Book Review #14: Maybe I'll Pitch Forever

Maybe I'll Pitch Forever (1962 First Print/1992 Reprint)

For awhile I had been looking to find a book on Satchel Paige that I could read. But there were a lot of books out there to choose from, but I could never pick one . It wasn't until I read Buck O'Neil's book that I settled on Maybe I'll Pitch Forever. If this book was good enough for Buck, then it was good enough for me.

As for Maybe I'll Pitch Forever, this pretty much tells it like it is from the man himself: Leroy "Satchel" Paige. It's your typical biography detailing his life from his days as a rambunctious kid to his time in the Negro Leagues to his eventual call up to the Major Leagues. Throughout the book as you listen in on Satch telling his stories about his barnstorming days, players like Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson, you come away with a better understanding of the man and what he did for the game of Baseball.

There are a handful of players that I wish that I could have gotten the chance see to play: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Walter Johnson, Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson and of course Satchel Paige. 

This book was pretty fascinating to read and was hard to put down once I started the book. It's quite engaging and funny at times. But you have to know something about the man himself. He was a showman of epic proportions and had a tendency to exaggerate his accomplishments during his playing days for the benefit of the writers that were following him at the time. Don't get me wrong, he was every bit as good as the legend tells it. But you will find yourself wondering from time to time about some of the stories he tells. But this doesn't take away from the thrill of reading about him though.

One last thing I have to point out before I wrap this up, it's still mind boggling to think that Satch at the age of 59, pitched 3 innings in the Big Show. Sheesh! And THAT story is true! :)

Rating: 4 Stars out 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #12: I Was Right On Time

I Was Right On Time (1996)

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a Baseball fanatic. And every year, I always watch Ken Burns' Baseball documentary, usually at the start of Spring Training or at the beginning of the regular Baseball season. That's the case yet again this year. The only thing that's different this time is that instead of watching it once, I decided to watch the entire 9 innings again along with the the sequel The Tenth Inning as well.

The reason why I love this series comes down to not just the sport itself, but the heart and soul of the documentary in the form of Buck O'Neil. This guy was pretty much an unknown to the general public outside of hardcore Baseball fans when the series premiered on PBS. Since then he has become the face of the documentary as well as an ambassador for the sport. He became a celebrity and rightly so. I can never get enough just listening to him talk about his time in the Negro Baseball Leagues. His stories about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and countless others are simply amazing to hear and relive.

But rather than watching this again for a 3rd straight time, I thought now would be a good time to read his book, in his own words. The results would be I Was Right On Time. If you know Buck, or have watched the documentary Baseball, you will know that he has been telling his baseball stories to anyone that will listen for the past 60 plus years. I've heard all of them and I never get tired of hearing them and I want more.

The book basically picks up where the documentary left off. By this, I mean that when you shoot filmed testimonies, a lot of the stuff is going to end up on the cutting room floor due to editing purposes. This book fills in and rounds out a lot of the stories that are told in the documentary. There's more to the man then what you see, This is a pretty good read and very insightful of how he was brought up and what he had to endure. The best stories of course still center around his relationship with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, whether your a fan of the sport or not. You will come away enlighten and a better person after you read this one. Pick it up and pass it along to a friend.

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1