Book Review: The Natural by Bernard Malamud

When Roy Hobbs is shot at the age of 19, his dreams of a baseball career are put off until he returns to the game as a rookie at the age of 34. Roy comes to play for the New York Knights, the last place team in the league, and his natural abilities to play great baseball lead the team out of their embarrassing slump.

The Natural is a book about a sports hero’s rise and fall from glory and the things that encourage and impede his success. While most of the book’s characters are not very likable, they are certainly interesting. Cocky Roy lets success go to his head and promises he will be “the best there ever was in the game.” In addition, he falls for Memo, a shallow, self-absorbed woman who wants nothing to do with him and with whom most readers will struggle to understand why he wastes his time. “The Judge,” owner of the Knights, abuses his power to corrupt the game. Max Mercy, a reporter, is out to dig up the “dirt” about Roy and works to expose the darker side of the “hero.” Even the fans are fickle, in love with the Knights when they are on a winning streak, but downright mean and nasty when they lose. Iris, Roy’s inspiration, is practically the only main character that seems to rise above the ugliness seen in the majority of the book’s other characters.

While this reviewer is not terribly well-versed in sports literature, I think it is safe to say that The Natural is not your typical sports book. Malamud fuses complex characters, mythology and baseball to create a story that is rich in its examination of human nature and the heroes we create.

Let the games begin!

The fun starts tomorrow with Wii… Read it… Wii… Play it… at the West Branch Library. Baseball, stories, poetry, trivia and video games… there’s a little something for everyone at this weekly event for ages 7 and up. This program will take place Tuesday’s from 3:30 to 4:30. For more information, call the West Branch at 978-535-3354.

Also up starting tomorrow at the Main Library is an exhibit on the History of Baseball in Peabody- “In Good Style.” For a sneak peak into this fun trip through local baseball history, check out our post from March 27th.

It’s shaping up to be an exciting season on the field and at the library!

Civil Rights Game to be played tonight

At 5pm tonight the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets will take part in one of baseball’s newest traditions: the Civil Rights Game. In only its second year, the preseason exhibition game celebrates the historic integration of the major leagues.

Tonight’s game will take place at AutoZone park in Memphis, Tennessee. The park sits just blocks from the National Civil Rights Museum.

Ken Williams, the White Sox General Manager said of the game, “Baseball’s history and tradition need to be remembered, celebrated and constantly re-evaluated by everyone connected with the game. The Civil Rights Game provides us all with an annual opportunity to do just that, and we look forward to playing in this year’s exhibition contest against the Mets.” To learn more about the game, check out the MBL’s website on the event.

2008 marks the 61st year since Jackie Robinson’s rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. To get into the spirit of the Civil Rights game, find out more about Robinson, race and baseball in American history. Check out the Library of Congress online collection or stop by the library for one of these books:

Race and Baseball:

First class citizenship : the civil rights letters of Jackie Robinson by Jackie Robinson

Shut out : a story of race and baseball in Boston by Howard Bryant

Playing America’s game : baseball, Latinos, and the color line by Adrian Burgos

The forgotten players : the story of black baseball in America by Robert Gardner

Black diamond : the story of the Negro baseball leagues by Pat McKissack

Champions on the bench : the story of the Cannon Street YMCA All Stars by Carole Boston Weatherford

Biographies of great African-American baseball players:

Promises to keep : how Jackie Robinson changed America by Sharon Robinson

Satchel Paige : don’t look back by David Adler

First in the field : baseball hero Jackie Robinson by Derek Dingle

Opening day : the story of Jackie Robinson’s first season by Jonathan Eig

Teammates by Peter Golenblock

Sports great Kirby Puckett by Nathan Aaseng

A strong right arm : the story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson by Michelle Y. Green

Novels for kids and teens:

The bat boy & his violin by Gavin Curtis

Stumptown kid by Carol Gorman

Jackie and me : a baseball card adventure by Dan Gutman

Satch & me : a baseball card adventure by Dan Gutman

The journal of Biddy Owens, the Negro leagues by Walter Dean Myers

Safe at home by Sharon Robinson

For a book and movie combo, check out the book Finding Buck McHenry by Alfred Slote, which was made into the movie Finding Buck McHenry in 2001.

Adults won’t want to miss our community reading title Double play by Robert Parker.

Enjoy the game and happy reading!

“In Good Style”

Peabody Baseball Team of 1899

The rules for baseball have changed a lot over the years. But the excitement over the game is as high as ever.

