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Return of the CPF Book Club

Willets Point Oct 25 2005 11:30 AM

I'm proposing reviving our latent book club for the offseason. Answer in this thread a) if you're interested in participating and b) offer suggestions for books to read and discuss. The best books for discussion would be about the Mets, followed by any books about baseball, and then sports in general. In the past we've read The Natural by Bernard Malamud, The Thrill of the Grass by W.P. Kinsella, and Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. I'm proposing this now because if we get an early start we could discuss more than one book (maybe one in early December and another in early February) and also to attract the attention of those CPF members who go into hibernation after the World Series ends.

Edgy DC Oct 25 2005 11:37 AM

I'll play. I've bombed out in my ability to show any leadership. But I'll play. We also read the Bob Costas book.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 25 2005 11:57 AM

I can participate from mid-December through mid-January. Otherwise, my reading consists of exciting tomes such as "Computer Concepts, 7th Edition." Thanks for organizing this Willets :)

Willets Point Oct 25 2005 12:10 PM

Scarlett: Ah, wait until you read Wynar's Introduction to Cataloging and Classification : Revised Ninth Edition. By the way, if you have time for elective library studies reading check out Sorting Out the Web : Approaches to Subject Access by Candy Schwartz, one of my favorite profs. Edgy: All right smarty, I said "includes" not "a complete list." All the same, thank you for reminding us that we've also read Fair Ball : A Fan's Case for Baseball by Bob Costas, an extended article more than a book.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 25 2005 12:12 PM

Next semester I get to take a course on Principles of Searching. I can't wait - something actually library related!

Edgy DC Oct 25 2005 12:35 PM

Didn't mean to be a smartie. I nominate Wrecking Crew. Although I fear it. Perhaps I nominate it because I fear it.

Willets Point Oct 25 2005 12:39 PM

Did Big Al play for that team?

metirish Oct 25 2005 12:40 PM

Looks like an interesting book...I'm in...Flea loves it... ]Review: "I loved Wrecking Crew. It is my story too. John Albert put it all together, he is a great original voice from L.A.'s wasteland." Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

sharpie Oct 25 2005 12:44 PM

Book looks good. I'll join too.

Edgy DC Oct 25 2005 12:51 PM

Well, let's get a few more nominations here. I think this book is still in hardcover, though my baby picked me up a cheap copy. (I'll find out from where.) It chills me a little because Legs McNiel endorses it, and he was an abusive creep when I knew him at SPIN. Regularly put me off my food.

SwitchHitter Oct 26 2005 02:46 PM

How about "Bang the Drum Slowly"? I'll be in

TheOldMole Oct 26 2005 02:49 PM

I'll try to join in.

Willets Point Oct 26 2005 04:23 PM

Edgy DC wrote: It chills me a little because Legs McNiel endorses it, and he was an abusive creep when I knew him at SPIN. Regularly put me off my food. Posting this in a public forum means that any day now Legs McNiel will find this site, register, and post that we're a bunch of elitist, pompous pricks. It's inevitable.

Willets Point Oct 27 2005 11:26 PM

May I suggest Foul Boul by Jim Bouton, or, Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck or, The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter or, Baseball Forever by Ralph Kiner w/ Danny Peary. I plan on reading all of these books soon anyhow, but it would be a pleasure to read one or two of them with all of you. I should also note that today is Ralph Kiner's birthday (for the next forty minutes or so). Kiner's Korner does well at Jump the Shark.

Edgy DC Oct 27 2005 11:30 PM

Powell's has Wrecking Crew at $15.95. That says used but it's likely remaindered.

Edgy DC Nov 01 2005 12:49 PM

Yeah, I can pretty wholeheartedly endorse Wrecking Crew. It's sad to read about self-destructive LA fringe types, but, so the cliche goes, funny and poignant as well. Current or former members of Lifter, Junkyard, and Bad Religion play on the team. Jane's Addiction and Chili Pepper guitarist David Navarro declines politely, but his cousin joins. Fun ensues.

Willets Point Nov 02 2005 07:14 PM

Here's one book we won't be reading.

Zvon Nov 02 2005 08:32 PM

The last baseball book I read was THE SUMMER OF '49 by David Halberstam. Even though it covers a time before the Mets existed, I highly recommend it. I know it sounds like a book about the Yankees, but its really so much more. With the airwaves saturated with so much sporting choice, it's hard to imagine how, not that long ago, baseball so completely dominated the landscape and captured imaginations. Given the 1949 season that veteran journalist David Halberstam meticulously recreates, maybe it's not so hard after all. It was a season of great public and personal drama for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, with the conflict finally resolving itself in a Yankee pennant following a head-to-head showdown on the final day of the season. Each team was led by a star of the highest magnitude: Joe DiMaggio spurred the Yankees despite missing half the season with a foot injury; Ted Williams virtually carried the Sox on his back, missing an unprecedented third Triple Crown by mere decimal points on his batting average. Halberstam focuses much of his narrative on the trials of these two individual sporting giants, adding fine supporting performances by Yogi Berra, Ellis Kinder, Dom DiMaggio, even restaurateur Toots Shoor. Both on and off the field, Halberstam beautifully captures the ethos of a more innocent game that no longer exists, played by heroes far more driven by their pride than by their salaries. read a preview here http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0380710757/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-6137059-9875220#reader-page

TheOldMole Nov 03 2005 09:38 AM

My last one was another Halberstam book -- Teammates, about Williams, Doerr, Pesky and Dom DiMaggio. Highly recommended. And I wouldn't even mind going down memory lane and revisiting John R. Tunis (see What are you reading? in NBF).

