Day 5: 30 baseball books in 30 days of April
The book: "Change Up: An Oral History of 8 Key Events That Shaped Baseball"
The authors: Larry Burke and Peter Thomas Fornatale, with Jim Baker
How to find it: Rodale Press, 290 pages, $24.95
Where we'd go looking for it: Powell's online book store.
The scoop: Not that Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947 wasn't a big deal, but there have been plenty of books, movies, documentaries, etc., written about probably the thing that most changed baseball in its history.
Here, the objective is to look at everything in the last half century -- like the Dodgers and Giants moving to the West Coast. Hasn't that changed the game plenty?
So taking 1958 as a starting point, here are what the authors lay out as the eight things that have, for better or worse, affected the sport's change the most. And not just present it as a doctorate thesis, but do a roundtable discussion with those who watched it and were part of it.
"We believe that, on balance, the changes that have come to baseball over the years are a good thing and that there has never been a better time to be a fan," they write in the intro. "Sure, there are still problems as there always have been, but in many ways, thanks to some of the men in this book, the Golden Age of Baseball is now."
The eight changes:
==Expansion: Specifically, how it created the 1962 Mets, the most famous last-place team in the game's history.
==Latino influence. With discussion from Tony Perez, Luis Tiant, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso and David Maraniss, the author of the book, "Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero."
==The media: Jim Bouton's book, "Ball Four," blew the hinges off access to players in 1970. Bouton talks about the impact, as well as many of the players in the book.
==The Players' Union: Marvin Miller talks about it, as well as players at the time it all came to a head with Curt Flood's case, such as Joe Torre, and those who benefitted from it, like free agents Joe Rudi and Bobby Grich.
==The Designated Hitter: Ron Bloomberg, the first DH in 1973, leads the discussion, with Oliva, Oscar Gamble, Edgar Martinez, Frank Robinson, Rico Carty. Bud Selig chimes in.
==The first African American manager: That would be Robinson, with Cleveland in 1975, but also players like Jeff Torborg (Robinson's coach, and his successor at Cleveland in '77), Monte Irvin, and New York Times columnist Dave Anderson speak to it.
==Cal Ripken's streak: With Cal, of course, plus brother Billy, Earl Weaver, Miguel Tejada, and Washington Post writer Tom Boswell. Which includes a discussion about how the position of shortstop has become one of a power-hitter these days.
==The Japanese influence: With Ichiro Suzuki, Bobby Valentine, agent Don Nomura (who brough Hideo Nomo to the Dodgers), and author Robert Whiting ("You Gotta Have Wa")
How it goes down in the scorebook: A great catch at the bullpen gate to preserve a late-inning shutout, Clemente style.
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