Review - "Baseball Fantography" by Andy Strasberg

Are you tired of baseball books with the same boring stock photos? You will not get that with Baseball Fantography by Andy Strasberg. This is a collection of photographs from fans that capture the intimate and personal lives of your favorite baseball players from the past and present. Strasberg began this project when he found an old picture of him with Roger Maris at Yankee Stadium in 1966. He hadn't seen the photo in decades and a nostalgic feeling came over him. He knew that there were other people who had old baseball photos that would have a similar feeling. This is a timeless record of the fans' baseball experience...by the fans, for the fans.

It has been a long off-season for me. I'm a Chicago Cubs fan and having to endure the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series, was quite taxing. I put up a wall between MLB news and myself. Saying all of that, as soon as I opened Baseball Fantography, I fell back in love with the game.

My knowledge of baseball would rival men decades older than me. I would always read as much about the game as possible, buy baseball cards from the 50's & 60's as often as I could find them, and I have watched the Ken Burns Baseball series more than I should be allowed. We have all seen the same footage and read the same stories about baseball players, but this group of candid photos reaches you in a different way. This book helps show a personal side of players like: Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter, and Roberto Clemente.

The one thing that sets Baseball Fantography apart from other baseball photo collections is the back-story behind every picture. Every picture has a description or a small caveat about what was taking place during the picture. The lone picture that stands out is the candid photo of Eddie Mathews drying off with a towel while he's still in the shower. The oddest chapter is called "Graves," that was dedicated to fans' pictures of the headstones of the sports' greatest players.

You get iconic, absurd, and thought-provoking photos in this collection. It is worth the $19.99 price and I suggest that you head to your local bookstore (if those still exist) or go to Amazon and buy this book.

Strasberg was a San Diego Padres executive from 1975-1996 and now offers marketing expertise to baseball personalities, teams, leagues, and the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the coauthor of Baseball's Greatest Hit and was a technical consultant for the HBO film 61*.


For more information about Baseball Fantography, go to Fantography.com. You can even submit your photo to be a part of the collection.

For other book reviews that we have done, please click here.


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Bert Blyleven Deserves To Be Hall Of Famer

Blyleven deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, if not only because of that awesome shirt, but he was a very good pitcher. Let's face it, baseball's Hall of Fame has turned into "the hall of very good," and Blyleven deserves in. He fell 5 votes shy today for being an inductee, but he is a sure money bet of making it next year. Andre Dawson is the lone candidate and the entire ceremony will be dedicated to the former great of the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs. In the following article, I try to make my case for Bert Blyleven to be inducted in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Blyleven played during a time, when multi-channel ESPNs and regional Fox Sports Net channels did not exist and MLB Extra Innings packages on DirecTV wasn't even invented, you may not have caught Bert Blyleven's best work. Unless you caught the highlights on Sportscenter where Chris Berman used a nickname of Burt "Be Home" Blyleven, you would just think that he was an average pitcher. His career ERA was 3.90, but his early career was his peak, but he kept a roster spot on small-market teams. His record was 287-250, just 37 games over .500, but from 1982 until the end of his career in '92, his ERA was over 4.00. If a pitcher wins nearly 300 games, it nearly negates this feat once a pitcher reaches his 250th loss, like Blyleven.

An argument that Blyleven has for his induction is that his numbers are measurable to Nolan Ryan's. Blyleven does not have Ryan's no-hitters or his dominance of one-hit games either. Blyleven's win-loss record has a lot to do with Blyleven's teams not scoring many runs, thus having him lose many one-run games. He pitched in a different era than what today's pitchers will be held up to. Middle-relief pitching was approached as need-based, rather than a necessity, Blyleven pitched in almost 300 career complete games.

Let's crunch some numbers, in his 22-year career, Blyleven pitched a complete game in over 40% of the games in which he has started. He has never ranked higher than third in the Cy Young voting and has only played in two All-Star games in his 22-year career.

