The Last Best League (10th Anniversary Edition): One Summer, One Season, One Dream

I worked for several years in baseball operations for two Major League Baseball franchises, and to this day, one of my greatest experiences was spending three weeks scouting at the Cape Cod League. Jim Collins does an excellent job of portraying the league, its management, scouts, fans, coaches and players. He brings several angles to the book, showing that not all players get along, that there are "classes" of players, and that 20-year old boys will act like, well, boys. For the casual baseball fan, this is an excellent look at something other than the Major Leagues. For the die-hard fan, it is a must read.

I received this book as a gift and it was a very pleasant surprise. Somewhere between Little League and the Major League lies the Cape Cod League. Since I was a kid reading Baseball America, I have been intrigued with the lure of this quiet amateur summer league nestled in the heart of New England. Where basketball has the reknowned Nike summer camps, baseball has this unheralded league that attracts the nation's best college players for three months of a surreal existence of working by day and playing by night (evoking memories of a young Archibald Graham from "Field of Dreams"). This book does something special: preserve the spirit of the young men that head to these sleepy vacation towns every summer with dreams of playing the big leagues as well as the community that awaits them, prepared to provide an education they could never get in college. It's hard to read this book without getting lost in this world that seems a million miles from the majors. You see these future professional athletes at an awkward stage of their careers where they struggle to balance aspiration and the end of adolescence. The cast of characters spans an amazing array of talent, drive, and desire. This book invites you spend a summer with them, watching them grow up and learn about themselves in a unique environment. As a former player whose career never made it past high school, I was constantly reminded of why baseball is so special to those of us who really appreciate the full scope of the game. It goes beyond ball and strikes. It's the comraderie, the strategy, the mental games, and the team dynamic. The egos, the tempers, and the arrogance. The romance of the game is embodied within this book and anyone who appreciates the power of baseball will love "The Last Best League".

The author clearly loves his subjects: athletes with their chance to make it to the bigs. In particular, he loves baseball at its purist. Pure because there are no guaranteed contracts, no established stars, just college players who see their goal so close and so badly want to make the next step. Each game, and each athlete, is an adventure. It will be fun over the years to see which of the players chronicled in this book become stars in the years to come.

Once in a very great while, someone sends baseball a great big valentine in book form (David Lamb's Stolen Season comes immediately to mind). Such it is with Collins' book. The Last Best League reminds us of why some of us fell in love with the game to begin with - the pace, the sounds, the smells, the kids without the arrogance. It certainly is the best piece of baseball non-fiction I've read in quite a number of years

I was fortunate to have played 3 summers (1965-1967) for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League - An experience that far overshadows all of my other baseball accomplishments - I fell in love with the town & the league from the minute I first arrived.But as the years have past, the memories have dimmed, until I read Jim Collin's book "The Last Best League"I have to admit that I personally know many of the key characters, which alone would indicate that I should enjoy reading the story, but Jim's easy flow writing style invited me in and I didn't want to leave.As bizarre as it may seem, as the story developed, I found myself totally absorbed as if I was actually there being a part of the scene. Whether it was in the dugout, at coach Schiffner's house discussing strategy or just walking around Chatham.If you are a baseball fan this book is a must. It clearly takes the reader for a ride as the best college baseball players in the country begin to feel the pressure, as the competition mounts, and their dreams of playing major league baseball may either be achieved or shattered based on their summer's performance in the Cape Cod Baseball League.Thanks for the memories Jim - I enjoyed the rideEd Baird