A Book for the Baseball Fan

I just finished Fay Vincent's book The Only Game in Town. It is a charming book about a seemingly simpler time. It covers the periods of the 1930s and 1940s in baseball. Baseball was the American sport. In the middle of this period there was the massive upheaval brought on by World War II.

Vincent interviewed dozens of baseball players from that era, all of whom are getting "long in the tooth." He wanted to preserve their memories before they all passed away. This is certainly a worthy goal.

Ten players made the cut for the book. Some that are Hall of Famers, and others that I had not heard of. They are: Elden Auker, Bob Feller, Tommy Henrich, "Buck" O'Neil, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, Warren Spahn, Larry Doby, Ralph Kiner and Monte Irvin. Auker is the only one I never heard of. Feller and Spahn are two of the greatest pitchers of all time, not just that era. Larry Doby was the first African-American in the American League. Vincent described him as the Buzz Aldrin of the color barrier. Jackie Robinson gets all the notoriety (and deservedly so) for breaking the color barrier, much like Neil Armstrong got the credit for being the first man on the moon.

One thing that is often glossed over in the history of baseball is the racism that reined in baseball in the 30s and 40s. Elden Auker played for the Detroit Tigers when Hank Greenberg was with them. Greenberg was one of the few Jewish baseball players of that time, and certainly the most famous. Greenberg dealt with harsh antisemitism. Once he burst into the White Sox locker room and threatened the "SOB" that hurled a racial slur at him.

The chapters from Buck O'Neil (why isn't he in the Hall of Fame?), Larry Doby and Monte Irvin deal with baseball from the African-American perspective. The ugly racism that existed that time can be seen. Even after baseball integrated, thanks in large part to Branch Rickey, the players endured fierce racism from other players and fans.

Buck O'Neil never got the chance to play with in Major League Baseball. O'Neil said, "Waste no tears for me. I didn't come along too early--I was right on time." Gracious words from a man who was banned simply because of his darker pigment.

Another thing that impressed me is the fact that most of these players lost up to three years in their baseball careers serving their country in World War II. In much the same fashion as Pat Tillman, they suspended their careers playing a game to participate in something larger than themselves.

If you are a baseball fan, you will enjoy this book. If you are interested in American history during this period, you will enjoy this book. I am a baseball fan and a student of American history.

There is one thing that I do not like about this book. It is part of an oral history project. Vincent taped interviews with the players. The book seems to be a verbatim account of what was said. This can be a bit annoying at times. The grammar is sometimes awful. The players change thoughts midstream. It would have been nice to have it "cleaned" up a little.