Bert Blyleven will be immortalized into the Hall of Fame. Sometimes players start racking up statistics just cause longevity and not exactly superb play. Blyleven's 3701 strikeouts are amazing, but his K/9 statistic of 7.4 per 9 innings isn't super spectacular, but nothing about Blyleven really is. It's a solid number and Blyleven was a solid pitcher and long-term performance needs to be rewarded with an induction in Cooperstown.

It's Official: Dawson Is in Hall Of Fame

The verdict is in and Andre Dawson will be the lone inductee into baseball's Hall of Fame. It was his 9th year on the ballot and the publicity campaign worked for "The Hawk." Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were close, but weren't able to get 75% of the votes to join Dawson.

I have been a huge fan of Andre Dawson since I was about seven years of age. When he appeared on the Cubs, I was unaware where he came from. I was very young and I only kept tabs on the Cubs since I watched them every day on WGN. It wasn't until later that I found out that he was a star in Montreal for many years. When he arrived in Chicago, he was a home run machine and the clean-up hitter that Chicago needed to finally win a pennant in 1989. He was a nice player to lineup near Ryne Sandberg, but he turned out to be much more for Chicago, since he won the NL MVP in 1987 and lead the league in home runs.

Dawson was clearly a shell of himself later in his career because he played on the very bad turf in Montreal that messed up his knees. He used to have a lot of speed and stole a lot of bases with teammate Tim Raines leading the league many seasons. The Expos were a very fast team, but after playing so many years there, players were plagued with various knee problems. The turf was basically carpet on top of cement.

I will surely be watching the induction of "The Hawk" as I did when Ryne Sandberg was inducted. When you think about the 1987 season for the Cubs, they had Dawson, Sandberg, Rafael Palmeiro, Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer, and Lee Smith. They had six players that will either be in the Hall of Fame or will be very close. It's hard to believe that the team finished last place in the NL East that year with a record of 76-85.

It was a shame that Bert Blyleven fell 5 votes of getting into the Hall of Fame. Every pitcher who gets near 300 wins, even if he had nearly as many losses, deserves to get in. He has two more years of eligibility and he should get in next season. Roberto Alomar also fell short in his first year of eligibility. He is another player that should get in and they both faired well in a year with not many stars becoming eligible. Jack Morris also saw an increase in votes, but he still has a long way to go, his name was on about 50% of the ballots.

Review - "Baseball Americana" by Harry Katz

Harper Collins has published a great coffee table book entitled "Baseball Americana." It's by Harry Katz, Frank Ceresi, Phil Michel, Wilson McBee, and Susan Reyburn, it's a lot of people's names, but it's a big book. There are so many great pictures and information in this book from the Library of Congress. There's even a panoramic picture of the first Black World Series in 1924. Here is my review of "Baseball Americana"...

I'm a huge baseball fan and when I can read a book about the historical past of baseball, I jump at the opportunity. Some of the things in "Baseball Americana" are things that aren't shown in any other book. Some of the material that this books includes are a picture baseball being played in 1787, the first ever baseball card, a rare color photograph of Satchel Paige, and even a lithograph of the first ever professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869.

The book goes in a chronological order that is easy to follow. If you are more interested in the period of 1900-1920, it's easy to find all of the information and pictures that go along with that time period. One of my favorite things in the book are old rate advertisements that the baseball players were in. There's even one of Jackie Robinson endorsing Chesterfield cigarettes, I doubt that would go over well these days. No matter what team you follow, you will find something in "Baseball Americana" that you will enjoy.

This huge coffee table book is a conversation piece and a great book to pick up and instantly start thumbing through. I sat down and read the entire book in about a day, but when you start looking at the magnificent photography, it could last you weeks.

If you are a fan of baseball, you will find things in this book that aren't even in Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. It's an amazing collection of pictures, stories, old cartoons depicting baseball, and much more. It's a must read and at $29.99, it's a steal. Here is a Youtube video with some of the pictures from the book.

