Did you think I was going to miss this month? No, no.
Title: Game Day
Published: Penguin Books, 1994
#
Pages: 296
Availability: seems to be out of print, but
Amazon has a few used for cheap
Author: Martin and Sean O’Malley
Who Are: a father-son team of journalists
(not specifically sportswriters)
What It's About: It’s a behind-the-scenes look at baseball at the SkyDome. The O’Malleys talk to the groundskeepers, the Jays’ executives, the sound guys, the roof guys, B.J. Birdy… everyone. Then they sum it all up with a look at Game 6 of the ’93 Series, including the contributions of all the different people involved in bringing baseball to the people.
Secret Hero: Well, the whole book is kind of a collection of secret heroes. That’s sort of the point of it. Then again, maybe the authors themselves are secret heroes: they fail to completely remove their personalities from the goings-on, and sometimes indulge in a little name-dropping. Or, if you want a player’s name, John Olerud.
How's The Writing? Quite good. Engaging. All sorts of stuff you never thought you cared two pins about seems interesting once the O’Malleys show it to us.
It’s a good book. If I was to rank all the books on the Blue Jays, which I’m not, I’d put this one in the top ten, no question. I’ve only read this book, what, three times now, but I know I’m going to be picking it up again eventually.
Sabremetric Corner: Not much worth mentioning, really; some stats are mentioned for trivia or for shorthand on a player’s performance, but this book is more about sharing glory than about analysis.
Anecdote: Oh, there are all kinds. The one about how nasty the fans are in Philly and Pittsburgh, for instance. Jesse Barfield displaying his historical perspective. The visiting Russian engineer insisting on a firsthand look at the roof. Pat Gillick’s eidetic memory. The Jumbotron guy, talking about getting people on camera who have something to hide: “Once we shot a guy talking into his cell phone and he ducked for cover the second he saw himself. We’ll never know what he was up to.”
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080629160608375