The new British invasion

January 2, 2012

Back in the 1960s, it was the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, et al, crashing on the rock scene. Now they’re trying to take over the National Pastime.

How else to explain the influx of British authors writing about America’s game? And it would be so bad if they weren’t doing it so well.

I’m not swearing to the chronology — this comes solely from my experience — but first it was Gary Bedingfield, who chronicles baseball and the military during World War II. Since I have a great respect for the veterans who gave of themselves during that time, I like to give them a nod on Nov. 11, which is when I posted this interview with Bedingfield in 2009.

Then it was Craig Robinson, who provides thought-provoking infographics with his Flip Flop Flyball website and new book. The author not only presents the art work, but discusses his experiences traveling around the U.S. and Canada, meeting new friends, and learning about the game. I chatted with Robinson a couple of years ago about his craft.

Now, we have Peter Taylor, whose new book — Brit at the Ballpark: An Englishman’s Baseball Tour of All 50 States— chronicles his experiences in discovering the game, and Right Off the Bat: Baseball, Cricket, Literature, and Life, by Martin Rowe and his America co-author Evander Lomke (much more on this in a future post).

I have been fascinated by cricket since I was a kid, but baseball and softball took up most of my time. Since reading Right off the Bat, I have returned to that interest as one of my New Year’s pledges to “branch out.” There’s some interesting stuff on YouTube that I’m pretty much able to follow, although I do have to get a better grip on the statistics and terminology. It’s amazing how good batters ever get out, since the field is so spread out and there’s no foul territory. Once a ball gets by a fielder, it’s almost a certainty that it will roll to the boundary for four runs; hitting it over the boundary on a fly — a more difficult feat — is good for six.

There’s even a cricket cage not too far from my office, which I will visit with the ultimate goal of trying to find a local club that’s willing to take on a middle-aged novice.

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