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Summary: JUST A WONDERFUL BASEBALL BOOK BY THE FROMMERS
Review: "Ambitious, very interesting. The wonderful oral histories humazine the players so much."
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Summary: TERRIFIC ORAL HISTORY!/ Sports Biz/
Review: "Harvey Frommer, who has written 'a million baseball books' and his son Frederic, who has written his first one, have written the oral history - - GROWING UP BASEBALL. I enjoyed it. The book underscores the old Roy Campanella quote: 'To play this game, you've got to have a lot of little boy in you.'
If you love the game of baseball, pick up this book, GROWING UP BASEBALL. " .
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Summary: GRAND SLAM BASEBALL ORAL HISTORY FROM THE FROMMERS
Review: ********************************************
The title and premise intrigued me. A series of mini-bios told in the first person by men who had actually made it to the "Big Leagues". I was looking for an answer, into my own psyche perhaps as to why the game is so compelling. Why do I stay up late for Opening Day and to watch every possible minute of the World Series? Why is Opening Day for my home team so important that I consider it a national holiday and have not missed an opening day game most of my adult life, even traveling over 300 miles to be there.Why are celebrities like Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Kevin Kostner and Billy Crystal so obviously obsessed with the game. Even presidents are drawn to the game, our current president owned a team, Bill Clinton is said to be "bonkers about baseball". It is not just America that is taken with the game. The Japanese passion is well documented as well as Cuba and the Dominican Republic. I thought if I could hear in their own words what brought many major leaguers to the game I could find a commonality and understand why I am so gripped by the game. In Growing Up Baseball players from the past and present, ones who had afleeting time in the major leagues to ones who are icons- discuss their intimate childhood memories of the game. Players who grew up with and without TV and /or in areas where there was no access to major or minor league teams and areas where cities have several major league teams all have the same passion for the game. Chuck Stevens - Played three years for the St. Louis Browns. Grew up occasionally hearing games on the radio and reading ticker tape reports of World Series games. But spent 23 years in the Browns organization. Scott Brosius - NY Yankees third baseman, knew he wanted to be a major leaguer from age three, but never saw a major league game until he was drafted by the Oakland A's at 22-years old. Jose Cardenal -Native of Cuba whose whole family's life was devoted to baseball. His father played, his older brother played for the Army League, his cousin is Bert "Campy" Campaneris and his sister was the only female official scorer in Cuba. Signed by the Giants but couldn't get very much playing time due to the existing outfield of Mays, McCovey and the Alou brothers, was later traded and played 18 years in the majors. The stories recount tales of parents who encouraged, parents who discouraged. Idols who became mentors. Boys who became men. While Growing Up Baseball was not able to give me insight into my own obsession it does give intimate details and takes a peak into the childhood of majors leaguers who we love so much and always wanted to be.
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Summary: FIRST thorough oral history of the 'growing up' years
Review: ***********Noted oral historian Harvey Frommer joins his son Frederic in collecting interviews and published commentary together with photos to create the first thorough oral history of the 'growing up' years of baseball's greatest heroes.*********************
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Summary: QUICK AND SATISFYING READ- Santa Cruz Sentinel
Review: A new book is out that takes an original approach to baseball. "Growing up baseball, an oral history," lets players tell their stories in their own words. Among those who write about their childhood baseball memories: Mark Grace, Bob Feller, Dom DiMaggio, Sam McDowell, Don Larsen and Mike Scioscia, manager of the Anaheim Angels, who vanquished the Giants in the World Series. By Harvey and Frederic Frommer, the book is a quick and satisfying read about the innocent youth of baseball stars.
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Summary: FOR THE TRUE BASEBALL FAN
Review: Before these major leaguers were raking in the millions, they were just kids playing ball wherever they could find some space -- in the street, in a field, by the side of the house. In their own words, you read their stories of childhood baseball innocence. An excellent, insightful read, including some of the biggest names in baseball.
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Summary: ORAL HISTORY, RICH AND VARIED
Review: Contains a rich & varied montage of memories from baseball players & fans across generations & cultures.
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Summary: GREAT STORIES, EXCITING READING/ SPEAKING OF SPORTS
Review: From the very prolific writer Harvey Frommer and his son Frderic comes 241 pages of exciting reading. This story of how some 67 major league players got started captures the heart of the artichoke of how players feel. The book is great reading, one that you can pick up at any time - filled with great stories of the growing of years,told in an oral history format by such as Dom DiMaggio, Jim Palmer, Nolan Ryan, Keith Hernandez,Bob Feller and lesser known but no less eloquent types. Very enjoyable!!
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Summary: TREMENDOUS BOOK BY THE FROMMERS!!
Review: Growing Up Baseball is the first oral history that reveals the dreams of a select few who actually made it to the major leagues. In their own words, players like Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller, "Sparky" Anderson, Jim Palmer, and Bob Tewksbury share their early memories of playing catch with their dads or baseball with their brothers in the neighborhood or on the farm. These experiences ignited the dream and indelibly shaped the futures of the sixty-nine players highlighted in this book authored by father and son, Harvey and Frederic Frommer. During their first-hand interviews, the authors discovered such interesting facts as:
•Dom DiMaggio polished his fielding skills playing catch with brother Joe on the steep hills of San Francisco
•Bob Feller was lucky to have a father who built him a complete baseball field in a pasture on their Des Moines, Iowa far m in 1930-the first "Field of Dreams."
•Keith Hernandez started at age five to catch and hit tennis balls thrown to him by his minor league infielder father.
•Monte Irvin played many years in the Negro Leagues until his dream of making it to the majors came true at age 51.
•Bob Tewksbury still has memories of wet baseballs from playing in the early spring snows of New Hampshire.
From baseball's greatest players to those less frequently remembered, the heart-warming stories in Growing Up Baseball are a reminder that there is a time in a player's career when everything seems possible.
Rating:
Summary: TREMENDOUS BOOK BY THE FROMMERS!!
Review: Growing Up Baseball is the first oral history that reveals the dreams of a select few who actually made it to the major leagues. In their own words, players like Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller, "Sparky" Anderson, Jim Palmer, and Bob Tewksbury share their early memories of playing catch with their dads or baseball with their brothers in the neighborhood or on the farm. These experiences ignited the dream and indelibly shaped the futures of the sixty-nine players highlighted in this book authored by father and son, Harvey and Frederic Frommer. During their first-hand interviews, the authors discovered such interesting facts as:
• Dom DiMaggio polished his fielding skills playing catch with brother Joe on the steep hills of San Francisco
• Bob Feller was lucky to have a father who built him a complete baseball field in a pasture on their Des Moines, Iowa far m in 1930-the first "Field of Dreams."
• Keith Hernandez started at age five to catch and hit tennis balls thrown to him by his minor league infielder father.
• Monte Irvin played many years in the Negro Leagues until his dream of making it to the majors came true at age 51.
• Bob Tewksbury still has memories of wet baseballs from playing in the early spring snows of New Hampshire.
From baseball's greatest players to those less frequently remembered, the heart-warming stories in Growing Up Baseball are a reminder that there is a time in a player's career when everything seems possible.
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