cover image Once a Bum, Always a Dodger: My Life in Baseball

Once a Bum, Always a Dodger: My Life in Baseball

Bob Verdi, Don Drysdale. St. Martin's Press, $18.95 (278pp) ISBN 978-0-312-03902-8

Drysdale joined the Dodgers in 1956, when most of the boys of summer were still on the team and ``Dem Bums'' were the pride of Flatbush. Although a California native, he was not pleased by the move to Los Angeles which necessitated playing baseball in a football stadium. But in the new ballpark, he and fellow pitcher Sandy Koufax helped make the team one of the strongest in the National League; he set a major league record (since eclipsed) for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Assisted by Verdi ( McMahon! ), the outspoken former pitcher, who is now a radio-TV commentator, admits to using brushback pitches and the spitball. Drysdale's observations on the contemporary game and its players are scathing. Photos not seen by PW. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo. (Mar.)