Joy in Mudville : A Little League Memoir

Rating:
Summary: A Sinking Feeling
Review: Greg has done a super job of describing how I feel a father should be involved with his son's baseball team. As the founder/president of a 2 yr. old Little League program myself...I can't tell you enough of what a great job Greg did in putting youth baseball in the proper prospective, with a nice touch of humor. My 11 yr. old is now reading it and loves it too! Little League....it's just for the kids!

Rating:
Summary: It's Funny Because It's True
Review: Greg Mitchell's "Joy In Mudville" is a fantastic book. I think that anyone who picks it up will quickly become engaged in this John Feinsteinesque memoir about a season spent by a father coaching his son's little league team. But for anyone who has ever been involved with any type of city-league baseball, this book is a must because throughout the whole book, you will be laughing about how close to home it hits. This is true for coaches/parents of little leaguers, former players (like myself), and parents (the spectating variety) of the players. With each person that Mitchell desribed, I found myself realizing that there was the exact same person in one of the leagues in which I had played over the years. I am still trying to figure out if that is comforting or worrisome. Actually, if all parents were like Mr. Mitchell, little league would be a better environment for enjoyment, learning, and competition. (I guess there would also be many more great books in stores to read). Anyway, I guess that if parents and coaches were all normal, supportive, and appropriate, this book would not be nearly as enjoyable. So, read the other reviews if you want more details about the book. But trust me, if you have ever been involved in any way in little league baseball, pick up this book. Like me, you'll find yourself doing atypical things like writing glowing reviews and sending congratulatory e-mails to the author. It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: It's Funny Because It's True
Review: Greg Mitchell's "Joy In Mudville" is a fantastic book. I think that anyone who picks it up will quickly become engaged in this John Feinsteinesque memoir about a season spent by a father coaching his son's little league team. But for anyone who has ever been involved with any type of city-league baseball, this book is a must because throughout the whole book, you will be laughing about how close to home it hits. This is true for coaches/parents of little leaguers, former players (like myself), and parents (the spectating variety) of the players. With each person that Mitchell desribed, I found myself realizing that there was the exact same person in one of the leagues in which I had played over the years. I am still trying to figure out if that is comforting or worrisome. Actually, if all parents were like Mr. Mitchell, little league would be a better environment for enjoyment, learning, and competition. (I guess there would also be many more great books in stores to read). Anyway, I guess that if parents and coaches were all normal, supportive, and appropriate, this book would not be nearly as enjoyable. So, read the other reviews if you want more details about the book. But trust me, if you have ever been involved in any way in little league baseball, pick up this book. Like me, you'll find yourself doing atypical things like writing glowing reviews and sending congratulatory e-mails to the author. It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: Joy in Mudville: A Little League Memoir
Review: I am not a die hard baseball fan and I loved "Joy In Mudville". The story of Andy and the Aliens is a warm, funny, father/son book that chronicles the saga of Andy and his Dad/Coach in Little League Play. The book also documents why competitive sports have deviated from their interntion citing national examples of "fan rage". "Greenhorn" coach Mitchell has no coaching credentials but a tremendous love of the game that dates back to his roots in Niagara Falls, NY. The fledgling coach, however, is a quick study and is more than a mental match for the wily, "win at all costs" opposing coach Eddie Badger. The reader is taken into Mitchell's family as he describes how he converted wife Barbara, a football fan from Southeastern Ohio, into an avid baseball fan. The whole family gets into the act including Barbara's parents who fly in from the Buckeye state to support Greg, Andy, and the other "never say die" Aliens in the playoffs. Does Baseball redeem itself as a character building sport in today's virtual, internet world? You bet!.

Rating:
Summary: Baseball at Its Best
Review: Joy in Mudville is a terrific, terrific read! It is laugh-out-loud, you'll-read-parts-aloud-to-your-wife-or-friends funny. And a tender story about fathers and sons, and battling against the longest odds. To top it all off, Greg Mitchell really knows his baseball.

This book is not only a great read, it would make a great movie. In sum, "Joy in Mudville" has replaced my previous favorite,"Ball Four", as the best baseball book I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: A Sinking Feeling
Review: Much of Mudville was cute and fun, and the author/Little League manager clearly loves his son. But I had to wonder about the kids on the team who didn't get a lot of playing time -- they didn't get much book time either. I also thought that the author got a little too hung up on winning. The whole thing made me wish that the author, instead plotting out winning lineups and agonizing over pitching rotations, just would have rotated the kids through every position and given them equal playing time. But that would have been too...fair?