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Roger Kahn has spent a lifetime writing elegantly on the national pastime. THE BOYS OF SUMMER, originally released in 1972 and once again available on bookshelves, is required reading for Baby Boomer baseball fans (and their parents), as it recalls the storied Dodgers of Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, and company in the post-World War II years.
Kahn's newest offering is THE HEAD GAME, a look at baseball from the perspectives of some of the greatest pitchers of all time. It's part biography, part primer, part instructional. There's the necessary history lesson, explaining how different eras in the game forced changes in the philosophy of pitching, including the make-up of the ball itself (and the reasoning behind these changes), and less of the analysis of what pitch to throw in a given situation than some modern day fans might like.
The author writes primarily about athletes he saw during his years as a sportswriter for New York newspapers, such as Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, the outstanding Milwaukee Braves pitchers for whom the phrase "Spahn and Sain then pray for rain" was coined; Don Drysdale, the menacing Dodger righty who was never concerned about getting his opponents' uniforms dirty by knocking them down with close pitches; and Sandy Koufax, arguably the greatest southpaw in spikes.
The author also pays tribute to some of the early pitching pioneers from the 19th century, those roughhewn men whose behavior forced innkeepers throughout the country to post signs declaring "Ballplayers not welcome." Kahn gives nods of recognition to Cy Young and Christy Mathewson, two of the early 20th century pitching greats, and notes how much the art has changed over the past century.
Other baseball titles by Kahn include GOOD ENOUGH TO DREAM, his story of owning a minor league team; JOE AND MARILYN: A Memory of Love, about two of America's most popular icons, DiMaggio and Monroe; A SEASON IN THE SUN; MEMORIES OF SUMMER: When Baseball Was an Art, and Writing about It a Game; and PETE ROSE: My Story.
--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan
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