PSA for the PBBC, May 12, 2021

In addition to the 12th being the day I water my mini-succulent plants, it’s also time for the latest update from the Pandemic Baseball Book Club.

Headnote: In addition to the 12th being the day I water my mini-succulent plants, it’s also time for the latest update from the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. One of the thing I like about the Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly interesting as they discuss the arduous process of bringing their projects to press.

By the way, here are “Bookshelf Conversations” I’ve had with some of the authors associated with the PBBC:

Visit the PBBC for the latest batch of authors with new books coming out this year.

Our latest feature, courtesy of Clubbie author Greg Larson, is actually many small features. Greg is setting about editing previous PBBC author conversations into bite-sized clips, perfect for sharing on social media. Hour-long conversations are awesome, but the utility of being able to convey a message in under a minute is undeniable.

First up is Joan Ryan, who spoke about her book, Intangibles, last season. Check out all of the clips at our YouTube channel.

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ASK AN AUTHOR
Lawrence Baldassaro
Tony Lazzeri: Yankees Legend and Baseball Pioneer (University of Nebraska, April 1, 2021)

What’s your book about?
It’s an evaluation of the long-overlooked career of one of the most respected and honored players of his era, as well as somebody of social significance within the Italian American experience.

Why this book? Why now?
About 20 years ago I decided there was a need for a history of Italian Americans in baseball, which resulted in Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball, which was published by University of Nebraska Press in 2011. During the research for that book, no figure surprised or intrigued me more than Tony Lazzeri. I had been vaguely aware of him, but had no idea that he was one of the most celebrated figures in the U.S. during the 1920s and ’30s, when baseball ruled the sports world. His contemporaries considered him to be one of the best players of his era. Even as a 22-year-old rookie, it was Lazzeri, not Babe Ruth, who served as the de facto captain of the fabled Yankees lineup—a designation he retained throughout his 12 years with the team. Among the fans, only Ruth could top his popularity. In his 1943 history of the Yankees, Frank Graham, a New York Sun beat writer in 1926, wrote of the rookie: “Lazzeri had the poise of an old stager and a wisdom that must have been born in him, The other players, who for so long had looked to Ruth to lead them, now were looking to this amazing busher.”

Lazzeri was also a pioneer, becoming the first player in organized baseball to hit 60 home runs in a season, with the Salt Lake City Bees of the Pacific Coast League in 1925. He was one of the first middle infielders to hit with power, and baseball’s first major star of Italian descent, a decade before Joe DiMaggio made his debut. What made Lazzeri all the more remarkable is that he accomplished all of this while being afflicted with epilepsy, which the public knew nothing about.

How was it that a figure of such stature during his playing days has become a largely forgotten Hall of Famer, remembered, if at all, for one at-bat: a bases-loaded strikeout against Grover Cleveland Alexander in the seventh game of the 1926 World Series? I realized that his achievements deserved some historical perspective.

What surprised you?
Much of what I learned surprised me. Even Lazerri’s grandson Matt told me, “There’s a lot about my grandfather that we don’t know.” There are numerous gaps and inconsistencies Lazzeri’s timeline, and a fair amount of what has appeared in print is factually suspect or simply wrong. Even some basic elements of his life—where he grew up, where he went to school, where and how he died, even his first and middle names—have been subject to contradictory claims.

Who had the biggest influence on this book?
Both Lazzeri’s daughter-in-law, Marilyn, and his grandson, Matt, provided invaluable help, even though neither had ever known Lazzeri, who died in 1946 at the age of 42. They provided access to four large scrapbooks that Lazzeri’s immigrant father had put together beginning in his first minor-league season in 1922. They also shared what they had learned about Lazzeri from his widow.

How long did it take?
I began serious research early in 1998, and completed revisions to the manuscript in June 2020.

How did this process differ from your other books?
I’d never written a biography before, and if I was to write Lazzeri’s, I felt that I had an obligation to do justice to the man. While wanting to bring to light all his now overlooked accomplishments, I wanted to avoid writing a hagiography.

Lazzeri’s sense of privacy added to the challenge. He was a quiet, modest person who said little about his achievements and even less about his private life. Typical of his reluctance to speak about himself was his response to a request for an interview by one San Francisco reporter in 1929: “Nothing doing,” he said. “I’m not telling my life story.” He left precious little in the way of anecdotes or personal reflections, and his interviews provided little if any insight into his inner feelings.

In the absence of personal testimony by Lazzeri, one of the primary responsibilities of writing this book was to dig up facts, both those that had never been sought out and those that could correct inaccurate and conflicting information already in print.

Buy Tony Lazzeri here.

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WHUPS
In last week’s newsletter we referenced a Chicago Sun-Times story and said that it quoted David Krell. In fact, it quoted Don Zminda, who doesn’t even look like David Krell. We regret the error.

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WHAT ELSE WE’RE DOING
It’s a couple of weeks old at this point, but Andrea Williams had a pretty exciting announcement about her next book.

Eric Nusbaum‘s terrific newsletter, Sports Stories, continued its monthly excerpt in Defector with an engaging story about the Hungarian water polo team in the 1950s. It’s worth your while.

Over at The Baseball Codes blog, Jason Turbow had some thoughts about the Mets’ rat sighting … or team fighting. One or the other. He also wonders where MLB is drawing the line when it comes to acceptance of on-field celebrations.

Tyler Kepner appreciated Albert Pujols at the New York Times.

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WHERE WE’VE BEEN
Eric Nusbaum’s Stealing Home was excerpted in the Los Angeles Times. He was also on the Sports as a Weapon podcast.

Lincoln Mitchell discussed his book, The Giants and Their City, on the Bar Crawl Radio podcast last week, along with longtime Giants executive Corey Busch.

Dan Epstein (The Captain & Me) interviewed Andrew Maraniss about Singled Out for Riot Fest. Andrew also spoke to Paul Knepper for a New Books Network podcast.

David Krell appeared on the Metsian Podcast to speak about 1962, and spoke to the New York Giants Preservation Society.

Lawrence Baldassaro became the latest PBBC denizen to appear on the Baseball by the Book podcast. Justin McGuire might be on to something here.

Don Zminda did a Q&A with Tom Hoffarth for the entirely meritorious Off the Wall column.

Jim Overmyer was interviewed by Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, about the subject of his most recent book—Queen of the Negro Leagues, about Hall of Famer Effa Manley—for the Black Diamonds show on SiriusXM radio.