Seasons in Hell

Rating:
Summary: Great premise; poor execution
Review: Being a life long Texas Rangers fan, through their ups and downs (and downs and downs and downs), I thought this book would be very interesting. It WAS interesting, but I found Shropshire's smart-aleck style of writing so annoying that I couldn't finish the book. Some of it was so smarmy and self-consciously 'witty' that I wanted to throw the book across the room. Many of the anecdotes ARE humorous, but not enough to make me recommend this book. The entire tone is like a smart-aleck sports article, which, of course, is what Shrop makes his living writing. I think part of the fault lies with the editor, because there are some good stories in here--Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog, etc. Parts of this would probably make a decent movie.

Rating:
Summary: not too good
Review: Even before the start of spring training, Herzog had said, 'If Rich Billings is the starting catcher again, we're in deep trouble.' When that evaluation was passed along to Billings, he simply nodded and said, 'Whitey, obviously, has seen me play.' -Mike Shropshire, Seasons in Hell

Despite some funny moments, the presence of many colorful characters, and several infamous incidents, Mike Shropshire's account of several tumultuous years of early Texas Rangers' history just isn't terribly good. Sure, it's fun to see Whitey Herzog, Billy Martin, Rico Carty, Lenny Randle, and company in action. Yeah, it's amusing to relive 10-cent beer night in Cleveland and heartbreaking to see Texas ownership throw David Clyde into the fire of major league competition at age eighteen, just to sell tickets. But much of the rest of the book is either juvenile or self-absorbed, or worst of all, inaccurate.

The main influence on Shropshire appears to have been Ball Four; he seems to think the fact that ballplayers (and coaches and sportswriters) drink, swear, and chase skirts, is both newsworthy and hilarious. He is mistaken. (Though there is one piece of scatological humor that nearly makes the rest worthwhile : the letters in the name "Spiro Agnew" can be rearranged to form the phrase "Grow a Penis") He also apparently thinks that his own life is as compelling as the misadventures of the team he was covering. He is mistaken. Finally, in recreating his thoughts, circa 1973, he summons up memories of Attention Deficit Disorder, Leslie Nielsen as a comic airline pilot, and Victoria's Secret Catalogues. If he thinks these things would have been known to him in those years, he is mistaken.

Particularly given the material he had to work with, this is a disappointing book.

GRADE : C-

Rating:
Summary: SEASONS IN HELL
Review: Have read this a couple of times & will go back to it again. From David Clyde as an 18-year-old in the majors, Rico Carty's "knees of a camel", terrorizing passengers when forced to fly coach, the anatomical excesses of Jim Bibby, Whitey, Billy & a cast of drunken, misfit players, coaches and, for that matter, writers, you will have trouble putting this one down. If you are easily embarrassed, don't read it in public - your snickering will attract attention.

Rating:
Summary: A really fun trip!
Review: I just completed this book yesterday, and I am really sorry that the book had to end. The author tells some really funny tales concerning a baseball team that is really more trivia to most people. One story concerning Jimmy Piersal and Schlitz Beer was so funny when I read it that I started laughing out loud on my train! Other humourous anecdotes involved Billy Martin's fights, and Whitey Herzog's suspicians that the Milwaukee Brewer's mascot was stealing his pitcher's signs! If you love baseball, you must read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Awesomely funny book. Ranger fan? You should read this.
Review: I wasn't quite sure what to think of this one either. I bought it because of the tagline on the front about it being funny. I admit to not knowing a whole lot about the very early years of the Rangers (I didn't move here until 1992, and didn't really follow 'em until 1995), and the thought about reading a book all about them didn't thrill me.

However, I quickly found out that this was a hysterically funny book. Mike Shrophsire has a very funny wit, and isn't afraid to let it fly when talking about the Rangers of this era. His recollection of events is awesome, and makes for very funny reading. If you're a fan of the Rangers, or even if you're not, GET THIS! It's a very great read, although I don't recommend it for very small kids, as there's more than just one or two cuss words in there. Still, for adults, it's well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Hell Must Be A Funny Place
Review: It always easy to write books about teams that are winners. It's a real challenge to write about teams that basically stink. Mike Shropshire had the unenviable task of covering a bad ballclub, the Texas Rangers, in the late 70's. Although the Rangers of that era are not the worst team in baseball history, they did challenge the Oakland A's for the division title in the '74 season, it's the way the owner ran the team and the overall indifference fans felt towards them that makes it hellish for Mr. Shropshire. He also had to sit through bad baseball in the middle of Texas summers, the heat alone probably made it fell like he was in his own personal hell. The best part of this book is Mr. Shropshire's tales of the Spring Training activites of the team and himself. They are extremely funny and Mr. Shorpshire delivers them with the right amount of self-deprication as to not seem above it all. It doesn't hurt his story that he got to cover two of the most interesting managers in baseball, Whitey Herzog and Billy Martin. The antedoces about them are a hysterical. Whitey, it seems, had a propensity for sitting around his office with no pants. We get this and other "useful" information about the team. All in all, Mr. Shropshire tells a funny tale about about a team that didn't necessarily know how to play good baseball but knew have to have a good time.

Rating:
Summary: Hitchikers Guide to Baseball
Review: Quite possibly one of the funniest books I've ever read. I would look forward to coming home to read this and then I read it again. Images of Texans being "beaten to death with their own six pack" and Whitey Herzog/Billy Martin stories killed me throughout. I'm certain Mr. Shropshire is embellishing a WEE bit in certain scenarios, but that's ok. This is the best baseball book I've ever read. Hilarious and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Baseball and Gonzo meet
Review: Seasons in hell is ,by far the most entertaining and funny sports book I have evr read. Hey, its one of the funniest books I have ever read,period. It chronicles the first 2 seasons of the Texas Rangers[before they were owned by the current president]in hilarious,psychotic scattershot prose and anecdotes. From whitey herzogs opening assessment of his Team"we are 2 players short from contending...Babe Ruth and Sandy Koufax",to Willie Davis' brief hilarious exit,form the all night parties to Bob Shorts attempts to draw fans,this is one funny funny book.It is the beginning of an era,free agency is just around the corner,the money is not yet obscene. The ballplayers still have not lost touch with reality,and that makes this so much more enjoyable. Seriously,search for this book. It is well worth it.Raucous,howlingly funny.

Rating:
Summary: The Texas Strangers
Review: The Texas Strangers--that's what the Lone Star State called the team in the 80s. And despite making the playoffs a couple of times recently (only to be swept by the Yankees), the team's legacy of frustration, futility, and fumbling continues to this day. What _Seasons_in_Hell_ succeeds in doing is reminding everyone old enough to remember just how much progress the Rangers have made.

Once you accept how bad the Rangers were, this book becomes delightful, and in some cases, laugh-out-loud funny. Hearing Whitey Herzog's evaluations of his charges are hilarious; Shropshire's account of Ten Cent Beer Night in Cleveland should be required reading for any student of the game. This book is not literature, but is a first hand look at the underbelly of the game of baseball as played by the underdogs--sort of like a cross between Ball Four and Hunter S. Thompson.

A perfect introduction to the "culture" of baseball.

Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud funny
Review: This book is the funniest sports book Ihave ever read, bar none. It's filled with witty anecdotes and really goes behind the scenes in a way few other sports books do. Shropshire shows how listless Whitey Herzog became while managing the team. The way he writes, you almost feel like you're there with Shropshire, getting drunk before having to write about another Rangers loss. I would recommend this to all people, not just sports fans.