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Book Review - Juicing the Game by Howard Bryant

While this book is fairly comprehensive in baseball’s offense explosion before the Mitchell Report it doesn’t read very well and jumps from idea to another in a chapter.

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Frank Robinson - Letter to the Author 

Here is something new for MUD.  This is a edited letter I wrote to Frank Robinson after reading his 1987 bio Extra Innings.  This is a great read and it is not only a bio it also goes into the struggles that he and his contemporaries had in being the first black men to crack into management and the front office of the ballclubs.  Looking around the Majors today.  There has been some improvement but I cannot see an overwhelming shift, white managers, coaches, and front office staff are still predominatley and unevenly white.  I hope to hear back from Mr. Robinson and I would like to post his response for readers here.  So stay tuned.

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Billy Martin Book Review - “Billy Ball” 

I always thought of Billy Martin as a weasel or a rat.  I never really liked him but over the last little while I have been looking into his numbers and he had an outstanding career. 
 After reading this, I think the man was incredibly fragile, a relic, a braggart, ultra-sensitive and a fierce competitor.  He was shaken too easily by what others did but he rarely gave in.  Also, I found the Yankee rah-rah was laid on really thick.
 I didn’t really know what to think before reading this book.  Right off the bat he says this is book is going to be about managing - his reasons for doing the things he did - and he started by grading other managers.  He didn’t like any of them; none were as good as Billy Martin.  The only one he liked was Casey Stengel.  The only non-Yankee I think he respected and liked was Chuck Dressden.  He had nice things to say about Earl Weaver, Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Tommy Lasorda but he made the point clear that he was smarter and a better manager than them all. 
 This was written after the 1986 season and Billy was then a special assistant to the GM, he last managed in 1985.  He quickly takes us through his childhood and up to the Oakland Oaks and meeting Casey Stengel and then the move to the Yanks in the early 1950’s.  He roomed with Joe DiMaggio as a rookie, then, when DiMaggio retired he roomed with the new Yankee center fielder Mickey Mantle.

 

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Book Review: Play Baseball The RIPKEN Way

2 summers ago I attempted to coach a pee-wee baseball team. After the first practice, I quickly realized that I was in way over my head. Not only did I not remember any drills from my days as a 12 year old, but I had trouble keeping the attention of a group of 15 boys and girls who were hyperactive and had no attention span. Luckily, while strolling through Chapters, I came across this coaching book by Hall of Fame Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. and his brother Bill Ripken.

This is a thoroughly illustrated instructional book that clearly explains proper baseball fundamentals and it is based on the teachings of Cal Ripken Sr. who was a player, coach and scout for the Baltimore Orioles for 37 years. The book is divided into 9 sections or “innings” if you will. Each inning covers a specific baseball fundamental such as hitting, baserunning, pitching, fielding, etc. Not only that, but the most valuable part of the book is the teaching philosophy and how to instruct kids, skills in which I was sorely lacking.

The Ripken baseball approach consists of the following principles:

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