Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero

After reading this book I have even more respect for Roger Maris than ever. This is a man who deserves Hall of Fame admission. If you want an excellent read, well crafted and filled with observations from witnesses to the events, this is your book!

Very nice book, about a very mis-understood, but very nice man, and great ballplayer. How the press kept him out of the Hall of Fame is one of the biggest crimes perpetrated by the frustrated pundits. Though the book drags a bit with the family tree stuff, you do get a solid appreciation for a guy who has unfortuantely passed for over 25 years. The description of his two MVP seasons in '60 and '61 is very good, as are his two Cardinal years. The book focuses on more than his home runs, but the complete ballplayer he was. His bond with Mickey Mantle is well told also. The last 15 or so pages will tug at your heart, as it describes his last days, as well as his bonds with some of the special people in his life (including Mantle). I re-watched "61", the Billy Crystal movie immediately after reading this. If there is a just God, Roger gets his day in the sun at Cooperstown someday. I hope every voter on the Veterens Committee reads this in the future -- its a crime he's not in there with them. Class book on a class guy.

Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero provides a definitive biography of a fine ballplayer who started out as a modest Midwesterner who broke Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. Despite his many achievements, Roger Maris as ridiculed by fans and vilified by the press: this story tells of how an outsider was unfairly judged, and corrects the record for any who would understand the real story.

All of the previous reviewers are correct in their assertions that this is an excellent book. The research is flawless and the story is well told. Those of us who are old enough to have witnessed this chase will be thrilled to re-live the day to day struggle that Roger endured. Younger readers, I think, will be amazed that such a simple, honest man was able to fight off the pressures of an out of control media (all the time acting as if breaking Babe's record was a sacrilege) to set what we now know in the post-steroid world was the true single season home run record. What makes the book for me is the honest portrayal of Roger, a family man from North Dakota who rented an apartment with The Mick and Bob Cerv for $251 a month. Humble to the core, Roger slept on the couch in the apartment. That couch probably felt like sleeping in heaven after Roger, with no protection from the Yankees management, had to contend with the endless questions of reporters who acted as if they were running the show. Maris played baseball well in all facets of the game, and he played hard whether he was injured or not. He was old school and didn't think he was different than any other working American, he wouldn't have fit in well with today's player's who view themselves as royalty and make us reach for credit cards to get into the game. So sad that cancer took Roger at 51, but you'll love reading about his moments of redemption playing for the Cards in the 1967 World Series. The guy the Yankees gave up on batted .385 and helped the Cards defeat the Red Sox. Sweet revenge for a great man. Believe me, there are dozens of other stories like the one's I have outlined, all of which make for a book that is almost as perfect as Roger's short, sweet, powerful swing.

Maury Allen wrote a prior biography of Roger Maris in 1986, and now Tom Clavin and Danny Peary have written the definitive biography of baseball's "reluctant hero." Like several other individuals Maris has become more appreciated with the passage of time. Maris had people who would be remembered favorably and unfavorably in his career. Minor league manager Dutch Meyer punished Maris for a poor throw to third base by having him repeatedly make long distance throws to third base until Maris told him enough was enough. Kirby Farrell and Harry Craft would be remembered favorably along with Jo Jo White who taught him to pull the ball. I graduated from high school in June of 1961 and vividly remember that memorable season when Maris challenged Ruth's home run record. Unlike today when players hold post-game press conferences the Yankees provided no protection for Maris as he was inundated with questions from all sides regarding his opinions on baseball and non-baseball related matters. Yankee publicist Bob Fishel said he never thought of having a press conference at the time following a game. It was baseball commissioner Ford Frick who taught the youth of America the meaning of the word "asterisk" when he proclaimed that Ruth's record must be broken in 154 games. Frick was a close friend of Ruth's and acted as a ghost writer for him. The authors correctly mention the unfortunate incident that took place in 1960 in Detroit involving someone who threw the back of a chair from the right field stands at Maris following a controversial home run by Bill Skowron. The movie 61* incorrectly mentions it as happening in 1961. I know it was in 1960 because I was sitting in the second deck above the Yankees' bullpen for that game. Roger Maris spent two happy years with the St. Louis Cardinals during the seasons of 1967-1968 which brought the team two pennants and one World Championship. Following his career Maris was reluctant to return to Yankee Stadium because he felt the Yankees had lied to him prior to his departure from New York. George Steinbrenner convinced him to return to Yankee Stadium on Opening Day of the 1978 season when both Maris and Mantle would be introduced together. It proved to be a rewarding experience for Maris and he returned regularly after that as long as his health permitted. Maris said he suffered from physical ailments later in life due to playing with reckless abandon during his playing career by breaking up double plays and running into outfield walls. He said if he had to do it over again he would have been more careful with his health. Unfortunately years of smoking five packs of Camel cigarettes a day for several years did their damage ultimately causing damage to his throat. He quit smoking during the mid-1970s and passed away from cancer on December 14, 1985. Maris won consecutive MVP awards in 1960 and 1961 and his defensive play is often overlooked in evaluating his qualifications for the Baseball Hall of