Birdie: Confessions of a Baseball Nomad

THIS IS A VERY NICE BOOK TO READ. I DIDN'T KNOW BIRDIE PERSONALLY SO I CAN'T COMMENT ON WHETHER HE WROTE THIS OR NOT. BUT I AM FROM CLEVELAND, AND REMEMBER HIM AS MANAGER DURING THE MIDDLE 1960'S. HE DID A GOOD JOB AND WAS WELL RESPECTED BY THE PLAYERS AND MEDIA. I ENJOYED THIS TALE OF HIS LIFE IN AND OUT OF BASEBALL. I AGREE WITH ANOTHER REVIEWER THAT I THINK MORE TIME WAS NEEDED ON HIS MANAGING CAREER. ALSO I WOULD HAVE RATED THIS 5 STARS IF THIS BOOK WAS LONGER. BUT VERY WELL DONE AND QUITE INTERESTING. VERY RECOMMENDED.

Unlike a couple of other reviewers (....), I never knew Birdie, and cannot attest whether these pages seem written by the real man. What does stand out, however, is that any fan of baseball before the present - swing for the fences, no strategy needed - era will enjoy this book. James Morrison has culled many, many delicious stories from Birdie's diaries. Some stories are not brand new to baseball literature, but Birdie's viewpoint on them is worthwhile. Except for some quotes using swear words, I cannot see what Birdie's friends can object to here. The player-manager-scout's humanity and delightful humor ring out on every page. Perhaps the best chapter reviews player-umpire relations in the "old days," but the anecdotes throughout make it hard not to read out loud to others.My only regret is that short space was given to Birdie's managing years. I suspect he was too busy then to post lengthy diary entries. Perhaps Birdie would have edited the finished product differently, had he lived, but this book will stand out with that of his Tiger teammate, Elden Auker's, as one of the best books on baseball from the '30s through the 50s.

This was a very enjoyable book. Not radically different from other autobiographies, and it's a little hard to articulate, but BIRDIE struck me as having a freshness of approach. Birdie Tebbetts himself apparently was one of the very few ballplayers to keep extensive diaries throughout his life. He also was a good storyteller. Working with his cousin in assembling this book, he did a good job.Anyone who likes reading about golden age baseball will find a number of stories here about players like Ted Williams and Hank Greenberg, and you'll probably get a few new insights into the game as well.