Book #23: Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure by Craig Robinson

My most recent read is yet another gift from my thoughtful friends @kayakgal and @BlueberryCat. They know what a big baseball fan I am and sent me what I believe is the most unique baseball book ever. "Flip Flop Fly Ball" has relatively little text; it is made up mostly of infographics. It was so much fun to read!

In order to make the whole thing even more interesting, the author, Craig Robinson, is English. He didn't even grow up with baseball! I am amazed how he has taken the Great American Pastime and combined it with American pop culture. If he had not described how he began watching and learning about baseball, I never would have guessed that he wasn't American himself.

This book gave such a fresh perspective on the game of baseball. It compared teams, players, stadiums and uniforms in ways I never thought about. A few of my favorite infographics from the book were: A comparison of players homeruns and their involvement with performance enhancing drugs; outlines of each of the Major League fields (I picked out Fenway with no problem!); Green Monster height comparisons; and Kevin Costner's baseball movies vs. his non-baseball movies.

If you are a fan of the game of baseball you really must take a look at this book. It not only looks at Major League Baseball, but Minor League Baseball, Independent Leagues, Japanese Baseball and even the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

On his website, FlipFlopFlyBall.com, Craig Robinson mentions that Kauffman Stadium is his favorite stadium that he has never visited. I want to offer Mr. Robinson an open invitation to come to Kansas City and visit the K with me (it could even be for a Yankees game). That way I can tell him in person how spot-on he was with his infographic "Ichiro Is Awesome."

Book #9: Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America by S.L. Price

When I opened up the box of books that came in the mail from my friend @kayakgal, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the book on the very top. I never saw the title-my focus was immediately on the cover photo: a view from behind of a man holding two small boys, his jersey said "Coolbaugh." I froze. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. @kayakgal knows I'm a baseball fan, but I don't think there was any way for her to know that I was once a season ticket holder for a Texas League team in Wichita, Kansas or that I knew exactly who this story was about and the tragedy that befell him and his family. I had no idea that a book had been written about him, so I was absolutely stunned to have received it.

"Heart of the Game" follows two "lifers" in baseball: Mike Coolbaugh and Tino Sanchez. Their paths became forever entwined on July 22, 2007 when Tino hit a foul ball that struck Mike in the neck, killing him almost instantly. On that day, Mike was coaching and Tino was playing for the Tulsa Drillers, a Texas league team and AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

Each chapter discusses first Mike, then Tino. The reader learns about their youth, their road to professional baseball and about their lives outside of baseball. The book gives an inside glimpse into the world of baseball and what it's like for most of the men who play it, like Mike and Tino. Along with telling about the ups and downs of a lifer's career, some eerie coincidences are revealed.

If you are a baseball fan, especially a minor league fan, this is a great book to read. It has it's happy moments, but it is a melancholy tale of what life is really like when you're trying to break into the majors or fighting to stay there. I feel like by reading it I was let into a secret club where I got to know what is really happening on the field when I'm cheering on my favorite team.

The Magical, Idiotic 2004 Red Sox Season

Book number 8 was "Now I Can Die In Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, With a Little Help From Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004 Red Sox" by Bill Simmons. This book is a reprinting of articles the author wrote, with the addition of footnotes that sometimes explain a reference or express his feelings about writing a particular segment. It was worth reading for two reasons: 1) It's about the Boston Red Sox winning their first World Series after an 86 year drought in 2004 and 2)It's incredibly humorous.

If you're a Red Sox fan, you know the story of 2004 and what led up to it. The book goes back over the details starting in October 1998. It was fun to look back and remember the instances Bill Simmons is writing about. It felt wonderful to remember Pedro as the guy that was a guaranteed win, Nomar as the guy you could count on to hit and El Guapo for being known as El Guapo. It was reassuring to read that I wasn't the only person who called Everett "Crazy Carl" or that I thought no city Clemens played for really respected him after he turned his back on them. It's also great to read about the things I didn't know about or couldn't understand since I'm a long-distance Red Sox fan and don't get the daily barrage of the Boston media scene.

The humor is not just in how Mr. Simmons writes about the team, but the references he adds to his articles. He mentions Rocky IV, the New England Patriots, old Italian superstitions, and of course, Shawshank Redemption. And it makes complete sense when he does it!

He is also able to capture the pain of being a Red Sox fan. He describes the heart-wrenching 1986 World Series from the perspective of a kid. He brought back painful memories of Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS. For me, it was like it was happening all over again: How could Grady leave Pedro in there?? Then the Aaron Boone homerun off of Wakefield. It played in my mind so easily as I read about it and it hurt just as much as it did back then.

Mr. Simmons is definitely a regular "sports guy" and it creates a natural connection with the reader. It was like he was talking to me, telling me the stories of how everything happened and how he felt about it as it occurred. I never felt talked down to or that he was claiming to be an "expert". He is simple a fan, just like me.