Why I Love Baseball

When he finally had the opportunity to personally interview legendary manager Leo Durocher, Larry was so happy that he kept the return phone call for twenty years, just so he could look at it and remember the day. Over his long and distinguished career he's had the opportunity to meet and interview such heroes as Casey Stengel, Jackie Robinson, and Ted Williams. Passion for the game has suffused his life. Even now, he revels in the Orioles and the Mets. Every reason to love baseball is laid out in this nostalgic book, as King gives an inside view to the trading cards, the scuffles the most classic plays, the labor disputes, and the personalities that pervade the sport. It is the only team game without a clock or a designated ending time. Larger-than-life personalities make up its history. Why I Love Baseball will appeal to anyone who recognizes baseball as America's favorite pastime.

King has loved baseball for as long as he can remember, and this ode to the game is truly a love song. You can hear the joy in the author's voice. In a time of serious national focus, Larry King's personal reminiscences and unique view of the impact of baseball is a welcome look at the modern history of the game.

This book is filled with anecdotes from King's life relating to baseball, involving his lifelong friend Herbie Cohen, the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Baltimore Orioles and their late owner Edward Bennett Williams, President George W. Bush, and many stars from the game. The book can be read by anyone who simply loves the game of baseball and is a great read for the summer.

One may not agree with every opinion and suggestion of King's, but one must respect his unremitting love for the game of baseball.


Larry King Discusses His Favorite Subject   April 23, 2004
It's a well known fact that Larry King has a special place in his heart for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and is now a fan of the Baltimore Orioles. Larry provides us with his sentimental reasons why he loves the game of baseball. I, along with him, share that devotion. Larry quotes former Cardinals' star Enos Slaughter as saying he deliberately spiked Jackie Robinson when running down to first base in Robinson's initial 1947 season. This is interesting since Slaughter has denied he deliberately did it in other books. King also mentions he believes the Jewish Hank Greenberg of the Tigers was deliberately walked during the final month of the season so he wouldn't break Babe Ruth's home run record. Numerous quotes from various players and managers in addition to anecdotes are provided that can be found in several other books. I did find a few mistakes in the book. The first cover of Sports Illustrated showing Eddie Matthews of the Milwaukee Braves batting was taken in County Stadium in Milwaukee, not in St. Louis as King mentions. Also, two of the lines from Terry Cashman's popular 1981 song, "Talkin' Baseball" are incorrect. The line "And Alexander's pitchin' baseballs in Washington" should read "And the Great Alexander is pitchin' again in Washington." The other line given incorrectly is "Seaver, Tommy John, and Vida Blue." It should read, "Seaver, Garvey, Schmidt, and Vida Blue." The final mistake I found involved Tigers' pitcher Bob Cain pitching to the midget Eddie Gaedel in August of 1951. The book reads "Bob Cain got down on his knees to throw the pitch. The catcher sprawled prone to catch the pitch." The photo of this at bat in other books shows Tigers' catcher Bob Swift on his knees to receive Cain's pitches to Gaedel. Cain did not pitch from his knees. Several pages of the book are devoted to baseball writer Tom Boswell's "99 Reasons Why Baseball Is Better than Football." King believes Pete Rose should be voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame but "not be let back in baseball again, certainly not to manage." King also discusses the labor problems in baseball, and believes each team should have a minimum payroll of $70 million and anything over $90 million should pay a tax. I don't disagree with Larry King's love of baseball; I share it. This is a very quick read book, and Larry provides several convincing reasons why baseball is the number one game in America. If you're looking for any in depth information on the game of baseball, Larry didn't write this book for you. You will have to look elsewhere.