Has anyone else read this? Fantastic book, right up there with the Bill James "Historical Baseball Abstract" as far as the best baseball book i've ever read.
Lawrence Ritter spent the 1960's roaming America (with a tape recorder) searching for mostly 80+ year old turn of the century baseball players. The book is told in the words of the players (each given their own chapter), with very little editorial content from Ritter.
As you read through the book, you eventually see how brilliantly Ritter arranged the chapters. For example, you get multiple perspectives of famous baseball events like "The Merkle Incident", and Fred Snodgrass and his famous World Series dropped ball. Or one player will tell a story, and iin the next chapter, the next player will tell the same story with more detail or better recall.
It also gives amazing insight on how these men lived, and I was facinated by the stories of how these guys ultimately ended up playing in the majors. It's also funny to read the old timers talking about "modern" players like Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax, and how "big money" and home runs have changed baseball.
I think it's impossible to read this and not enjoy it. Go get it.
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