You're Missin' a Great Game by Whitey Herzog

[mandamin]

Since this subject is here and everything, has anyone read "You're Missin' a Great Game" by Whitey Herzog? I got about forty pages into it a year or so ago, then couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. Couldn't get into his writing style, and I disagreed with the whole idea, which seemed (in just the first forty pages, remember) to be that baseball today was screwed up (on the field; I wholeheartedly agree that it's screwed up OFF the field).
My interest in the book was rekindled very slightly, though, in my cover-to-cover reading of James' New Historical Baseball Abstract (which I just, finally, finished). He quotes Herzog's book maybe 50 times throughout his, and I figured if Bill James could sit through it, it can't be THAT bad...
Anyway, back to my question. If anyone's read it, does it get better? Would you recommend it? Thanks...

[Xanadu Dragon]

I started reading Whitey's YMAGG back in 1999 - -

Used it as plane reading during several flights to Cleveland over a period of weeks. I think I finished it? (I have a habit of sometimes not finishing books that I use for travel only.)

I kinda liked the book - 'tho I can't tell you why - it's been a while. Probably just for the inside scoop on some stuff.

[Doobster779]

I just picked up a copy of Whitey Herzog's book Your Missin a Great Game

It is one of the very best baseball books I have ever read. He covers everything from Casey Stengal to Ozzie Smith, Willie Wilson to John Tudor. A must read for any baseball fan! Its an awesome book.

[Doc Pontoon]

I recommend it, and I've read 'em all. I thought its readability was very high, as Whitey's candor and conversational tone is humorous and enjoyable. I also disagreed with his main premise (that the game on the field today isn't as enjoyable as, oh, say, the hit-and-run Cardinals of the mid-eighties), but I still enjoyed the book very much.

What's interesting to me is that he tosses out many ideas that Selig later coopted, like interleague play, for example. I wonder how Whitey feels about the results.

[pwdennis]

I read the book some years ago. The book was far more interesting than watching his Cardinal teams, that's for sure.

[Rajah]

I recently read YMAGG. I really liked it. Sometimes Whitey came off with ideas that made me scratch my head or worse. Sometimes he had ideas that I really liked. When it came to his overall plan for baseball, I think that many of his ideas were pretty weak. But I do applaud him for trying. I'll let you read it and figure out what works for you and what doesn't. Perhaps it'd make a good thread, dissecting YMAGG.

I did enjoy his views on all the players and owners and such. I found the book to be a very easy read. Of course I know many people he talk just like he writes. My hometown sounds like a similar place to his.

Having read his book at the same time as the New Bill James Abstract, I came across a rather interesting pair of passages that I wanted to point out...

From YMAGG

"When he'd lost his stuff, I'd go to the hill, put my hand right on his shoulder, and say, "Hey, Goombah, great job. Gimme the ball, and I'll see you on Tuesday." "Okay, Whitey," he'd say with a big smile. "See you Tuesday!" And he'd stride off to the showers looking like a proud son."
-From the chapter Running the Show, refering to Joaquin Andujar.

From NBJHBA
"Scold him, find fault with him, and he would not pitch at all.
Say to him after a game: "Grand work, John, I will probably have to use you again to-morrow, for we've got to have that game," and he would go out the next day and stand all the batters on their heads"
-From John Clarkson's entry, attributed to Alfred H. Spink, The National Game, 1910

Kind of interesting. Sounds like Whitey looked to the wisdom of the past when it came to dealing with difficult pitchers.

[sweaver]

and Jonathan Pitts.

I can imagine how this book came to be. Pitts had a tape recorder, maybe asked Whitey a question or two to get him started, and then sat back. Then he took the material and arranged it into thematic chapters.

The book has three sections, essentially Whitey's playing/managing history, his approach to the game, and his vision of how to improve baseball. The book was written in 1999, and some of Whitey's suggestions, like the unbalanced schedule, have been adopted. Some, like ditching the draft and reinstating bonus baby rules, have little or no chance.

It's highly entertaining, from Whitey's rememberances of Casey Stengel, to his fond memories of his Cardinals stint and his time with the Angels, helping to set up that World Champion team of 2003.

[manny tortolero]

Is a great baseball read. Sometimes his comments about some players, as McGriff lack of leadership in the teams he played are a little strong. But in general I recomend it widely.

[sweaver]

I figured we had to already have a thread on this, and searched for it, but with no luck.

Whitey actually tosses out the idea of interleague play, as in he thinks it should go in the trash. He doesn't like it, not at all.

[Sidewinder]

I enjoyed it, and his 1980s teams, very much.