Edgy DC Nov 03 2005 09:47 AM

Jumptheshark.com comments about Kiner's Korner: Never jumped. Still a thoroughly entertaining end to any Mets game, win or lose. One of the finest comedies ever to air on public television, intentional or not. Ralph called Hubie Brooks "Mookie" for an entire show once. God bless Ralph Kiner! This show never jumped the shark. The sheer brilliance of allowing Ralph to prattle on in malaprop heaven makes this pure genius since 1962. Who can ever forget the hijinks which would invariably ensue when Gary Carter ("Cooper to Ralph") or Sid Fernandez (Hernandez to our host) would appear, or back in the old days when both Bob and Ken Forsch were pitching in the NL? Finally from the wayback machine, who can forget Ralph asking Choo Choo Coleman about his wife? Ralph: What's your wife's name and what's she like? Choo Choo: Her name's Mrs. Coleman and she likes me. Classic, untouchable brilliance from the cheesy set to the besotted host. Kiner's Korner never jumped. But I don't want non New Yorkers to mistake's Ralph's habit of getting names wrong and misspeaking as a sign of stupidity. He is a very bright guy, and brilliant baseball man. And he is modest to a fault. He rarely talks about his own Hall of Fame career. My favorite moment was when he had Mookie Wilson and Danny Heep on the show. Heep, who is white, was wearing that black stuff under his eyes that many players wear. So Ralph said "Danny has that black stuff to cut down on glare. He's not trying to look like Mookie." Classic Ralph! What about when Ralph had Darryl Boston on the show and called him Darryl Strawberry 5 times? Ralph Kiner to Cleon Jones, who had feet problems: "How are your feet" Cleon: "My feets is feelin' well" Who can forget the appearance of Lenny Dykstra's mom during the 1986 season? At first I thought I was watching a drastically aged Cyndi Lauper. My favorite Kiner line was when he asked Mookie if Doug Sisk's sinkers were hanging because "he was holding his balls to tight" it's "her names Mrs Coleman and she likes me,BUB." The Bub is the icing on the cake... One time he announced "today is Father's Day, so to all you fathers out there, Happy Birthday." He said during a Mets game, not a KK episode, but it's worth remembering. My most vivid KK memory is when Expos pitcher Dan Schatzeder got mad at Ralph because he couldn't pronounce his name. He continuously called him Shatner. Maybe he thought he was talking to Captian Kirk. Kiner and Phil Rizzuto were the broadcasters of my youth. They weren't great and they botched the language quite a bit, but I really miss those Huckleberries. Wow! I was amazed that this was even listed on Jump the Shark. I couldn't stop laughing at all the mis-quotes poor Ralph would say. I think that line with Choo-Choo Coleman is still hysterical after all these years. Kiner's Korner was always a must see after every televised Met's game. God Bless you Ralph! And as always "LET'S GO METS!" Kiner's Korner was great! WWOR (Channel 9) consistently put garbage on the air and KK was no exception, except for the fact it was somewhat entertaining watching mastodon-headed beige-suited Ralph with his flubs and foibles. I can't remember exactly, I think he was interviewing Juan Samuel after he was traded to the Mets and Ralph not only called him by some other name, if he didn't actually call him Samuel Juan, but he forget his own name! "Welcome everybody to Kiner's Korner, I'm ... (looks for a loooooong moment at the screen and then turns to his guest) we have a guest on the show." Ralph was the definition of a trooper. When I was a kid Ralph would end each show with "and if you can't make it out to the ball park we hope to see y'all right back out there." Awesome quotes! Kiner's Korner was and is konsistant. No, it never jumped. My favorite quote: Ralph always confused Mets catcher Ron Hodges with the late great Gil Hodges. Once, during the highlight portion of the show Ralph called a Ron Hodges homerun "...the game winning homerun by Gil Hodges...damn it, I always do that!" Hi! And welcome to Korner's Kiner! Yup, you guessed it -- poor Ralph was also mildly dyslexic. But I loved this show, Yankee and Met games and postgames were a key part of my childhood. Anyone remember when Rizzuto was reading Bill White's cue card, and said, "Hi, I'm Bill White?" You can't make this stuff up. Ralph says to the ever-grinning Nails, Lenny Dykstra: Lenny, your mother is a very attractive woman and that never hurts Kiner's Korner never jumped the shark. Everyone's recollections of Mr. Kiner's "Kinerisms" are wonderful and hysterical! Do you remember when Mr. Kiner, during a Met-Pirate game, exclaimed excitedly, "And here comes Pirate catcher 'Mel' Ott into home with the tying run!"? (FYI, the Pirate catcher was ED Ott, not MEL Ott, who played for the old NY Giants against Mr. Kiner and the Pirates many years before.) Of course, I've always loved Mr. Kiner's "unique" pronunciation of unusual baseball names, such as: Dan Billardello, Joaquim Andujar, Jorge Roque, John Boccabella, Argenis Salazar and Coco Laboy to name but a few. Long live Ralph Kiner!!! KK never jumped! In the late 80's, early 90's I always wanted to hear Ralph say, "And Nick Esasky is tagged out by Mackey Sasser!" Ralph always knew his baseball, but had some problems with peoples names. LET'S GO METS!! How about when Ralph had to say "and now a word from our sponsor, Mitsubishi?"...must've head every possible permutation and combination of pronunciations. Boy am I glad I'm not the only one who remembers Lenny Dykstra's mother on Kiner's Korner! "Boy, Lenny your mother's a lovely woman!" He spent the whole show trying to pick her up! Long Live Kalph Riner! Kiner's Korner never jumped. Even more fun than watching Ralph screw up everyone's name was seeing how drunk he would be. If the game ran into extra innings, he would be practically incoherent! LET'S GO METS! My short list of botched names by Kiner. Dan Bilardello = Diane Bordello. Daryl Strawberry = Marv Throneberry. Dwight Gooden = Greg Goosen. There was also the time, I think it was Mets-Padres, a fly ball went over the outfielder's head, only when Kiner called it, it sounded like it was the outfielder's head rolling around on the warning track, instead of the baseball. Ralph was always a guaranteed laugh, no matter how the Mets were playing. His malapropisms, mispronunciation of names, and alcohol-fueled babblings were always a delight. Long live Ralph! Ralph once referred to the Charlotte Hornets as "the Charlotte Harlots". He described a better getting hit by the pitch as "got hit right in the back of the back." I can't believe this show is still on. I mean I watched it when I was a kid and now my grandson watches it! Jesus, how old is Kiner anyway, about 1000? At any rate, Kiner's Korner never jumped. It has been konsistantly entertaining for more than 40 years (!). Ralph's malaprops, his general confusion and his drunken blunders are legend among Mets fans. I hope he does the show for another 43 years! LET'S GO METS! I just wanted to add one of the great all-time Kinerisms. A long, boring Sunday day-game, late 80's. Ralph has a few "adult beverages" (ever noticed that eventually he leaves the broadcast booth around the 5th inning?). They are doing a promo for a WOR-TV movie showing of Charlton Heston and Lawrence Olivier in Kartoum (sp?). Ralph reads it "be sure to watch Charles Heston and Lawrence Oliver in Cart 'em". I liked the comment that he almost never talked about his own career. Kiner's Korner was a way to prolong the game a little before having to get back to reality. A great memory from my youth.

