The Heart of the Game: The Education of a Minor League Ballplayer

As a Boston Red Sox fan, I can lay as great a claim as anyone to loving baseball. Only in recent years (by virtue of the Double-A Eastern League's Portland SeaDogs) have I been able to get into minor league ball, as well. This book - and Malloy - captures everything great about the game, and it has prompted me to follow his career, as well as that of minor league superstar Tony Graffannino, a physically gifted and talented keystoner, who was always one step ahead of Malloy in development. This book captures the heroism of hard work, and that tragedy so poignantly seen in baseball: hustle goes a long way, but there's no substitute for God-given talent. Great writing, all around. One of those books you wish you never had to finish.One objection, though: Hemphill refers to the "Peanuts" catcher as Linus, when we all know it's Schroeder.

I bought this book because I had seen Marty Malloy play the game. In 1996, I was an usher for the Greenville Braves, Atlanta's AA affiliate in the Southern League. The Marty Malloy in Hemphill's book is exactly the player I watched every night that season: a bunt here, a stolen base there, and chase the foul pop up after others had given up. In minor league baseball everybody hustles...if you don't you're unemployed. But Marty Malloy won an award for being the league's best hustler in '96. The book captures the determination of this player, and the fun of watching minor league baseball. Part of the fun of watching minor league ball is seeing kids you watched at this level go on to the big leagues. For what it's worth, today, Sep 6, 1998, Marty Malloy hit his first MAJOR LEAGUE homer for Atlanta! Keep hustlin Marty

Paul Hemphill does a very good job chronicaling Marty Malloy's year in the low minor leagues. All too often we think of only the "romance" of playing baseball - the glory, the headlines, and the money. That is the major leagues. This book shows us the other side - and shows it well.Since reading this book a year or so ago, I've been following Malloy's career. After many struggles, he made it to the majors on September 6, 1998. To top it off, he hit a home run in his very first game for the Atlanta Braves. Way to go Marty!

Paul Hemphill did a super job,writing about Marty Malloy and the Durham Bulls. This book ranks as one of my all time favorites along with David Lambs, Stolen Season

In an era in which sports is dominated by huge egos and mega-dollar contracts, this look at a young kid's attemptto make the big leagues on pure determination and $1100 per month is quite refreshing. The book describes one year in the life of Marty Malloy, the second baseman for the Durham Bulls. Through slumps and streaks, heroics and frustrating moments, we see how Malloy progresses, both mentally and physically to the next level of the minor leagues. The book also gives a good sense of the joy of watching minor league baseball. The only problem with the book is its moral ambiguity toward larger issues -- it becomes clear, for example, that Malloy's father is something of a racist, yet we never learn anything of Marty's own feelings on the subject, in spite of the fact that his team includes African-Americans and Hispanics. Likewise, the author discusses but never resolves the problem of Marty having had a son without marrying the mother -- indeed, this issue is all but left behind midway through the book, so we never learn what he decides to do. Still, for those who still love baseball (or want to rediscover their love of baseball), this is a wonderful read!