Hornsby Hit One Over My Head: A Fans' Oral History of Baseball

Boston Herald sports reporter Cataneo (Peanuts and Crackerjack) has made a contribution to baseball lore almost as significant as Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, the only difference being that here it is fans rather than players who live and breathe the spirit of the game. Cataneo's interviewees range in age from 94 to 17, bringing with them memories of the game as played in different eras. Yet everyone recalls their first impressions of a major-league ballpark: the greenness of the grass, the smell of hot dogs and cigars, the graceful near-giants taking batting practice. And all admit to being caught up in the mystique of the game and the romance and innocence they associated with it, but now find difficult to discern in the game of the 1990s. Their reflections are heartfelt and homespun; for example, one man admits he married his wife partly because ""she learned quickly and accurately to keep the scorecard."" A treat for diamond fans. (July)