Review: "Munson" by Marty Appel

Thuman Munson was a great catcher and team captain for the New York Yankees. He was tragically killed in a plane crash during the prime of his career. He had a great rivalry with Boston Red Sox catcher, Carlton Fisk, it even got personal a few times. Marty Appel has written a book about Munson and I decided that my brother, a big Red Sox fan should read it and write a review. It's a great book and I knew that he couldn't say anything bad about it. It proves that Munson's greatness can unite people, even if they bleed Red Sox crimson.

I am a Red Sox Fan.

I usually run away from anything having to do with George Steinbrenner and his hated "Evil Empire" in New York. However, as painful as it is to admit, I liked Marty Appel's Munson published by Doubleday. My reasons for liking this book had nothing to do with Munson's career as a Yankee. I could have cared less about his "American League Rookie of the Year" honors in 1970, his seven All-Star Game appearances, three Gold Gloves awards, 1976 American League Most Valuable Player Award or anything even slightly associated with the pin-stripe wearing Yankee captain. My reasons for loving this book had nothing to do with baseball at all. I liked it because of Appel's insight on Thurmon Munson the husband, father, friend and man.

Red Sox Nation may frown upon this but I have to be honest with myself about this book. This was a great read, and I enjoyed the insight and anecdotes that have never been told since the Yankee captain perished over 30 years ago. This book could not have been written by anyone else, and could only have been told by Appel who was a friend and biographer for Munson, and former Yankee PR director. Who better to give an inside look at the man, than someone who was there with him and who had direct access to his family, friends and teammates?

After reading Munson I have to admit that while I don't want to see another Yankee enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I do feel that the Hall needs more Thurmon Munson's in it. His love of family, friends and community kept pulling him home to Canton, Ohio, and in the end he died far to short in the town he loved so much. His whole reason for taking up flying was to allow him more time at home with his family and friends that he loved so much. Why did I pick this book up and read it? As a Red Sox fan I am not sure, but I am glad I did. I came away from it with a huge respect for him as a man, husband and father. I just wish number 15 had not worn the pin stripes for those years and had made his wish for playing with the Indians become a reality. Maybe that would have made reading this book about a Yankee captain a little easier for this Red Sox fan, and the world may still have this beloved captain.

-Gran Roberts

Review: The Class Of Football by Adam Shefter

NFL Hall of Fame speeches are great to listen to and everyone can take something from them. Former NFL Network, and currently ESPN football analyst, Adam Shefter knew this and he compiled a book of some of the best excerpts from speeches given in Canton, OH at the NFL Hall of Fame inductions throughout the years. Inductees always talk about the principles of life and lessons learned while playing the game and growing up within it. Check out the review of the book, "The Class of Football" edited by Adam Shefter, published by Harper Collins.

Listening to a Hall of Fame speech in any sport is great theater. They have spent hours, days, and weeks prepared his Hall of Fame speech and he knows that what he says at that podium will resonate with their fans. They talk about their mentors, their childhood, the history of the game, family, and teamwork. It's as if each inductee has a checklist that every speech must have to ensure a great moment. They always dream of this very moment and is probably one of the first foe (nervousness) could get the very best of them.

"The Class of Football" is such a great book to have if you love the history of the NFL. All of the players that you grew up watching is in this book, in their own words, describing some of the principles of life and the game of football.

Mike Singletary's speech was one of the best. He spoke about growing up poor in Houston, TX. Two of his brothers passed away and his mother sat him down and told him that "there was a greatness in him." He ended up going back to his room and wrote down a set of goals. He described that that day, his life began. Harry Carson took the stage and pleaded for the NFL to take care of the players on the field, after their careers were over. John Mackey took the stage to tell people and players to make sure that you have "your feet on the ground." Bill Walsh's speech was about how not only does teamwork bring players together, but could help unite the city in times of need. Each of these speeches read like a "Bartlett's Book of Quotations for NFL fans." It's a great book for fans of the NFL or any sport and is a go-to book for those who coach teams and need to get a few lessons through to your players.

