A Great Read

I vividly remember being home from college back in the early '70's, and after dinner I picked up Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" and settled in on the living room couch. The next time I moved other than to turn pages it was 6AM.

Now that's how I define a good book.

I usually do my personal reading just before I go to sleep. There is always a book or three next to my bed. Right now I've got "Strokes of Genius," an accounting of the great 2008 Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer. And I just also picked up "The Corporal Was a Pitcher," the story of Lou Brissie, who was severly wounded in WWII (the big one) but went on to have more than a cup of coffee in the Bigs.

I generally read for a few pages, and then give Sue and Max a break by shutting off the light. I can't remember ever again reading straight through to 6AM, but occasionally something touches me deep enough that I just can't put it down. I remember finishing Posnanski's "The Soul of Baseball" at about 3AM. Same with Michael Lewis' "The Blind Side." And a number of years ago I read Rick Reilly's hilarious "Missing Links" virtually straight through.

It's one of the great pleasures in life to enjoy the combination of great writing and great story that hypnotizes you. And there's always a little sadness when you finish it.

Last week I dragged into work dead tired for a couple of days because I had been up past 1AM on school nights reading S.L. Price's "The Heart of the Game." It is the twin stories of two baseball "lifers", Mike Coolbaugh and Tino Sanchez, men who had spent their professional lives in the minor leagues. Their lives intersected like a train crash when Sanchez, a veteran minor leaguer playing out the string, crushed a foul ball. An instant later the ball hit recently retired and now hitting and 1st base coach Coolbaugh in the head, killing him instantly. The lives of all of the Sanchez and Coolbaugh families changed forever in that instant.

It's more than a little dark. Price's depiction of the laborious rise of both players through the minors shows a system designed to create failure and frustration. So many talented players are never really given the proper opportunity. And yet playing professional team sports does allow these young men the chance to have relationships with teammates and coaches and scouts and others who devote their lives to the game that last a lifetime. Unfortunately for Coolbaugh, his was tragically short.

I've been reading a lot of great sports books over the past few years. Believe me, Price can write. You'll be crying before the end of page 3. If you love baseball, this one's a keeper.