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rhoelle's review
1.0
Mediocrity is everywhere; what makes it worth chronicling? Maybe a book that tries to figure out why some players are retained despite poor performances would be useful, but this just seems pointless.
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
4.0
If you ever want to know who the worst players in baseball history are, this book will give you some opinions on that. There were a few surprises in the book, but not many. I was not at all surprised to find Bob Uecker's name in the first chapter. Uecker, of course, made a career out of acknowledging how bad he was, and became somewhat of a comic later on. In fact, he was called the "clown prince of baseball." His antics in the dugout were pretty famous, and once even shagged fly balls in the outfield. With a tuba. Or, actually, it was a Sousaphone, if we're being technical.
With chapters on the worst hitters, worst fielders, worst pitchers, worst managers, and worst owners, this book is full of historical baseball information. I do confess that there are a lot of names that I had never heard of, but we don't hear a lot about the players who don't quite live up to expectations. Unless they are so bad that they get a sort of cult following. Like Bob Uecker. For example, in the first chapter, the worst hitters, Bob Uecker was the only one I was familiar with. I had heard the name of Mario Mendoza, because the line below which one is deemed a bad hitter is called the "Mendoza Line," which is a .200 batting average.
At the end of each chapter, there is a list of the "bottom ten" (as opposed to top ten). I'm guessing that the first name is the worst of the bottom ten. That part was slightly confusing. Included in the worst fielders is Jose Canseco who once allowed a fly ball to bounce off of his head into the stands, becoming a home run. I was surprised to see Todd Van Poppel's name in the worst pitchers, as he was supposed to be a rookie phenom, out of Arlington, TX. But I really didn't follow his career.
The Yankees get their own chapter for the ten most overpaid Yankees players in their history, followed by a chapter of overpaid players for the rest of MLB. Jason Giambi, Kevin Brown, Roger Clemens, and A.J. Burnett are listed in the Yankees chapter. Barry Zito, Chan Ho Park, Mo Vaughn, and Jason Bay are listed in the other chapter.
Then we get the biggest cheaters of all time. Gaylord Perry, HOF pitcher, is number one, with his infamous Vaseline "spitball." Also included are Joe Niekro, John McGraw, Wilton Guerrero (Vlad's brother)(who also made the list for the worst sons and brothers of other players), Kevin Gross, Norm Cash, Albert Belle, and Preacher Roe. Kind of funny that I've heard of more of them.
Probably my favorite chapter is the one on the greatest goats (NOT Greatest of All Time) in history. Proudly standing at number one is Bill Buckner, who infamously allowed a ground ball to dribble between his legs in the 1986 World Series (Red Sox v. Mets), resulting in the loss of Game Six and, eventually, the World Series. Also included in that chapter are Fred Merkle (failed to touch second base on a force play that would have been a game winning hit), Ralph Branca (pitcher who surrendered the "shot heard around the world" in the 1951 National League Championship; "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!"), and poor Steve Bartman, who reached out to grab a foul ball which could have been caught by his home team Cubs, which resulted in them losing yet another championship. I'm not sure that Bartman shouldn't have been number one. At least the Red Sox forgave Buckner.
There are lists of worst teammates ever, players who took steroids, but it didn't help, the luckiest players, managers (Ted Williams was one of those . . . arguably the greatest hitter of all time, but never had a winning season as a manager), owners (the infamous Marge Schott was high on that list), the aforementioned sons and brothers who didn't live up to their fathers/brothers legacy, and even lousy players who wound up be genius managers (Tommy Lasorda, Billy Beane, Tony La Russa, Sparky Anderson, Jim Leyland . . . who doesn't recognize those names?).
The only thing missing is the worst umpires. But this book was published in 2013, and it's possible that Angel Hernandez had not yet made his mark as the worst umpire in major league history.
I would recommend this book to any fan of baseball history and trivia, especially if they are interested in finding out "Who's on Worst."
