Just Play Ball

I grew up watching Joe G. do baseball games for NBC. He understands the game in such an earthy and loving way, and manages to share this beautifully in this book. You may find yourself feeling a bit melancholy for the way things used to be as you read. But then Joe helps you realize that the game is still great and will always bring joy to America. I highly recommend this book.

I bought this for my husband. Who is a big NY Yankee fan (not too easy when you live in Red Sox territory). He enjoyed this so much, it was funny and informative. Go Yankees!!!!

I bought this book for my husband, a retired high school teacher, who loves sports but hates to read. He's loving it!

Baseball fans will readily recognize the name of Joe Garagiola, both a player and a reporter on the sport; so JUST PLAY BALL is certain to be a top pick for any collection strong in baseball history. Anecdotes, autobiography, baseball memories and humor comes from Garagiola's associations with baseball greats past and present: chapters survey the lives and achievements of his sports friends and provide a series of lively vignettes perfect for collections strong in sports history. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Reading this book is like sitting in a bar, lurking on the conversation at the next table and trying to keep your giggles to yourself. Assuming, that is, that the next table is as an accomplished and funny storyteller as is Joe Garagiola, who shares anecdotes and opinions and contemplations about his life in baseball. What makes this book such good, light reading -- perfect for a summer afternoon -- is that Joe really imparts how much _fun_ the sport is (or can be). He tells stories about many of the big names in baseball (and some of the ones you never heard of, too). You learn about many of the conversations that happen on the pitcher's mound, about the evolution of the pitcher's mitt, about negotiating players' salaries... what a hoot! The book scores high on the laugh-out-loud meter but its humor is never, never mean. There's nothing deep and serious here. Nothing, really, about baseball statistics or the (ominous tone here) Future of the Game. Nor do you have to be a Major Fan to "get" the humor; I came late to fandom, and still spend a lot of time asking dumb questions, like, "Why did the player get to move to the next base?" However, I haven't felt as though I've missed a single one of his jokes. In short, if you like baseball and you want a light book to make you laugh, buy this one.