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The 34-Ton Bat: The Story of Baseball as Told Through Bobbleheads, Cracker Jacks, Jockstraps, Eye Black, and 375 Other Strange and Unforgettable Objects
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About The 34-Ton Bat: The Story Of Baseball As Told
Product Description An unorthodox history of baseball told through the enthralling stories of the game's objects, equipment, and characters. No sport embraces its wild history quite like baseball, especially in memorabilia and objects. Sure, there are baseball cards and team pennants. But there are also huge balls, giant bats, peanuts, cracker jacks, eyeblack, and more, each with a backstory you have to read to believe. In The 34-Ton Bat, Sports Illustrated writer Steve Rushin tells the real, unvarnished story of baseball through the lens of all the things that make it the game that it is. Rushin weaves these rich stories -- from ballpark pipe organs played by malevolent organists to backed up toilets at Ebbets Field -- together in their order of importance (from most to least) for an entertaining and compulsive read, glowing with a deep passion for America's Pastime. The perfect holiday gift for casual fans and serious collectors alike, The 34-Ton Bat is a true heavy hitter. From Publishers Weekly Rushin, a longtime acclaimed writer for Sports Illustrated, chronicles the history of baseball through the items used by players (baseball bats, sanitary socks), enjoyed by fans (beer and hot dogs), and sported by both (baseball caps). A lot of the fun in Rushin's exhaustively researched, very readable history comes from learning about the people behind the innovations. The Dodgers' advertising v-p Danny Goodman, who made popular souvenirs such as the bobblehead to baseball, saw the stadium crowd as a captive audience willing to buy anything, from underpants to aprons. Foolproof Taylor spent years unsuccessfully promoting his protective cups and helmets. His sales method? Skeptics would kick Taylor, who thankfully was wearing his fortified handiwork, in the groin or smash him in the head with a bat. Baseball merchandise, which has long been an important part of the game, was until recently generally dismissed by players and sports writers alike. Players once scoffed at sunglasses and baseball gloves, which makes sense considering how many of them endured day games in broiling flannel uniforms. Rushin's exuberant prose describes the continuous evolution of baseball paraphernalia. 40 b&w photos. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM. (Oct.) From Booklist *Starred Review* Jimmy and Ralph “Buzz” Boyle are author Rushin’s grandfather and great uncle, respectively. Buzz played three seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, while Jimmy got into one game for one inning for the New York Giants. When Rushin, the 2005 National Sportswriter of the Year, inherited Jimmy’s glove, a passionate and eclectic exploration of baseball ephemera was launched. Rushin approaches his passion with a mischievous gleam in his eye, a point of view captured perfectly in this anecdote-filled account of the sport’s odd corners. He covers the evolution of the baseball glove, from a less-than-manly novelty in the game’s earliest days to its current status as standard equipment. We also learn that the first protective baseball headgear was inflatable. The prototype was dismissed more on the basis of vanity than utility: it looked stupid. Male readers will grimace their way through the development of the “cup.” Lots of painful injuries, especially to catchers, preceded the initial research by a catcher known as Foulproof Taylor. There’s a chapter on the rowdy reintroduction of beer to ballparks after Prohibition, and organ music to serenade patrons on their way out of the park after games. Of course, the organ music has given way to prerecorded rock music; reliever Trevor Hoffman began the tradition by having AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” played when he entered a game. In an era of sports literature when societal significance and statistical algorithms aren’t always as fun as we’d hoped, Rushin has reintroduced readers to silliness. Read it with a smile. --Wes Lukowsky Review One of ESPN's Best in Baseball Books of 2013 "THE 34-TON BAT tells a history of baseball through its equipme
