2024 the best baseball team in the world review
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(as of Nov 10, 2024 16:38:09 UTC - Details)
The riveting story of four men―Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige―whose improbable union on the Cleveland Indians in the late 1940s would shape the immediate postwar era of Major League Baseball and beyond.
In July 1947, not even three months after Jackie Robinson debuted on the Brooklyn Dodgers, snapping the color line that had segregated Major League Baseball, Larry Doby would follow in his footsteps on the Cleveland Indians. Though Doby, as the second Black player in the majors, would struggle during his first summer in Cleveland, his subsequent turnaround in 1948 from benchwarmer to superstar sparked one of the wildest and most meaningful seasons in baseball history.
In intimate, absorbing detail, Luke Epplin's Our Team traces the story of the integration of the Cleveland Indians and their quest for a World Series title through four key participants: Bill Veeck, an eccentric and visionary owner adept at exploding fireworks on and off the field; Larry Doby, a soft-spoken, hard-hitting pioneer whose major-league breakthrough shattered stereotypes that so much of white America held about Black ballplayers; Bob Feller, a pitching prodigy from the Iowa cornfields who set the template for the athlete as businessman; and Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher from the Negro Leagues whose belated entry into the majors whipped baseball fans across the country into a frenzy.
Together, as the backbone of a team that epitomized the postwar American spirit in all its hopes and contradictions, these four men would captivate the nation by storming to the World Series--all the while rewriting the rules of what was possible in sports.
Publisher : Flatiron Books (February 22, 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250266319
ISBN-13 : 978-1250266316
Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
Dimensions : 5.3 x 1.2 x 8.1 inches
Reviewer: Jeffrey
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wonderful, well written book
Review: This book is an amazing story of these four men and baseball in that era. Epplinâs writing is fantastic. Itâs a history book that reads like a novel. I had trouble putting it down. Canât wait for his next book. You will not be disappointed.
Reviewer: KC Bailey
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A simpler time that was no less complicated than today
Review: Mr. Epplin has shared a very intriguing story of four men and their paths to becoming World Series Champions in 1948. While it was two generations ahead of my time as an Indians fan, I do remember old Municipal Stadium. I had no idea of the true character of Bob Feller and I really did not know anything about Larry Doby. Bill Veeck and Satchel Paige were amazing men of exceptional characters. Fascinating. It was quick read. I typically do not read often, but this brings back memories of the books I used to read as a kid about the national pastime (of days gone by). Funny I recognized more names from this book than I do of today's major league. I recommend this for any true fan of the Indians.
Reviewer: Charles Ota Heller
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A fantastic book
Review: When I came to the United States in 1949 as a 13-year-old Czech refugee, I had never heard of the game of baseball. Less than a year after arriving, as I was learning the game, I came across the story of a young man whose story reminded me of my own. Larry Doby, a wonderful athlete from nearby Paterson, New Jersey, was a great hitter who was barred from the major leagues for one reason--he was Black. His story of being the subject of deprivation, disrespect, insults, and rejection resonated with me. Just as he suffered from American segregationists and their laws, I had suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Larry Doby became my idol--my hero. I wore his number 14 in high school, college, and even on a sports car I raced later in life. Jackie Robinson and the 1947 Dodgers have been celebrated and written about thousands of times. Unfortunately, the story of the second man to break through the barrier of major-league segregation, and the first in the American League, is not well known. As a friend of mine once asked: "Does anyone remember the name of the second person to fly across the Atlantic?"I've read a number of books and stories about the desegregation of the Cleveland Indians by owner Bill Veeck, but no one tells it better than Luke Epplin, the author of OUR TEAM. The book's tag line reads: "The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series that Changed Baseball." The four men are: Larry Doby and Satchel Paige--two Black men who were instrumental in bringing a World Series championship to Cleveland--and Bill Veeck and Bob Feller. Feller was, arguably, the greatest pitcher in the history of the game, but at the end of his career by the time Doby and Paige arrived. Bill Veeck was known as a great promoter. However, what stands out in Epplin's book is the fact that he was also a great humanitarian, one who nurtured Doby through difficult times and one who remained Larry's friend for life.I write about my own love and respect for, and eventual encounter with, Larry Doby in my memoir, NAME-DROPPINGS: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE FAMOUS AND NEAR FAMOUS. Epplin brings all the drama and strife of Doby's life and career to the pages of his wonderful book, OUR TEAM. I recommend it highly, even if you may not be a baseball fan.
Reviewer: ProfZeb
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Love Song of a Book for Baseball Fans
Review: I loved this book. Telling the story of the 1948 Cleveland Indians, the last time they won the pennant, by focusing on Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, Larry Doby and Satchel Paige is a brilliant idea. Veeck always makes for a good subject, Feller is worth understanding, Doby went through everything that Jackie Robinson faced since he integrated the American League and Satchel Paige is Satchel Paige. Great old baseball memories galore. The book is also a picture of post-was America. Cleveland was pulsing with energy. The writing is smooth and there are beaucoup footnotes if you are interested.
Reviewer: RTM
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Great Sports Read about an Important Time in Baseball History
Review: Author Luke Epplin takes the reader back in time to the Cleveland Indians magical 1948 season. This book focuses on primarily four people: offbeat and courageous team owner, Bill Veeck, two pioneering Black players, Larry Doby and Satchel Paige, and All-American hero Bob Feller. Veeck integrated the American League by signing Paige and Doby, and their backgrounds are given, along with interesting information about the Negro Baseball Leagues. Paige was an aging but legendary pitcher with 20 years of experience, while Doby was a young, unproven talent at the Major League level. Feller's abilities as baseball's premier fastball pitcher were declining. Veeck put together an unlikely combination of these and other players who would win games and fans throughout baseball. I highly recommend this book as both a fascinating "underdog" sports story, as well as an important statement about the early racial integration of baseball's American League.
Reviewer: Douglas R. Fouts
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: the Four Horsemen of 1948
Review: This book is excellent with its story of Bill Veeck and his entertaining brand of baseball in 1948, together with Doby, Feller and Satchel Paige. Veeck assembled the players and for one remarkable year, integrated the American League, and brought one of the greatest Negro League stars in to help win the pennant.
Reviewer: Richard F.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Best baseball book Iâve ever read ..
Review: âOur Teamâ is perhaps the best book about baseball I have ever read. The authorâs insight on the four Hall of Famers featured (Veeck, Paige, Feller, and Doby) was interesting to read, and brought me right into the story. I am a 77 year old Yankee fan, and a huge fan of Veeck, Paige and Doby. Veeck is a personal hero of mine, as Iâm also a highly driven leg amputee. Iâve met Larry Doby, and think Paige is likely one of the top 10 pitchers of all time. The story of the way black folks were treated (and continue to be treated) is so sad and awful.
Reviewer: CC
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Gift
Review: Recipient happy with the gift.
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: THIS BOOK WAS VERY WELL RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN
Customers say
Customers find the book amazing, entertaining, and wonderful. They praise the writing quality as well-written, smooth, and descriptive of professional baseball in the 1940s. Readers describe the stories as great, interesting, and masterful. They appreciate the research quality as well-researched and educational. Additionally, they say it brings back memories and adds a historic perspective.
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