|
The home run is the most dramatic way to send fans into fits of ecstasy or agony. With
one swing of the bat, a hero is born, either for the moment or for posterity.
Homer heaven can come on a single swing under spectacular circumstances, such as Bobby
Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world" against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951; a
season-long drive, like Mark McGwire's ascendancy to the single season home run crown; or
a lifetime of achievement, such as joining the elite 500-home run club.
Since the dinger, the tater, the bomb, and all the other euphemisms for a home run are so
exciting, it follows that some of the most compelling baseball writing concentrates on the
four-bagger. George Plimpton has amassed such a collection from some of the most famous
scribes --- and not just sports writers --- in the simply titled HOME RUN.
Among the non-sports literati are Bernard Malamud, John Updike, Garrison Keillor, and Don
DeLillo. The sportswriter team counts Red Smith, Roger Angell, and Grantland Rice among
its roster.
In that Babe Ruth set the standard for parking the pill on the other side of the fence, it
is only right that His Majesty leads the way. Keillor, Rice, Paul Gallico, and Robert
Creamer (giving us more detail about the slugger's personal life and habits than we
probably need to know) all herald various aspects of the Sultan of Swat.
Malamud wrote the improbable story of Roy Hobbs, an out-of-nowhere sensation with a
checkered past, in THE NATURAL. Taking a page from Ruthian lore, Hobbs must hit a homer in
order to help a critically sick kid recover. Keilor fantasizes about the retired yet still
awe-inspiring Ruth making a stopover in his small town. DeLillo, author of the acclaimed
UNDERWORLD, mixes fact and fancy as he remembers the aforementioned Thomson blast in
"Pafko at the Wall." Updike's nonfiction contribution is the oft-reprinted
"Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu," a storybook ending to Ted Williams's career.
From the sportswriters, we get Red Smith's take on Thomson's heroism in "Miracle of
Coogan's Bluff" and on the three consecutive World Series home runs off the bat of
Reggie Jackson. Roger Angell, senior sports editor for The New Yorker, covers the
tactile and mental experience of hitting one out of the park in "Homeric Tales."
And just so you know it's not always of question of what you do but how you do it, Rick
Reilly, a columnist for Sports Illustrated, offers a condensed history of running
the bases in style.
Other items in HOME RUN include Plimpton's description of the key figures in Hank Aaron's
coronation as the all-time home run king; Robert Peterson on Josh Gibson, the "Babe
Ruth of the Negro Leagues;" Sadaharu Oh's on life as the "Japanese Babe
Ruth;" Rick Telander on the demons that plagued Roger Maris in 1961, as he approached
Ruth's long-standing single-season of 60 home runs; Gregory Corso's poetic tribute to Ted
Williams; and Daniel Paisner's story of the fan who caught Mark McGwire's 70th home run in
1998.
HOME RUN delivers on its namesake: This is a marvelous array of compositions from
different angles --- humorous, serious and delirious --- on how losing a ball can make so
many so happy.
--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (ronk23@aol.com)
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
|
