Uncle Robbie

I have only one complaint about this book. I wish it was available in hard cover. Wilbert Robinson was a member of the nasty Baltimore Orioles of the 1890's and later distinguished himself as a pitching coach for his friend John McGraw's Giants and finally as the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1914-1931. The authors give us the true story of Robinson's catch of what he thought was a baseball from an airplane. Their version is much different from what you may read in other baseball books. The object he caught was a grapefruit and, no, the one who dropped it was not Casey Stengel, but a female airplane pilot. Why the grapefruit? Read the book and find out. The reason for Robinson's feud with his old pal John McGraw is here as well along with their reconcilation many years later. The authors point out that Robinson has an underserved label as a clown due to the Dodgers reputation as being "Daffy" during his reign. As the authors point out, during those so-called Daffy years, "the Robins won more games than they lost at home and played the Giants tough. Robinson didn't win a pennant, but neither did McGraw. In Brooklyn, that mattered a lot." Wilbert Robinson is a deserving member of baseball's Hall of Fame whose career covered a very colorful period of baseball's history. This book is an unsung gem, and Wilbert Robinson is a subject worthy of a book. I only wish it was in hard cover. Thanks to authors Kavanagh and Macht. You have both done a great job and I know the subject of your book would thank you.