In the 1850s, players used baseballs that were the size of golf balls and were filled with shot. Their bats looked more like broomsticks than what we know today. And the games. . .well, they weren’t exactly played like they are today.
In 1860, a game played between the South Danvers Bencia Club and the Lynn Outalanchets had 45 innings and a final score of 76 to 31. South Danvers (now Peabody) won that match. Unfortunately, the Civil War began soon after and 8 of the 12 men on the team joined the Army. Five were so severely wounded during battle that they were discharged due to their disabilities. And one, Charles Warner, was killed at the Battle of Fair Oakes in Virginia.

After the war, baseball fever heated up again. There were lots of great players during the 1870s and 1880s. One of the best was Sam King. He was so good, in fact, that in 1871 Harry Wright, who had just formed the Boston Red Stockings (later the Red Sox), asked Sam if he wanted to play for him. He did, but his parents’ didn’t agree. And Sam stayed in Peabody. That didn’t stop his playing, though.

He played for the Lynn Live Oaks, a semi-professional team. And in 1884, he was asked to play for another major league team, the Washington Nationals. He stayed in Peabody for the rest of his life, operating his real estate business from his home on Lowell Street. He died in 1922.

High Heat is a Homerun for Teen Sports Fans!

Shane Hunter’s life is pretty good. He lives in a nice home, goes to an exclusive private school and is the star pitcher on the baseball team. With amazing speed, however, his life unravels when his father is arrested for money laundering and commits suicide. Shane and his mother and sister are forced out of their home and Shane must start over at a new public school. Angry doesn’t begin to describe how Shane feels about loosing his home, his friends and his spot on the team. After being arrested for stealing beer, Shane comes in contact with baseball coach at his new school. He agrees to get back into the game, but can he deal with his anger before it ruins the one things he still has going for himself– a chance to pitch professional baseball?

Full of sports action and unpredictable twists and turns, High Heat, is a must read for all teen sports fans!

Double Play by Robert Parker

In 1947, Jackie Robinson breaks the major league color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Joseph Burke, a WWII veteran and Guadalcanal survivor is hired by Branch Rickey, the Dodger manager, to be Robinson’s bodyguard. Readers will “treasure Parker in a masterful recreation to a turbulent era that’s not only a gripping crime novel but also one of the most evocative baseball novels ever writtten.”

Read-a-likes might include titles by Robert Crais, Stephen Cannell and Raymond Chandler.

Baseball Japanese style…

This morning at 6am, the Red Sox opened the 2008 season in Japan and beat the Oakland A’s 6-5 in extra innings. What an exciting start to the season!

With both Okajim and Matsuzaka pitching for the Sox, the Land of the Rising Sun seems like a natural place for the defending World Champs to start their season. But long after (and long before) the Red Sox go home, Japan will remain a Land of Baseball fanatics.

Yakyu or besuboru, as baseball is known in Japan, is probably the most popular sport in the country. The game was first introduced to the Japanese during the Meiji Period (1867-1912). Horace Wilson, an American who taught history and English at Tokyo’s Kaisei Gakko introduced his students to the great game and baseball fever caught on quickly. By 1905, the Japanese were playing college baseball and in 1935 the game went professional.

Nowadays, there are two professional baseball leagues in Japan: the Central League and the Pacific League. Each league has six teams. 20 million fans annually attend games in Japan to cheer for their favorite teams, including the Nippon Ham Fighters and the Hiroshima Carp. And that’s not even including all the Japanese fans who proudly belong to Red Sox nation!

While the rules of baseball in Japan are similar to those in the USA, there are some uniquely Japanese traditions that take place in the stands. Check out this NESN video from Boston.com to see how Japanese fans cheer for their favorite teams.

If you’d like to learn more about the culture of Japanese baseball, pick up one of the great books out there. For a nonfiction read, try Slugging it out in Japan: An American major leaguer in the Tokyo outfield by Warren Cromartie. For a fictional take on the history of Japanese baseball, get Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz. This one will be a big hit with teen baseball fans.

Information taken from “Baseball in Japan” and “Take me out to the Besuburo Game.”

Let’s Play Ball!

It’s an exciting time of year for baseball fans! With the Red Sox opening the season in Japan tomorrow and the news that the World Series Champs will start the season without Curt Schilling or Josh Beckett, Boston sports fans have plenty to keep them on the edge of their seats.

To help celebrate the return of spring and baseball season, the Peabody Library is getting into the spirit of things with our Play by the Book program. Be sure to join the fun by coming to our special events, reading some great baseball books and checking out this blog regularly to learn more about America’s favorite pastime.