Joe Garagiola (1926–2016)

Found a copy at a rural library book sale for 50 cents. Enjoyable for the older baseball fan. I was about half way through when I googled Joe and learned he past away this spring. Serendipitous. I enjoyed his work.

Because Garagiola wrote this book at the end of the 1950s, many of the players and officials he mentions will not be as familiar to readers not well versed in baseball history. Moreover, some key rules have changed over the years so that some of the discussions of how the game is played are now irrelevant. Even so, Garagiola is a good story teller and explains things clearly. For example, his discussion of signals and how they work is the best I have read anywhere.

Very funny book about his childhood growing up in St. Louis across the street from Yogi Berra, as well as anecdotes about players and others, both great and obscure, with and against whom he played.

Light-hearted take on baseball. Chapter on the people involved in the behind-the-scenes business of baseball is especially good. This book reads like it was put together from a series of after-dinner speeches.