Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy

[Max Power]

This is due out in September. Anyone hear anything about it?

[rcartman28]

Just wondering. Is the author well-known for writing anything else ??? All I saw in the Barnes & Noble website was something called "Squeeze Play".

[Max Power]

I think she does magazine work or something. Heard a radio account that she's pretty good and that the book should be promising.

[rcartman28]

Sounds potientially very interesting. Koufax seems to have done a very good job of keeping most of his life private.

[Max Power]

Supposedly, he agreed to work with her - in the sense that he would confirm whether what she found out was true or not - as long as she did not talk to people that were on his list - like his ex-wife and ex-girl friend, etc.

Seems some claim to be tight with him, who aren't, and this was his way of getting only the truth out there.

[Doc Pontoon]

Apropos of nothing, I just read "Koufax" by Koufax and Ed Linn, and it was pretty good. Now I know enough to care a little that John Roseboro just died.

[WiredTiger]

Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy

I didn't realize that Daphne from Fraiser was a baseball fan.:D

[Skip]

I believe that Daphne is Jane Leeves, you goof.

[Craig S.]

Got a good review in the latest Kirkus, although the lack of direct input from him was cited. Looks like the review is already on the B&N site. I've pre-ordered the book, and I'm looking forward to it.

[Max Power]

Be sure to let us know Craig!

[pathogan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/01/sports/othersports/01KOUF.html

[Skip]

Thanks pathogan. Shortly after starting to read that review, my allergies kicked in really bad. I can hardly even see now. :thumb:

[Craig S.]

I finished this one recently, and I'd highly recommend it.

Leavy uses an interesting premise. She alternates chapters, with every second chapter dealing with an inning from his perfect game. The other chapters talk about his life and career, in what I would consider a career biography much more than the biography of a life.

What I liked most about this book is that it didn't get dragged down in minor details. I remember reading a bio a few years ago of Jimmie Foxx, and it talked about how many fish he caught on a fishing trip. Leavy realizes that these trivialities aren't important to the story, and she colors in her chapters with reflections from Koufax's friends and teammates.

While it's clear that Leavy admires Koufax, her admiration seems well-founded, and the book never becomes hagiographic. And if anyone has any doubts about Sandy's greatness as a player or a person, this book will likely disspell them.

[Max Power]

you just made me look up the word hagiographic.............

[clemente21]

I got it as my annual Christmas biography present from my parents and finished it this afternoon. I didn't think I was going to like the alternating chapters, but she does a really good job with it. I found the parts with the fringe players and the black players extremely interesting, and would have loved to have read more about that.

Overall, I'd give the book a B+.

I grew up in the 70s a suburban Chicago neighborhood that was 85% Jewish, and I can't think of a single kid that ever mentioned Sandy Koufax. But then again, I never hung out with their parents.

[Max Power]

Being from NYC, Brooklyn (exactly), Sandy had (has?) a big following in the Jewish community there.

Glad you liked the book. It's still on my TO DO list.

[rcartman28]

I got the book for a Christmas present, too. As much as I want to read it, it'll probably be a while before I get to it.......

[Rajah]

Haven't read the book yet. I plan to put in my list, which is very long.

This alternating chapters thing. I'm a bit unsure on it. Sounds like she's planning on selling it to be made into a movie, or to be made into a movie thats already been made (sort of). For Love of the Game kind of used that format. Show a bit of Kevin Costners game, show a bit of his life outside baseball, and do it again.

Is this the general gist of the way the book is written?

[KCBOOMER]

I remember a few years after his career ended Sandy was broadcasting the game of the week (a task he was ill-suited for) at old Municipal Stadium in KC. As was the practice in those days the fans were allowed to walk on the infield warning track to the parking lot in left field. A number of fathers walking their youngs sons pointed up to the booth and said "Son, that's Sandy Koufax" with absolute awe in their voices.

I about choked when watching the Natural for the first time when Roy Hobbs says his ambition was for people to some day look at him and hear people say "He's the best there ever was". Sandy had then what the fictitious Roy Hobbs yearned for.

No, Sandy was the "best there ever was" but for five years he might have been.

[WiredTiger]

USA Today named "A Lefty's Legacy" as the newest book in their online book club.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-02-12-koufax_x.htm


I was saving this for the start of baseball season but I may move my time table up to participate in the discussion.

[Craig S.]

Originally posted by WiredTiger
I was saving this for the start of baseball season but I may move my time table up to participate in the discussion.

It's worth reading, and you'll get through it quickly. One of the "faster" bios I've read.

[WiredTiger]

Originally posted by Craig S.
It's worth reading, and you'll get through it quickly. One of the "faster" bios I've read. Excellent. I have it sitting on my dresser at home waiting to be read. I was going to save it for the start of baseball season but it sounds like it would be a good winter read also.

[WiredTiger]

I finished this one over the weekend. A very good book. The alternating chapter idea was not a distraction. I think it goes a little bit above and beyond the average baseball book.

I knew a little about Koufax going into the book but I learned a lot about him as a person. It was very interesting to see how a lot of the people he grew up with became well known. And it was interesting to see how bad his relationship was with Dodger management.

[sweaver]

Have just bought this one, and finished reading it. It's a good book, and Leavy is a good writer, but it leaves one wanting more, or at least feeling that something is missing. That probably has a lot to do with Koufax himself declining to be interviewed for the book, although he did speak with Leavy several times.

Because of this, the book turns into a look at other people's perceptions of Koufax; teammates, fans, the Jewish community at large. It is Koufax's refusal to pitch in the World Series on Yom Kippur that dominates the book. Perhaps because I am not Jewish, that grew tiresome after a while. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, and I am simply not able to understand the significance. But it grew tedious.

Koufax as a good and kind man emerges through the book. Leavy purposely ignores his private life, barely mentions his two marriages and his current girlfriend only in passing. But we never really get a full picture of the man, only of his image.

If the subject of the biography is dead, a writer usually has access to his/her papers, and the correspondence helps to tell the story of a person. With no such access here, Leavy is at a disadvantage. Like C21, I give it a B+. A for effort.

[TimmyB]

Finished this one a couple weeks ago. Great read.

I found the alternating chapter scenario worked very well for me. What better than a perfect game to illustrate the greatness of Koufax's career and his absolute grit on the mound (which I think gets overlooked at times) while constantly being reminded of how he reached this pinnacle and what happened around him while he was there.

He appeared to be just another kid in Brooklyn and a heckuva hoops player... but, once he signed on with the Dodgers I was shocked at how he was mistreated within the organization through misuse, subtle anti-semitism and lack of overall appreciation from the organization when it was all said and done.

To put it another way, I don't think any more of Walter O'Malley after reading the book.