With chapters on the worst hitters, worst fielders, worst pitchers, worst managers, and worst owners, this book is full of historical baseball information. I do confess that there are a lot of names that I had never heard of, but we don't hear a lot about the players who don't quite live up to expectations. Unless they are so bad that they get a sort of cult following. Like Bob Uecker. For example, in the first chapter, the worst hitters, Bob Uecker was the only one I was familiar with. I had heard the name of Mario Mendoza, because the line below which one is deemed a bad hitter is called the "Mendoza Line," which is a .200 batting average.
At the end of each chapter, there is a list of the "bottom ten" (as opposed to top ten). I'm guessing that the first name is the worst of the bottom ten. That part was slightly confusing. Included in the worst fielders is Jose Canseco who once allowed a fly ball to bounce off of his head into the stands, becoming a home run. I was surprised to see Todd Van Poppel's name in the worst pitchers, as he was supposed to be a rookie phenom, out of Arlington, TX. But I really didn't follow his career.
The Yankees get their own chapter for the ten most overpaid Yankees players in their history, followed by a chapter of overpaid players for the rest of MLB. Jason Giambi, Kevin Brown, Roger Clemens, and A.J. Burnett are listed in the Yankees chapter. Barry Zito, Chan Ho Park, Mo Vaughn, and Jason Bay are listed in the other chapter.
Then we get the biggest cheaters of all time. Gaylord Perry, HOF pitcher, is number one, with his infamous Vaseline "spitball." Also included are Joe Niekro, John McGraw, Wilton Guerrero (Vlad's brother)(who also made the list for the worst sons and brothers of other players), Kevin Gross, Norm Cash, Albert Belle, and Preacher Roe. Kind of funny that I've heard of more of them.
Probably my favorite chapter is the one on the greatest goats (NOT Greatest of All Time) in history. Proudly standing at number one is Bill Buckner, who infamously allowed a ground ball to dribble between his legs in the 1986 World Series (Red Sox v. Mets), resulting in the loss of Game Six and, eventually, the World Series. Also included in that chapter are Fred Merkle (failed to touch second base on a force play that would have been a game winning hit), Ralph Branca (pitcher who surrendered the "shot heard around the world" in the 1951 National League Championship; "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!"), and poor Steve Bartman, who reached out to grab a foul ball which could have been caught by his home team Cubs, which resulted in them losing yet another championship. I'm not sure that Bartman shouldn't have been number one. At least the Red Sox forgave Buckner.
There are lists of worst teammates ever, players who took steroids, but it didn't help, the luckiest players, managers (Ted Williams was one of those . . . arguably the greatest hitter of all time, but never had a winning season as a manager), owners (the infamous Marge Schott was high on that list), the aforementioned sons and brothers who didn't live up to their fathers/brothers legacy, and even lousy players who wound up be genius managers (Tommy Lasorda, Billy Beane, Tony La Russa, Sparky Anderson, Jim Leyland . . . who doesn't recognize those names?).
The only thing missing is the worst umpires. But this book was published in 2013, and it's possible that Angel Hernandez had not yet made his mark as the worst umpire in major league history.
I would recommend this book to any fan of baseball history and trivia, especially if they are interested in finding out "Who's on Worst."
vivamonty's review against another edition
3.0
This book is at its best when recounting fun tales of oddballs and other goofy characters. It's at its worst when it delves into heavy-handed moralizing or turns up the meanness. Certain sections lean more toward the latter than the former. Additionally, I find some of Bondy's arguments are built upon opinions presented as facts and skewed/misleading information. Aside from those minor sins, it's a decent read.
michaelnlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as an eBook, checked out from my public library. It was a pleasant enough book for reading on the plane for a family trip. I am somewhat interested in baseball and baseball history.
The book is organized into chapters about different types of players, as well as managers and owners. As typical with baseball books like this, it is a collection of anecdotes.
Libraries often have a relatively limited number of titles on any particular subject, so this was fine as one option among only a few. I wouldn't otherwise particularly recommend it.
The book is organized into chapters about different types of players, as well as managers and owners. As typical with baseball books like this, it is a collection of anecdotes.
Libraries often have a relatively limited number of titles on any particular subject, so this was fine as one option among only a few. I wouldn't otherwise particularly recommend it.
julieputty's review against another edition
3.0
Moderately entertaining. It doesn't really hold up to reading straight through. Some of the inclusions didn't feel justified.