Jonathan Weeks

It's the rare baseball book that bores me to tears, but this manages to do the trick. Weeks has an overly generous definition of what's interesting -- there is way too much coverage of brawls and deaths, for one thing -- and he seems oddly unable to talk about any given incident without also finishing the game recap or reciting the season's statistics for whatever players were involved. Also, instead of organizing his material by topic, and including relevant history, his book goes era by show more era with not much to differentiate one sequence of episodes from another. As a result, the truly unique events get lost; after less than halfway through, I decided to lose the book itself. There's a compelling story in here somewhere, but Weeks is unfortunately not the one to tell it. show less

Quite enjoyable - I've always loved sports trivia and anecdotes, and ever since "Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Sports" I've looked for books like this one. Weeks has done massive amounts of homework to dig up not only the classic antics of guys like Eddie Gaedel, Germany Schaefer, or Jimmy Piersall, but lesser known stories from characters spanning the whole history of baseball up through Biogenesis. My only peeve was the number of times he used the verb "plated" for "scored".

Grab this show more one for some great stories between innings of the World Series, or to get your baseball fix until next spring. show less

Mudville madness is a look at the "fabulous feats, belligerent behavior, and erratic episodes on the diamond" to quote the subtitle. And it is all there, from the early days where to be an umpire was to be in danger of your life, to the days of the superheros like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, to the Pine Tar game, and the steroid era. The book not only covers the majors, but there is significant space devoted to the minor leagues. Who knew that Eddie Gaedel was not the first under 4 foot player in show more baseball? On September 18, 1905, the Buffalo Bisons of the Eastern League used an actor to pinch hit and he actually scored!

Jonathan Weeks uses short clips to highlight each of his memorable or infamous games and somehow manages to say the same things in a variety of ways, making the book more interesting. The book is divided into different eras, with a timeline of significant baseball events to set the tone for the chapter. Unfortunately, he does not give the source for each of the episodes but does have an extensive bibliography, although matching the episode with the citation is difficult. The index covers most names cited.

If you want to find out some of baseball quirks and oddities, special times and bad, read this book! If you don't have large chunks of time to read a book, the 1/2 page or so format is for you! And if you love baseball history, curl up and enjoy this delightful read. show less

REVIEW MUDVILLE MADNESS
BY JONATHAN WEEKS

Baseball fans and fanatics will get a kick out of this sweeping survey of all the most bizarre, comic, and mind-boggling events in baseball's history. Weeks does an outstanding job of cataloguing all the games and players, the almost unbelievable anecdotes, and the metamorphosis of the game from its earliest days to the present.

Among the fun facts are explanations of the different rules – fans couldn't keep the balls in the 19th century, but had to show more throw them back on the field – and there were no relief pitchers. As Weeks writes, "the pitcher had to pitch until his arm fell off." Of course, these and other rules led to some outlandish antics both on and off the field. Fans of the current game will recognize that adrenaline that will cause players to abandon their best judgment every now and then. Weeks tells us about the evolution of the baseball bat, which MLB finally agreed to, after numerous injuries caused by the shattering of the maple bat cross-grain. It is shocking to realize how vulnerable players were until these adjustments were made in 1976.

Readers may wish there were a few more points of clarification; the White Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series could have been treated more in depth, as well as explanations of "dead-ball era" and "lively-ball" era, for those readers who are not conversant with those terms. A little more narrative in the book's chronological organization would have also helped readers to draw their own conclusions and anchor them firmly in each era.

Overall, Weeks obviously knows his baseball and writes about it in a lively and engaging fashion: descriptions such as the "surly pitcher" and "leering at the batter" definitely added to the book. Baseball fans and those curious about the venerable history of the game are sure to enjoy this book. show less