Guidry

Rating:
Summary: a down-home Louisiana boy makes good as a pitcher
Review: A really simple, easy-to-read account of Ron Guidry's rise from Louisiana to a star pitcher for the New York Yankees. It even has some terriffic Cajun recipes as prepared by Ron's mother, grandmother, & mother-in-law.

Rating:
Summary: Low-key, poignant and genuinely funny
Review: Sometimes I feel cheated that my all-time favorite baseball player, New York Yankees' left-hander Ron Guidry, isn't still pitching today. I can only imagine the coverage he'd get via the Internet, discussion groups, the sports networks, the plethora of sports magazines, and so on. Yeah, it would be great. Oh well... Gator probably wouldn't have liked all that attention anyway.

"Guidry" was written in 1980 in collaboration with Peter Golenbeck and while it probably couldn't be called a great book, it is still a very well written book. From the humorous description of 7-year-old bystander Ronnie Guidry being chased by two baseball coaches after he easily fires a ball 250 feet back to home plate to his poignant and moving description of brotherly love in the chapter "The Brother I Always Wanted" I found "Guidry" to be a very worthwhile read. In fact, the aforementioned chapter may well bring tears to your eyes as it is quite a departure from the ordinary.

"Guidry" also focuses on Guidry's seemingly idyllic Cajun family upbringing, life in the minor leagues, his struggles to make the Yankees' roster once and for all, the storybook 1978 season and the tragic death of teammate Thurman Munson. There is also an interesting, often very funny chapter on Guidry's courtship of his wife.

Now, twenty four years' later, we find Guidry ensconced among New York Yankees immortals, his number 49 having been retired in 2003 and a plaque honoring him in Monument Park. Honestly, it really couldn't have happened to a nicer, more deserving guy. And you won't often find a nicer read than "Guidry."