You should go out and buy this book. Even if you aren't an avid reader, it reads very fast, since most of the speech excerpts are just a few pages long. Shefter had a great idea with this book and carried out his plan with perfection. He just started at ESPN and I'm sure he will help the company with great ideas like "The Class of Football."

For more exclusive audio and video of these speeches, go to ClassOfFootball.com.

A Cubs Fan's Perspective: Sammy Sosa

I have been a Cubs fan for as long as I've been alive. I am 28 years old and some of the earliest memories involved my dad and I watching afternoon games on WGN. I remember Jody Davis, Leon Durham, Rick Sutcliffe, and Lee Smith all fighting the Chicago summer heat. The times were special and moments that I wouldn't change at all. The teams were bad and most of the crowd didn't care, and I didn't care too much either. I was a little kid who idolized the players with dreams of one day playing professional baseball too. Those dreams never came true, but I am still a Cubs fan, although I am a little confused of how happy I am about that today.

I was in middle school when the Cubs traded George Bell to the White Sox for a young outfielder, Sammy Sosa. I liked Bell for the few seasons that he was with the Cubs, but I kind of understood that they needed to get younger. I didn't know much about Sosa, other than owning a few of his rookie cards. My lone opinion was that he looked extremely happy. Almost immediately, the trade for Sosa started to pay off. He was stealing bases and hitting more homers than I expected. The first season, I thought that he may be a better version of Shawon Dunston, since he didn't strike out as much, which didn't say much.

The Cubs didn't win many games the first few seasons that Sosa was around. I can still hear Harry Caray yell out Sosa's name after he jacked a 400+ foot home-run. Those moments gave me joy, about as much as an actual Cubs victory. Sosa's home-run total kept creeping up, but the whispers of the ball being juiced calmed my fears of anything fishy going on. It wasn't until the summer of '98 that the homers were getting out of hand. I have to admit, I still didn't care. Mark McGwire was hitting just as many homers as Sosa and he looked noticeably huge. I didn't suspect much about steroid use, the only thing that was written was something new to me called "Andro." I read about it and saw that it wasn't illegal. I didn't think anything was wrong, but I wanted Sosa to beat him. I think most people wanted Sosa to beat McGwire, if not for the fact that he was more likeable.

Every time that Sosa took the field in the first inning, he would run out into right field like a perfectly choreographed play. Everything Sosa did was more of a show for the fans. After 9/11, he hit a homer and ran around the bases with a little American flag.

Sosa's numbers stayed the same as McGwire began to breakdown. Sosa's average took a hit, since he looked like he was wanting to knock it out of the park with every swing. Finally, his behavior the last year with the Cubs was too much for the club to handle. They dealt him to Baltimore for a few young players. Sosa's career was never the same, mainly because the cloud of suspicion was too great. To this day he denies all claims of using PEDs, but the revelation of a failed test in 2003 makes it all clear. Sosa apparently cheated, it doesn't surprise many, but I'm just confused.

I believe that a large number of players used some sort of performance-enhancing drug during the same period of Sosa's career. I believe he wanted an edge and once he had a taste of success, he couldn't leave it alone. If he didn't do it for himself, he did it for the fans. As I said before, my first opinion of Sosa was his smile. He didn't lose his smile until the end of his career. He didn't have his smile when he was testifying in front of Congress. If Sosa's number isn't retired and he doesn't make the Hall of Fame, Sosa may never smile again. A decision to forgive and forget has to be made at some point. Some purists still have a big problem with "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and the Black Sox. I say that we still need to decide on what kind of punishment would suit the crime.

My opinion is for the Baseball Writers of America to have a conference. Everyone should take sides and maybe come to a conclusion. I would like to see all the alleged steroid users, that have Hall of Fame numbers, be inducted in the same class. You would be able to put that on Pay-Per-View and it would have a high buyrate. I don't think it's right that they used PEDs, but enough is enough. I want to move past this. It may take the player's union to allow blood testing, it would be a step in the right direction.