When it comes to baseball writings, there are few authors who inspire me more than Roger Angell. Every time I read one of his pieces, it makes me want to rush to my computer and write something about the game myself.
Alas, what I churn out looks like the work of an utter amateur when compared to him. To soothe myself, I remind myself that he has had many more years of covering the game of baseball than I do.
My Angell library is full of a lot of books that are no longer in print, but imagine my happiness when I found this book that contains many of the works from his previous books. A new generation of people can discover the way that Angell sees the subtlest nuances in this game.
I flipped through the pages, finding some of my favorites, including his work on the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and my New York Mets, titled "Not So, Boston." For those of you not up to speed on that, I'll recap: Game Six at Shea Stadium. Mets are down by two in the tenth inning with two outs, Boston being on the cusp of winning their first World Series. A passed ball misses hitting Mookie Wilson, who is batting for the Mets and skitters to the backstop, allowing Kevin Mitchell to score to tie the game. Then a wobbly ground ball to Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who takes his eye off the ball and has it go through his legs into right field, with Ray Knight scoring to win the game. Utter pandemonium at Shea Stadium, and also a sure way to start a fight to this day in Boston: "Hey, how about Game Six?"
The book starts with Angell's ode to baseball's box scores in Box Scores in a 1963 article and spans several decades, ending in the '90s. He writes with a sure voice and an eye for details that even the most ardent baseball fan might miss.
During the long offseason in the winter, I find myself reading Angell's books to help myself get through those times, and I think I'm tempted to go try another baseball essay. After all, it is another tenet of baseball and all other sports: practice makes perfect.
When it comes to baseball writings, there are few authors who inspire me more than Roger Angell. Every time I read one of his pieces, it makes me want to rush to my computer and write something about the game myself.