Bases to Bleachers: A Collection of Personal Baseball Stories from the Stands and Beyond
Two days in a row; so far, so good.
I think if we all got together and exchanged anecdotes about our special moments and relationship with a topic — any topic, not just baseball — the world would be a better place. We would see how much we have in common and maybe that could dissipate the differences. At least it’s pretty to think so.
Gray has collected scores of these stories in Bases to Bleachers. The concept is not especially original but it doesn’t matter. You can doubtlessly browse through these and find something relatable. A lot of them have to do with a contributor’s first game or time spent with a beloved family member who instilled in them a love for the sport. My favorites deal with the unexpected, such as the late Stan Musial, an itinerant harmonica player, sitting in on a jam session, unbeknownst to members of the audience save for the person who submitted the account to the book. It serves as a reminder that players are people, too. In yesterday’s book, for example, The Baseball Gods Are Real, author Jonathan Fink writes about meeting pitcher Jon Perrin in a most unusual manner — as a counterman in a local restaurant he frequently visited after yoga class. Two two developed a friendship and it was only months later that the athlete’s profession was revealed.
Bases to Bleachers is divided into topical chapters. It’s not the kind of book one needs to get through all at once, but here and there, at leisure, the way the game was meant to be enjoyed.
Gray is currently working on a second volume. For more information, visit basestobleachers.com.
is available on Amazon.com,
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