cover image Some of My Best Friends Are Crazy: Baseball's Favorite Lunatic Goes in Search of His Peers

Some of My Best Friends Are Crazy: Baseball's Favorite Lunatic Goes in Search of His Peers

Jay Johnstone, Rick Talley. MacMillan Publishing Company, $18.95 (241pp) ISBN 978-0-02-559560-6

Following their previous joint efforts, Temporary Insanity and Over the Edge , ex-major league outfielder Johnston, now a radio broadcaster, and L.A. sports columnist Talley return to the diamond for another look at the flakier side of the game and come up with an uneven but generally entertaining effort. There are anecdotes about expected leaden pranks like hotfoots and cutting players' uniforms off at the knees, but there are also amusing bits of wit, like the tale of the manager who turned down a waiter's recommendation of snails because he preferred fast food, or the player with lexicographical pretensions who referred to an ambidextrous colleague as ``amphibious.'' There are serious elements, too, such as ratings of big league managers on criteria other than zaniness and a discussion of baseball collectibles. Photos not seen by PW. (June)