"Casey At the Bat" is probably the most famous piece of baseball fiction that has been written. Del Jones, the author of The Cremation of Sam McGee, strikes again and does not strike out!-Gregory Lalire, editor of Wild West magazine and author of Our Frontier Pastime, 1804-1815. Thank the baseball gods that there is no clock to confine our National Pastime. Fans won't want this fascinating last at-bat to ever end. They delightfully expand in prose that time-honored verse. Jones tells us what happened before, during and afterward not only to Casey himself but also to Nellie Bly, the world-renowned reporter, and two masked men behind the plate, antiheroic umpire Walter Brewster and disguised catcher Grasshopper Nova. Anyone who has ever recited or listened to Ernest Thayer's 1888 poem will know the outcome. Outrageously wonderful! In the capable hands of Del Jones, Casey's legendary at-bat might be the longest and most riotous in baseball history, real or imagined. It could be read again and again - each time delivering something new. There are so many wonderful layers to this story. Del strikes a nice balance in the tone, with alternating moments of humor and heartbreak. I love how the umpire Walter Brewster is an "on the spectrum" character, lovable and pure, whose moral compass never waivers.
I love the fluidity of time in the story. The best of work of adult baseball fiction in a long time, Wild West magazine says: "Fans won't want this fascinating last at-bat ever to end.Īt the Bat: The Strikeout that Shamed America is filled with rich characters and a unique narrative of folklore. Really enjoyed seeing this story unfold.ĭel Leonard Jones, author of The Cremation of Sam McGee, is trailblazing a new flavor of historical novel built upon the beloved ballads that have withstood time.
As a longtime sports writer I love a creative journey through that sports/culture portal. What brought these folks together in Mudville in 1888 at baseball's dawn? What happened next, and ever after? Del Leonard Jones writes with clarity as he constructs the memorable players in a tale that covers some 70 years. This book expands on the legend of the Mighty Casey, the strikeout immortalized in baseball legend, and the interplay of so many involved people - the umpire, Casey, the groundbreaking journalist Nellie Bly. Doctorow's "historical" novels that blend fictional characters with known persons of a time to create a different reality. Larry Weisman, USA Today sports writer for 25 years, says: “I found myself thinking of E.L. Voted Goodreads #3 best baseball novel of all timeĪ sweeping historical novel set in the 1888 dawn of professional baseball when Blacks were banned, umpires were routinely beaten, and the game shifted from a collegial pastime of gentlemen to a nasty fight to the death by gritty Irish immigrants.
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