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THE BASEBALL HISTORY COMES ALIVE BLOG

Please note: As we compose new blog entries, we will now send each one out to all our subscribers as we post them. Here’s a link to see the entire Blog Archives -GL

Kevin Trusty’s New Book:

(Not Just) Another Ballgame, Stories from Baseball’s Past

It’s always exciting for us when one of our contributors comes out with a publication of his own. We’re always glad to give the book a nice “shout-out” along with as much exposure as we possibly can.

So I’m very happy to announce that Kevin Trusty has just published a new book, his third, titled: (Not Just) Another Ballgame, Stories from Baseball’s Past.

The book is a collection of essays Kevin has written and posted on his website, Radbourn’s Revenant. A nice little extra is that Kevin was kind enough to ask “Yours truly” to write the Foreword. I’ve read the entire collection Kevin has chosen for this book, and I can guarantee you that these are some of his best. This is baseball writing at its finest.

I have to say we’re all rather proud of Kevin. As I mention in the Foreward, Kevin, in my opinion, is well on his way to becoming one of the brightest young essayists on the American scene today. In addition, he possesses a great appreciation for baseball’s past.

So we wish Kevin a lot of luck with the new book. I thought it might help to give you a good “flavor” for the book by posting my Foreword, so here it is in its entirety:

Foreword

Kevin Trusty and I have had an interesting working relationship over the past few years. He had been an occasional guest contributor to my website, Baseball History Comes Alive, and what started as a professional correspondence soon grew into a friendship, due to some of our shared interests: Our love of the Chicago Cubs, our Illinois upbringing, and our enjoyment of reading and writing about baseball history, especially the Deadball Era.

Early on, I discovered Kevin possessed a well-developed appreciation for baseball’s glorious past which he always reflected in his writing. This is often hard to find among younger generations of fans.

Whenever Kevin sent me an essay, he never failed to come through with one that was well written, well researched, provocative, and quite often just a bit off the beaten path. Over time, I saw Kevin mature as a writer; and after reading these selections for his new book, (Not) Just Another Ballgame: Stories from Baseball’s Past, he’s now emerged, in my estimation, as one of the most talented young baseball essayists on the American scene today.

When Kevin asked me to write the Foreword to his new book, I quickly informed him that I’d be happy to do so. After all, as I told him, “we’re kindred spirits.” We’ve never been ones to accept baseball’s conventional wisdom. We’re skeptics in a way, not always satisfied with superficial explanations. And we’re not afraid to ask tough, thought-provoking questions.

This inherent skepticism was never more apparent than in our shared view of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Until I met Kevin, I often thought I was the only person on earth who felt there was a lot more to this sordid story waiting to be uncovered and told. I knew I had found a fellow traveler in Kevin. We both found the conventional Eight Men Out version of events to be unsatisfying. The basis for our shared skepticism is a story for another day, but suffice it to say we both felt there was a lot more here than met the eye. This excerpt from Kevin’s essay, The 1919 World Series: Did the White Sox Lose, or Did the Reds Win?” will give you an idea:

What makes deciphering the scandal such a mess (a century later or not), was that it was a mess in itself at the time.

Nobody will ever know the real truth because even the players themselves didn’t fully know – or didn’t want to know – what was going on. The Reds heard the rumors but shooed them off, and instead focused on winning games. For the White Sox, it was always unclear, even among the team, who was really trying to win and who wasn’t, and who may have been double-crossing who.

Imagine being in that clubhouse with all the uncertainty!

Those doubts alone would presumably cast major mental anguish on a ballplayer. How could they look their teammates in the eye? What could they say without sounding paranoid at best or like an untrusting rat at worst? Not to mention the constant barrage of questions from teammates, manager Kid Gleason, owner Charles Comiskey, reporters, and fans, which must have added to the distractions and intrateam discontent.

All of this likely impaired the White Sox’s ability to be mentally ready to play in the series. Sure, they managed to deal with their personal differences throughout the season and reach the World Series, but the discord was reaching critical mass by this point.

Individually, the “Clean Sox” players, plus guys like Jackson and Weaver – who were in on discussions of the fix, but their excellent play and stout denials of actual involvement indicated they were trying to win – must have gone through hell trying to play while unsure of their teammates’ real intentions.

Now that’s provocative!

And it’s also a nice sampling of what you can expect from this new collection of Kevin’s essays. You won’t necessarily find conventional views or conventional writing here. Kevin’s a free-thinker who’s not afraid to stir things up. Combine that approach with his engaging—and often quirky—writing style, and the fresh perspective he brings to historical events, and I can guarantee you it’ll make for entertaining baseball reading.

The essays cover some big, if overlooked events in baseball’s history, from the early days of the Dead Ball Era with Mathewson’s Monumental Marvel of 1905 to a special chapter about modern baseball and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship. Along the way, there are many entertaining stops, including the 1920’s with A Lucky Bounce or Three: Washington’s Wild 1924 World Series Win, and the 1940’s with The AAGBBL Turns on the Lights at Wrigley Field. And if you don’t think Kevin has the courage to reexamine events from the past, you will after you read, Ruth’s Mysterious Gambit: The Final Out of the 1926 World Series.

Previous, condensed versions of the selected essays have appeared with many others over the years on Kevin’s popular blog, Radbourn’s Revenant. These are some of his best.

If you enjoy reading about baseball’s past and having a little thought-provoking fun, you can’t do better than this book that’s in your hands. You won’t be disappointed.

Gary Livacari

Visit Kevin’s website: Radbourn’s Revenant

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