Hurdle•isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball, by Clint Hurdle
Ever notice how the pairing is always “wit and wisdom,” never “sadness and wisdom”? Hmmm.
This is going to be a short one. Instead of the play on the author’s name, another appropriate title could have been Plat-titudes for baseball, any sport, or even life itself.
Clint Hurdle is one of those baseball lifers. I was shocked that he has been around the game for more than 40 years — and he’s younger than I am! I remember that issue of Sports Illustrated that declared him “This year’s phenom.” Makes me wonder what I’ve done with my life.
The chapters have titles such as “We All Have Work to Do,” and contain the smaller Hurdleisms of the title like “It’s not about proving others wrong; it’s about proving yourself right.” Sounds like something you might get in a fortune cookie. Indeed, the back of the book puts this one in the “Self-Help/Motivational and Inspirational” class.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad book by any means, but the theme has been done before. Hurdle draws on his own experiences to make his points, many of which are both amusing and practical, applying to all walks. Made me think of the movie Bull Durham (“This is a simple game….”)
If I hadn’t been so lazy, I would have posted this before Christmas because Hurdle•isms would have made a nice stocking-stuffer.
A new feature: Since I get so many books every year, you can imagine I’m running out of space to hold everything. So herewith I’m starting “Keeper or Notter.” This is purely a personal decision and not necessarily based on the quality of the item. Although I almost never re-read anything, there are titles I keep for a variety of reasons: I might like it on an individual level or as part of a general theme or team I enjoy; it may come in handy someday for research purposes; or I have a personal relationship with the writer or I really really admire his or her work (I have a section devoted to all the baseball titles by Leonard Koppett named, of course, “Koppet’s Korner”).
So with all due respect, Hurdle•isms is a “notter” for me. Never been into the self-help genre (maybe I should be?) and this one is not what I consider unique enough to change my mind.
is available on Amazon.com,
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