Ron Luciano (1937–1995)

The stories from the ballplayers are a lot more interesting than Luciano's rambling in the first few chapters. Little to none of it has any focus; there's talk about going to an Orioles game after arch-nemesis Earl Weaver gets rehired, and then we never hear about it again. The collaborator David Fisher should have been sacked for incompetence. It's when other players speak that the book comes alive, and largely saves it.

Ron Luciano tells of his experiences as an umpire in the minors and the American League then as a color analyst with the Game of the Week.

I have had this on my shelves for 39 years. I kept saying I was going to get to it. I have now finally gotten to it. And am I glad I did! It was so funny as he talks of being a talker on the field. I liked how he broke the chapters into playing positions. I loved the photos in the middle of the book. With baseball season coming up, and hearing about these show more players at the time and watching them on games and the news, I enjoyed myself. I liked how he talked of the changes in the game; and I even remember talk of orange baseballs. This is a trip down memory lane through the eyes of an umpire. It is still worth reading! show less

I love baseball and really looked forward to reading some cool stories, and there were some cool stories but the author goes more for being funny than being honest.

A good book for new and old fans: I'm a person who really just got into baseball so Luciano's way of telling his great experiences really pulled me in. His stories are very funny and informative on the true ways of the game.