Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book 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.
We’re cultured around these parts. Believe it or not, we baseball writers like more than just baseball writing. We also like poetry. Especially if it’s about baseball.
To that end, we’re happy to present the season’s first offering from our resident poet, E. Ethelbert Miller, whose new collection, How I Found Love Behind the Catcher’s Mask, will be out in September. If this appeals to you, stay tuned for upcoming conversations between Ethelbert, Tim Wendel (Escape From Castro’s Cuba) and Very Special Guests.
June 15, 1938
I wake up and decide
to step into the same river twice.
My arm feels like a rod ready
to catch some outs.
The scoreboard filled with zeros
like birds on a line.
I’m the big fisherman throwing
no hitters. No one can escape my net.
Grab a beer
and watch Johnny Vander Meernet.
We’re not yet The Pandemic Baseball Poetry Club, but give us some time.
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ASK AN AUTHOR
Doug Wedge
Pinnacle on the Mound: Cy Young Award Winners Talk Baseball (Rowman & Littlefield, Feb. 9, 2022)
What’s your book about?
I interviewed ten pitchers who were recognized as the best at their craft—Jim Lonborg, Mike McCormick, Randy Jones, Ron Guidry, LaMarr Hoyt, Dennis Eckersley, Jack McDowell, Barry Zito, R.A. Dickey and Corey Kluber—exploring keys to success, obstacles overcome and highlight moments. I then wrote profiles of each pitcher’s Cy Young season(s). Pinnacle on the Mound presents fifty years of baseball history, pitching insights and the views of men who at one point were the very best at their position.
What did you learn?
There is not one formula to achieve success. These pitchers took different paths to becoming Cy Young Award winners, from how they pitched to how they trained during the off-season to their routines throughout the season. Common threads overlap, but there’s no one recipe to guarantee pitching success. For instance, I liked hearing how Randy Jones spent his off-season running pass patterns on a football field as a way to get cardiovascular workouts. Jack McDowell fired 200 pitches at varying arm angles at the brick wall of a local church to steel his arm for the upcoming season, and strengthened his core by fielding the ensuing rebounds. R.A. Dickey trained by preparing for a mountain climb, running in the cold with an oxygen deprivation mask—and then actually climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.
What surprised you?
I enjoyed learning of the pitchers’ different outlets to keep baseball from becoming an all-consuming focus. R.A. Dickey read classic novels by Hemingway and Fitzgerald during his Cy Young season. (His reading list also included The Brothers K by David James Duncan, an outstanding novel that explores family, marriage, baseball, religion, war and resiliency—truly wonderful writing.) Barry Zito and Jack McDowell played guitar and wrote songs between starts. Jim Lonborg enjoyed watching matinees on days he pitched to clear his head of distractions. I enjoyed learning more about what some of these pitchers did off the field—it was more context for the overall story of their season, not just statistics or game situations.
How long did the book take?
I started in 2012 with the research and the interviews, and worked on it off and on for the next eight years, adding profiles as pitchers agreed to interviews. It was a real privilege to sit down with these Cy Young Award winners and hear their firsthand insights.
Buy Pinnacle on the Mound here.
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NOW UP AT PBBCLUB.COM
Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman Behind the Chicago Cubs (University of Nebraska, June 1, 2022)
Charles Webb Murphy was the ebullient and mercurial owner of the Chicago Cubs from 1905 through 1914. In his second full season, the Cubs won their first World Series, and then won again in 1908. Murphy’s unconventional style alienated fellow owners, the press and his own players, even as he led the Cubs through their most successful era. In Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman behind the Chicago Cubs, author Jason Cannon explores the life of the man who sent the sport spinning and elevated Chicago to the center of the baseball universe. He’s in conversation here with Jim Overmyer, author of Queen of the Negro Leagues, and Cum Posey.
Watch it here or listen to the pod.
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TWITTER, MAN.
Some of this week’s highlights …
Give us a follow!
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WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT US
Baseball Digest discussed Red Barber by James Walker and Judith Hiltner on its Facebook page.
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WHAT ELSE WE’RE DOING
At his Substack, Robert Whiting (Tokyo Junkie) wonders whether analytics have ripped the soul out of baseball (subscription).
Over at The Baseball Codes, Jason Turbow (They Bled Blue) examines the outrage of Tigers fans over Aaron Boone’s decision to walk Miguel Cabrera with 3,000 hits on the line.
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WHERE WE’VE BEEN
Clayton Trutor talked Loserville with Tim Hanlon of Good Seats Available, and with with WBIR Knoxville‘s David Schiele.
Rob Elias was interviewed about Baseball Rebels and Major League Rebels by Warren Lawrence on the “Warren in the Morning” on Radio Kingston, WKNY in New York.
Danny Gallagher was on CTV in Sudbury, Ontario, talking about his new book, Bases Loaded.
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WHERE WE’LL BE
All times local unless otherwise specified.
April 27 (tonight!): Peter Dreier and Rob Elias will talk about about Baseball Rebels and Major League Rebels with the SABR Pacific Coast Chapters at 7 p.m. PST.
April 28: Scott Longert (Victory on Two Fronts) will be at the Bexley, Ohio, library at 7 p.m.
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GET SHOPPING
Come on. Tell me that you wouldn’t look sweet in this t-shirt. You can’t, because you would absolutely look sweet in this t-shirt. It is the very same shirt you will see on various PBBC members in assorted videos, and on the heppest baseball fans in your neighborhood. Be a hep baseball fan. Head over to the PBBC shop.
is available on Amazon.com,
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