Field of Screams

"Field of Screams" was a fast read and a lot of laughs but make no mistake about it, the author wanted to and did show the underbelly of what once our national pastime. I enjoyed the book, however one must remember like most things in life there are two sides to a story and baseball is no different. As a lifetime fan of the game the book did not in any way taint my view of the game of baseball. I still think it's the greatest sport ever devised by man however humans are flawed and baseball is no different. For those of you that have an overly romantic view of the game perhaps you should stay away from the book. But if you are a realist and a baseball fan by all means get this book. It's very entertaining and I think will give you a different insight to a game that parallels the history of our country and the attitudes of our no so distant past.

When I first began reading this book, I was a little turned off by the author's style of writing. It was as if he wanted to say, "Nah nah nah nah boo boo," about everything he was relating to his readers. As I continued deeper into the book, though, his style grew on me and I really enjoyed reading it. The author does make a few mistakes in his reporting, though; for instance, Casey Stengel did not win eleven American League penants and eight World Series while managing the New York Yankees. Stengel won ten AL penants and seven World Series with the Bronx Bombers. This type of error hardly ruins the book, but it is especially irritating considering the author's know-it-all attitude. The main premise of the book is that baseball historians are too sentimental about the past, referring to different eras as the "golden age" while shamelessly glossing over the game's seedier moments. It would be hard to argue against this theory. For years sportwriters were well aware of Babe Ruth's excesses off the field, but refrained from reporting them to the public because journalists were not as cutthroat as they are now and they wanted to protect the game and Ruth's image as a legendary hero. Part of the game's long history involves events that weren't pretty, but nonetheless deserve their mentions in the history books as much as the great moments. It is both humorous and frightening to read about the animosity with which men like Ty Cobb, John McGraw, and Billy Martin operated. The constant feuds they caused are an important part of the game and shouldn't just be swept under the couch like they never happened. The strange thing about this book is that the author can't seem to decide whether he should celebrate the bad behavior of players past and present or condemn it. The next time he takes on such a lofty project, he should determine the attitude he is going to exude towards his subject matter, whether that attitude be good, bad, or indifferent. Such an approach would lend his book more consistency.

This look at the dark side of baseball was a fun read, and, as a long time baseball fan, I approached it as a non-serious monograph on the game's history. The book could have been shorter and more concise, and Scheinin tends to repeat himself a lot. Many of these stories and players are well known to anyone who reads baseball at length, but this is a one volume collection of baseball dirt. Nevertheless, an entertaining read.

Scheinin's expose of the underbelly of professional baseball has enough dirt to satisfy even the most sated of baseball cynics. Only a game that has spawned as much cultural mythology as baseball could turn up this many tales of greed, egomania, viciousness and general mayhem. Anyone who thinks spitting at an umpire is the lowest form of behavior on the field will quickly realize that today's baseball is well-behaved compared to the trash of its past. This book is not complexly written; it simply recounts the most wretched players, coaches, and fans (let's not forget them), showing them in their worst possible light decade by decade. The minute they start behaving well, they're dropped from consideration. Needless to say, the portrait of buffoonery that emerges (with strategically chosen illustrations) distorts the overall history of the game, but stands as a tonic to the way that the sport is marketed in the big-media world of MLB these days. Whatever the book's merits, we owe Scheinin a thanks for utterly destroying the nostalgic haze invoked by the names of Ruth and Williams (Ted, that is), among others. One final note: even given the grungy lifeforms the book offers for comparison, Billy Martin comes off as one of the most pathetic individuals ever to don pinstripes. Baseball was well rid of him.

I have read numerous baseball books most of which are out of print books that I have collected over the years. Field of Screams is available and is a must have for those like myself that possess a library of books pertaining to baseball. Many books have attempted to portray the darker side of the game and failed. This book details the bad boy within the hero. Story after story depicts on and off the field events that will astound even the most addicted baseball fan like myself. I read Field of Screams in 3 days because I could not remove it from my fingers, nor did I want to. It has several excellent photos to enhance the text. If you love baseball then you have no choice but to read this book. I will rate it a 10 only because there is no higher rating in which to choose. -Frank C. Sulka Chardon, Ohio USA