cover image Don Baylor: Nothing But the Truth, a Baseball Life

Don Baylor: Nothing But the Truth, a Baseball Life

Don Baylor. St. Martin's Press, $18.95 (306pp) ISBN 978-0-312-02906-7

Baylor, one of the most respected figures in baseball, has played with six teams since 1970 and was named the American League's most valuable player in 1979. Assisted by Hartford Conn. Courant sportswriter Smith, he tells the story of his professional years with skill and the generosity of spirit that has made him so popular. He writes of his happy years at Baltimore under scrappy Earl Weaver, his years of frustration, triumph and then disappointment with Gene Autry's Angels. But his gentleness fails him when he talks about his two years with the Yankees under owner George Steinbrenner, whom he portrays as a meddler, and harried managers Billy Martin and Yogi Berra. He was warned that playing for the Bronx Bombers would be hell and he found it so. These particular chapters will almost certainly draw media attention in New York. Photos not seen by PW. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/ promo; author tour. (Apr.)