Baseball Is A Funny Game

[pwdennis]

Perhaps I missed it, but I've not seem a mention of one of the first baseball books I ever read BASEBALL IS A FUNNY GAME by Joe Garagiola (I still have my copy and read it again last night).

Written at a time when "kiss and tell" books were largely limited to Hollywood, this book is not Joe's autobiography but rather his observations and recollections of baseball itself. The book does stand up to 21st century reading, and while it includes no profanity and no juicy gossip, it is written with a critical eye and spells out some of the hardships involved in the life of a ballplayer in the 40s & 50s.

I would consider this book the linear ancestor of Brosnan's great LONG SEASON and PENNANT RACE and Bouton's BALL FOUR

[sweaver]

This is still one of my favorite books, but I haven't re-read it recently and thus haven't reviewed it here. It amounts to a collection of Joe's stories from the banquet circuit, and made him a national celebrity, especially after an appearence on the Tonight Show where host Jack Paar raved about the book. The stories are familiar now, but on first hearing were laugh-out-loud funny.

Of course, for our younger members, the stories might BE new! A paperback copy should be available cheap, or on the shelves of the local library. If you've never read it, it's good for some laughs!

[pathogan]

...at all,it struck me as the sort of pablum that was "written " in the 40's and 50's.the dumb catcher routine is long dead,and Garigiola was perhaps the worst announcer I ever heard,though he does great work with indigent ball players, and should be commneded for that

[pwdennis]

Originally posted by pathogan
...at all,it struck me as the sort of pablum that was "written " in the 40's and 50's.the dumb catcher routine is long dead,and Garigiola was perhaps the worst announcer I ever heard,though he does great work with indigent ball players, and should be commneded for that

Then you wouldn't like Joe G's follow up either - BASEBALL IS STILL A FUNNY GAME