"I hope that I have tied many of the wild and cheerful and
occasionally unpleasant stories to their proper place in the
chronology of Casey's days and nights." So says Creamer (Babe) in
an afterword here - and, indeed, though appropriately casual in
style, this biography of baseball's legendary player/manager is
almost stolid in its detailed, season-by-season account of Casey
Stengel's nearly 60 years of big-league activity. Stocky son of a
Kansas City insurance man, Charley Stengel was a weak student but a
strong athlete. At age 19, after playing amateur ball for money, he
signed with a minor-league team, the first of several; a lousy
fielder, he could hit, throw, and run fast. So, despite his
reputation as a clown, he was soon a Brooklyn Dodger - with a
spectacular rookie debut, a new nickname (from K.C.), a
skyrocketing salary, a few off-seasons (probably not, says Creamer,
due to VD), money wrangles with management. Traded away in 1918, he
languished in Pittsburgh and Philly - but was reborn, sort of, in
three years with the Giants: though over-the-hill he became the
hero of the '23 series; more important, he found a role-model in
manager John McGraw, learning how to teach, to motivate players.
So, when his playing career soon faded, Casey had the background to
start managing - from the minors to hopeless Brooklyn, from six
disheartening Boston years to the minors again, and then, at age
59. . . the Yankees. "It was as though he had done nothing. He
still had to prove himself." Joe DiMaggio was dubious. Mickey
Mantle resisted Casey's intense tutelage (like "an angry father and
a stubborn son"). Billy Martin was adoring, then felt betrayed. But
Casey's McGraw-style leadership won pennant after pennant - and a
personal celebrity he embraced with often-crass gusto. Creamer
doesn't play down the Stengel flaws (including alleged racism). He
balances the jokester-anecdotes with the emphasis on Stengel as
teacher/tactician. And, if neither deep enough nor spirited enough
to be home-run reading, this is a strong, straight line drive -
with the baseball history and play-by-play sometimes overshadowing
the Casey personality. (Kirkus Reviews)
One of the most endearing of American heroes, Casey Stengel guided
the New York Yankees to ten pennants in twelve seasons. Here is the
brilliant manager stripped naked--the person underneath all the
clowning, mugging, and double-talking.
Robert Creamer shows us Casey at twenty-two, famous from his
very first day in the big leagues. We see Casey's playing career
fall apart as he is traded, shunted to last-place teams, hampered
by injuries, considered finished--until he bats a glorious home run
in the 1923 World Series. Here are Casey's managing successes and
failures--dismissed by the Yankees, he returns to the limelight
with his new and inept New York Mets, the team he single-handedly
lifts into the nation's consciousness.
"I'm a man that's been up and down," Casey said in a serious
moment. Certainly his knack for bouncing back made him a legend in
our national pastime. Here are the stories and gags, the Stengelian
style, the full dimensions of the man.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
