The Baseball Book Club discussion

This is the discussion thread for Clearing the Bases: A Veteran Sportswriter on the National Pastime.

At this time this discussion thread was posted, I was still reading the book so I will discuss when finished. To start the discussion, I am reposting the review previously posted in the Baseball 2016 thread by Harold Kasselman.

5 Stars
In "Clearing the Bases", former veteran Sports Illustrated writer Jim Kaplan pays homage to America's greatest pastime, the game of baseball. While some would debate the premise, Kaplan both begins and ends his book with the same conclusion. Baseball, despite the culture of video games and frenzied youth activities, is not dying and that "the game always seems to rescue itself with magic just when it's needed most."

The book is largely a collection of previously written essays, some with up to date additions, about the men who played the game and what the game has meant to so many over so long. It's also a plea not to make drastic changes to a game that is nuanced and to appreciate and enjoy those special moments of the game that often go unnoticed.

At times, Kaplan is clearly looking back nostalgically at a game that has changed from players working winter jobs to a multi-billion dollar industry where love of the game has become secondary to big money for labor and ownership. And so, it is appropriate that Kaplan offers a chapter on Paul Molitor, Hall of Famer and one of the most versatile players of any generation. Molitor the "ignitor" was an old school player who seemed to love the game for its enjoyment and challenges above all other considerations. Molitor had character and that's why Kaplan devoted a chapter in an interactive manner with the reader about why Molitor's career warranted his induction. In a humorous line, Kaplan reminds the reader that Molitor, an alter kaker, was the only hitter since 1930 to bat over .300 at age 40.(David Ortiz has since duplicated that feat). There are several anecdotes about Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett that are quite memorable.

Next is an exhaustive chapter about a name that may be unfamiliar to the millennial generation but Ron Taylor was in many ways as critical to the success of the 1969 Miracle Mets as any member of that World Series team in his role as a reliever. But he is chosen as the face of baseball because he had character, an appreciation for the game of baseball, a man who had the right priorities, the intelligence to graduate with a degree in engineering while playing in the majors, and to become a general practitioner in medicine after his retirement. So well liked and knowledgeable was Taylor that he became the Toronto Jays team doctor. But it is the charitable work and endless acts of kindness toward children especially that Kaplan offers as the "face of baseball" of old.

I found particularly interesting a look back at "the good old days in 1983 when Kaplan was on the job for S.I. It is a calendar of events and anecdotes of that season and it includes players that Kaplan so admired: Joe Morgan, Doug DeCinces, and Jim Kaat. The latter perhaps presciently(think 2016 World Series) opined that managers could use three pitchers to pitch three innings in a game rather than a starter.That was also the year of the infamous George Brett pine tar incident, an event so extraordinary that it launched two law review articles from prestigious Cardoza law School.

Tim McCarver is featured from a 1986 article about the launch of his broadcasting career. I found this a great chapter because I loved McCarver when he caught for the Cards and the Phillies. Jim Kaat is quoted as owing an extension of six years to Kaat's career because of the advice he got from McCarver. Equally interesting was the reference to the symbiotic but odd relationship he had with Steve Carlton. McCarver no longer does broadcasts, with a few exceptions, but his enthusiasm and analysis made him a popular figure for twenty five years.(In fairness, he had his detractors for talking too much).

In chapter eight, Kaplan asks "how could the weakest position in amateur ball become the strongest in major league history?" In 1986, when the article was written about right fielders, they had the largest representation of any position player. There is a great anecdote about the legendary arm of Jesse Barfield and the challenge to his prowess by Ricky Henderson. Readers will also appreciate some of the greatest right fielders in history and especially the disciplined and great play of Dewey Evans during the 1975 World Series when he made a great catch off of Joe Morgan and then threw Ken Griffey out at first after he had crossed second base. The last two chapters are perhaps the most interesting because they reflect the perceptions of the author at age 72 as he looks at today's game. He opines about the Hall of Fame and whether guys who "used" should be enshrined(Yes), and why the writers aren't required to make their votes public.(They will after 2017). And isn't it ironic that the Hall keeps out players based on the character clause(perhaps even Maury Wills or Carl Mays) and yet the man responsible for that clause, Commissioner Landis refused to integrate the game. Baseball fans will also enjoy the case against Bowie Kuhn's place at Cooperstown.

