Baseball is a Funny Game was one of the first books written by a former player that I recall reading. Joe Garagiola’s self-deprecating humor came out at a time when he was very much in the spotlight, between his announcing, Today Show gig, and game show hosting. He fell out of prominence in recent years, but came out with a new book– Just Play Ball — in 2007. This one is more of a “what’s wrong with the game and how to fix it” offering, not uncommon from former ballplayers who don;t like the way things have turned in recent years. You’ll notice from the book jacket how he just stands there, pointing at a ball, as if to indicated how simple the game should be.
Garagiola recently opened the new St. Peter Indian Mission School’s Joe Garagiola Sr. Learning Center in Bapchule, AZ. The facility houses a library, a computer lab and an office.
“It gives the kids a level playing field,” said Garagiola said in an article posted by the Arizona Republic. “All we want them to do is start at the starting line.”
Nice to see a little give-back these days.
Joe Garagiola wipes tears of joy from his eyes as children sing "This Man Is Our Joe" at the St. Peter Mission School. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic
is available on Amazon.com,
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }