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Seasons in Hell: With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and "The Worst Baseball Team in History"-The 1973-1975 Texas Rangers | 
 enlarge | Author: Mike Shropshire
Publisher: Bison Books
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $10.97
You Save: $6.98 (39%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 151162
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 245
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0803292775
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3576409764531
EAN: 9780803292772
ASIN: 0803292775
Publication Date: March 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
“Even before the start of spring training, Herzog had said, ‘If Rich Billings is the starting catcher again, we’re in deep trouble.’ When that evaluation was passed along to Billings, he simply nodded and said, ‘Whitey, obviously, has seen me play.’” In early 1973, gonzo sportswriter Mike Shropshire agreed to cover the Texas Rangers for the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, not realizing that the Rangers were arguably the worst team in baseball history. Seasons in Hell is a riotous, candid, irreverent behind-the-scenes account in the tradition of The Bronx Zoo and Ball Four, following the Texas Rangers from Whitey Herzog’s reign in 1973 through Billy Martin’s tumultuous tenure. Offering wonderful perspectives on dozens of unique (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) baseball personalities, Seasons in Hell recounts some of the most extreme characters ever to play the game and brings to life the no-holds-barred culture of major league baseball in the mid-seventies
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 This book flames out worse than David Clyde's career May 27, 2008
I'm a life long Rangers fan, but this book was weaker than I had hoped. I was hoping for a great read. It showed promise early, but then flamed out much like Ranger's rookie phenom David Clyde in 1973. Shropshire spends more time trying to be witty and failing than he does in writing well about these teams or their characters. In fact, the 1974 team had the Cy Young runner-up (Fergie Jenkins), the MVP (Jeff Burroughs), and the AL ROY (Mike Hargrove.) The club also finished in 2nd place. Only an old drunk like Shropshire could think of them as the worst team in baseball. Ultimately, Shropshire tries too hard and too often to be another Jim Bouton in Ball Four (he goes on and on about his drinking), but he strikes out. Phil Rogers's "The Impossible Takes A Little Longer" is a better book about the Texas Rangers and their history (both good and bad.)
 Wretched team, great book April 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Anyone who thinks baseball is the overly groomed, PR conscious, coddled player, outrageous money game we see today has missed the true glory days of the sport. Not that the Texas Rangers of 1973 through 1975 were anywhere near glorious....they were wretched. When the Washington Senators were sold down south and arrived in the old orange monstrosity that was home to the Texas Rangers, baseball fans in the metroplex thought they were in heaven. It only took a seson or two to disabuse them of this belief. I was in the stands at Arlington stadium nearly every home game.....not as a fan, as an employee. Mike Shropshire was along for the ride as a sportswriter for a local paper and was front row for the wreckage that was the early Rangers. Castoff players, oddball owners, pugnacious managers were all part of the scene. Back in the day, players weren't sequestered and standoffish, stadium staff often found them in the same watering holes we frequented after games. This is a hilarious look at the early days of the Rangers, the emergence of Billy Martin as their manager, the beginning and end of David Clyde and a cast of unbelievable players. It is a must-read for anyone who yearns for the "good old days" of the sport and who remembers the 70's.
A Home Run March 26, 2008
This is one of my all-time favorite basebal books. It hearkens back to a time of total irreverence, when athletes and managers did not have to watch every word leaving their mouths, and things were ostensibly off-the-record.
He chronicles the move from Washington, when the Senators became the Texas Rangers, from a boozy, loose jointed perspective of a beat writer covering an awful team in a steam room of a ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
There are some insightful revelations here, such as when the former vice-president, Spiro Agnew shows up, we can transcribe the letters of his name to spell "Grow a Penis".
Whitey Herzog comes off as a personal favorite, while managing the hapless team during the inaugural year. When asked by the writers about his starting pitcher Steve Hargan's control problems after a woeful start one evening, Whitey explains simply that his pitcher lost focus staring at the great set of tits in the front row behind the dugout.
The flavor of the book changes after the arrival of Billy Martin, but Martin had that effect almost everywhere he went.
The exploits of the sportswriters, alternately idle and drunk, are equally hilarious.
We will never get another major league baseball story like this again, and Schropshire has graced us with a baseball classic.
 Almost worth it for Whitey's quotes alone September 24, 2007
I happened to stumble upon this book while searching on Amazon. I'm glad I found this. The book ostensibly is about the 1973-1975 Rangers but most of the book is on the 1973 team, which was one of the worst teams in MLB history. Whitey Herzog, who managed the team for most of the '73 season, is a source of numerous great quotes in the book. While discussing a pitcher nearly throwing a no-hitter against the team, he says if anyone threw a no-no against the Rangers, "they oughta slap an asterisk on it." He discusses the plan for pitching phenom David Clyde, and wraps it up by saying, "then we're gonna bottle his sperm."
Speaking of Clyde, his sad saga is expounded upon in great detail here. Then-Rangers owner Bob Short, desperately looking for a way to fans into Arlington Stadium, rushed Clyde to the majors at the age of eighteen shortly after he was drafted. Clyde's career got off to a good start, but he soon faded and he was done in the majors by 24. In another attempt to get fans, Short dumped Herzog and replaced him with Billy Martin. Martin's story is all too familiar: Takes over a team, quickly snaps them into shape, almost as quickly wears out his welcome with the front office and his players, gets fired, lather, rinse, repeat. Amazingly, Martin took the Rangers who finished last in the AL West and went 57-105 in '73 to a second place finish and a 84-76 record in '74. However, both the Rangers' players and front office tired of his act and fired him in '75.
Shropshire's fantastic memory and biting sense of humor makes this an enjoyable read. The book's only drawback is the terrible editing job. Don Larsen's last name is misspelled "Larson." Even worse, Muhammad Ali's first name is mispelled "Mohammad." In the afterword, he refers to Aaron Sele as a left-hander. One problem: Sele is a right-hander. Despite these blunders, this is a fun, quick read. Recommended.
Laugh out loud funny July 30, 2007
I bought this book several years ago based on the recommendation of Don Imus on his morning show. It is laugh out loud funny. With comments from Whitey Herozg like "I've seen better knees on a camel" or "Our pitchers act like they're going to get the clap if they throw strikes." To the author getting input from Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin about his drinking too much. It will have you laughing like crazy.
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