Willets Point Nov 03 2005 09:51 AM

Someone needs to make a videotape/DVD compilation of old Kiner's Korners.

metirish Nov 03 2005 09:55 AM

Well that was a good laugh..I guess KK never jumped the shark then, did he do more that a few last season, I only remember one show.

Edgy DC Nov 07 2005 10:27 PM

Well, I'm done with Wrecking Crew. Is that our selection, or should I just write a book report?

ScarletKnight41 Jan 10 2006 11:23 AM

When are we starting our Kiss It Goodbye discussions? I'm getting through it slowly, but I'm hoping to have a chance to pick up the pace a bit this weekend.

Willets Point Jan 10 2006 11:24 AM

Week of January 30th.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 10 2006 11:24 AM

Good - with any luck I'll be finished (or at least substantially finished) by that point.

cooby Jan 19 2006 09:13 PM

Thanks to Scarlett's kind generosity, I will be able to read this book as well...it arrived in the mail today (along with some other interesting titles) I'll try to get it finished by the 30th

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2006 09:26 PM

I think you'll enjoy it - Mr. Thomas is very detail-oriented. His scrapbook collection must be incredible!

cooby Jan 19 2006 09:35 PM

He scrapbooks? Wow, my daughter scrapbooks!

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2006 09:42 PM

I'm assuming he has scrapbooks, based on the amount of detail about every one of his playing seasons. I'm sure your daughter's scrapbooks are much prettier, though.

Yancy Street Gang Jan 30 2006 11:15 AM

Hey, isn't today Kiss it Goodbye Day?

Bret Sabermetric Jan 30 2006 05:25 PM

I'll start a thread.

Willets Point Jan 30 2006 07:36 PM

Thanks Bret. I've been nowhere near the computer today nor have I finished reading this lenghty tome.