to Lopez's early Florida minor league career. Singletary does better than most baseball biographers in getting facts about old-time players right, though his real understanding has gaps (Del Ennis was a power hitter, while Dave Philley was a center fielder par excellence in his heyday-they were not the same type of player. GM Hank Greenberg famously disliked Lou Boudreau, a fact that had great bearing on Lopez's career, but which the author fails to note.) The author had conversations with "el senor" - would he had gathered and printed more baseball anecdotes. Good- but if only Jerry Holtzman had written the book instead of the foreward.
Rating: 
Summary: Al Lopez
Review: I found this book to be wonderful. While it is a biography, Singletary addresses the subject like a historian. This book examines both the positive aspects and the negative aspects of Al Lopez's life and the time period when he managed. This is not some simple hagiography extolling him. The research is thorough, yet presented in an extremely palatable manner. What sets this book apart though is the straightforward manner in which the author has written it. It is very easily read and not filled with arcane or difficult tidbits.
Rating:
Summary: Al Lopez
Review: I found this book to be wonderful. While it is a biography, Singletary addresses the subject like a historian. This book examines both the positive aspects and the negative aspects of Al Lopez's life and the time period when he managed. This is not some simple hagiography extolling him. The research is thorough, yet presented in an extremely palatable manner. What sets this book apart though is the straightforward manner in which the author has written it. It is very easily read and not filled with arcane or difficult tidbits.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as Great as the Player
Review: Play by play type of book, rather than life anecdotes. You have to enjoy the history of baseball to enjoy this book. But if you do, then it will be very good reading. If you wish to understand the persona, read a short quip on the web about his great accomplishments.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as Great as the Player
Review: Play by play type of book, rather than life anecdotes. You have to enjoy the history of baseball to enjoy this book. But if you do, then it will be very good reading. If you wish to understand the persona, read a short quip on the web about his great accomplishments.
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