All in all, a very enjoyable perspective from a highly qualified and knowledgeable man who continues to believe, as I do, that the magic of the game will endure for the next generations to come.

Given the nature of the book I will probably post my thoughts more or less chapter by chapter. The first chapter covers ground we have discussed before. Baseball does have some issues but might be able to overcome them. The second chapter was interesting. As a Canadian (thankfully) as far as U.S. culture goes I am an outside observer. Certainly baseball has become woven into the fabric of US culture. And in some respects it may still have an edge over other sports, though one should probably compare baseball with North American style football and basketball only.

I liked the book as a whole. Unlike many books that are collections of stories or essays, I didn't find a bad one in the bunch. This isn't to say that all are great, but none were clunkers either. I enjoyed the one on the baseball league at Martha's Vineyard the best. As I state in my review, these guys remind me a lot of the players for our local minor league team, the Hudson Valley Renegades. Right down to paying families to board the players during the season, this sounds much like the baseball experience here.

I do think the chapter on Ron Taylor was a bit too long - and it contained almost nothing about his time as the team physician for the Blue Jays, which would have made for some great stories. But I am one of those people that didn't know about Taylor, mainly because I was only three years old when he was on the 1964 Cards team and was just beginning to fully understand the game when the Miracle Mets won in 1969, so I don't remember much about that one beyond the stars. Certainly not a relatively obscure relief pitcher.

I did agree with most, but not all, of his thoughts on the modern game in the last chapter. I will have to go back to see which ones I disagreed, but for this book overall, I enjoyed reading it.

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

I did chuckle to myself when Mr. Kaplan referred to which team has the ball as being unique among the major sports. Granted that is true in most of North America. When you take a more cosmopolitan perspective as I do (often for politcal reasons) you realize cricket is both a major sport and is like baseball in that regards. Which is probably why I keep maintaining if you understand baseball you should be able to watch cricket, especially the one-day variety which has become quite popular in the last few years.

Lance you need to remember that Ron Taylor's period as Blue Jays' team physician would fall under the patient-doctor confideniality rule. As well it would be covered under Ontario privacy laws, and I suspect ours may be more stringent than those down south. I know our gun laws sure are.

PS What did you think of Jim Kaplan's last chapter when he mentioned that a bean ball was a felonious assault and that the commissioner and umpires need to do more about banning its use? Obviously I agree because that was the impetus for my book.

Just eve`s dropping on you guys, intent is the most difficult thing to prove. You know, it`s the old " it slipped " routine
Mike Linn

Well that's always true so it's difficult to police.

John wrote: "Lance you need to remember that Ron Taylor's period as Blue Jays' team physician would fall under the patient-doctor confideniality rule. As well it would be covered under Ontario privacy laws, and..."

Oh, I wasn't thinking of disclosing injuries or his treatment - I was just think of stories. I work in an hospital and of course we have the HIPAA rules, but we can still share patient information if it doesn't identify the patient. Besides...we know about them anyway as at least here in the US, the standard player contract allows the disclosure and a baseball team is not considered a "covered entity"

The fun of having teams in two or more countries, laws can vary from place to place. Baseball found that out during the 1994/95 strike.

The chapter on Paul Molitor was interesting. I am not sure who Mr. Kaplan was talking to though. It did remind me of Richard Geis' book reviews in Galaxy Science Fiction when he used to have discussions with Alter Ego, a part of his brain he tried to keep under control. Anyway this method can work well, and it is effective in this case. In response to someone's queries Mr, Kaplan gives us a good overview of Molitor's career and his HOF qualifications.

Thanks, John. I was originally going to do a book on Molitor, but he declined. So I wrote the chapter without his help.