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Summary
Summary
In his classic account of two years with the most audacious bush league ballclub ever to plumb the bottom of the pro sports barrel, Neal Karlen presents a dizzying collection of characters: co-owners comedian Bill Murray and sports impresario Mike Veeck; baseball's formerly winningest pitcher Jack Morris; outfielder Darryl Strawberry, on his way back to the majors; the back-rubbing Sister Rosalind; baseball's first woman player Ila Borders; frantic fans, a ball-carrying pig, a blind sportscaster, and a host of others. They all prove the credo of the Saints: Fun is Good. "Hilarious, insightful, touching, informative, Neal Karlen's baseball account delivers a world of vivid characters and ironic redemptions. Karlen is simply one of the best, most sophisticated, and literate practitioners of journalism we have. He goes out and gets the full story, while turning himself into a wonderfully self-mocking, truthful, and likable narrator. I loved every page of this book." --Phillip Lopate, author, essayist, and film critic "Two things make it great: characters and story line. The tale is rendered in hilarious fashion, mixing plenty of baseball with plenty of laughs." -- Rocky Mountain News "A fun-is-good book . . . [with] enough oddballs to make Alice's Adventures in Wonderland seem like a straightforward account of a schoolgirl's visit to a theme park." -- Sports Illustrated [this isn't from a review, must be from a column] "The funkiest team in baseball." -- The New York Times
Neal Karlen, who has written for the New York Times , Newsweek , and Rolling Stone , is the author or co-author of seven books, including Augie's Secrets from the Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Freelance writer Karlen tells the antic story of how, in order to get back in the good graces of his former boss, Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner, he agreed to spend a season covering the minor league St. Paul Saints. "Wenner made it clear to my beleaguered editor what he wanted done if I wanted back into Rolling Stone after a long stint as a prodigal: Bill Murray, a co-owner of the St. Paul Saints, and Darryl Strawberry, he of the notable rap sheet, had to be carved." But though he set out with the intention to write a hatchet job, Karlen was won over by Murray (who was hiding from fame), Strawberry (who was on his way back to the majors after drug and tax problems) and the Saints. His book is about how baseball can redeem the human spirit. In fact, just about everyone associated with the teamÄfrom owner Mike Veeck (son of the legendary baseball owner and showman Bill Veeck) to the author himselfÄfinds redemption. Karlen documents numerous team subplots (the travails of famous has-beens and anonymous hopefuls), comes across high-profile stories (e.g., those of former pro pitcher Jack Morris and Ila Borders, the first professional female pitcher) and re-creates a host of colorful characters, some charming (minor league fans), some despicable (TV and magazine people from the big cities). Readers not acquainted with the independent leagues will appreciate the portrayal of life on baseball's back roads. Unfortunately, Karlen reveals his own redemption within the first few pages, rendering later personal epiphanies anticlimactic. Plenty of rich anecdotes shine through the moralizing, but Karlen's entertaining book would have been even better had he trusted readers to draw their own conclusions about the beauty of baseball. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Bull Durham meets Meatballs in this raucous yet meaningful tale of a minor-league club with major-league characters. The book is set at Midway Stadium, home of the independent Northern League's St. Paul Saints, an outcast team stocked with outcasts like co-owners Mike Veeck (fired from the Show when his promo turned riot) , anti-Hollywood movie star Bill Murray, and Darryl Strawberry, the deadbeat dad and former cocaine abuser who was blackballed from pro ball. All these outsiders, including the author (who hates the poison-pen role he plays for Rolling Stone), are seeking redemption on the wrong side of the Twin Cities. Among the many minor characters who enliven this two-year saga are Bill Veeck (father of Mike and idol of Murray), the legendary and vilified baseball owner who hired a midget and brought in aged Minnie Minoso for comic relief; a ball boy who is a 300-pound pig; a blind announcer; a nun who massages Saints fans behind the third base line; pro ball's best female pitcher, "Dakota Sadie," who entertains Fargo fans at the scoreboard with a dance; a teamful of hopeful kids and disgruntled veterans; and Charysse Strawberry, the big-league wife whom all the groupies aspire to be. The team reaches success and then hits bottom, like the many engaging losers who gamble on some beer and a lover at the nearby tavern. Corporate ball be damned, says this classic in the mold of irreverent baseball books; having fun while playing the game counts more than winning. The author's own character is overplayed--only the thorniest of the Bush Leagues can justify all those quotes from Yeats, Joan Didion, and Murray's movies--but at least this assignment to the boonies saves his soul just as the Saints successfully launch the Straw to pinstripes. An anti-establishment book that captures the essence of America's true pastime. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Karlen is a hip freelance writer whose book began as an assignment from Rolling Stone to get the dirt on comedian and independent baseball league team owner Bill Murray. Karlen, a Minnesota native, soon tired of that assignment and fell in love with Murray's team, the St. Paul Saints, whose hilarious exploits and hijinks make up this book. During this time, the Saints gained national attention when they signed the drug-plagued slugger Darryl Strawberry and a budding new star, J.D. Drew. What made the Saints so special, however, was also their president and chief promoter, Mike Veeck, son of legendary Hall of Fame showman Bill Veeck. Young Veeck's hilarious promotional antics have included hiring the team's 300-pound pig mascot. Karlen's main theme is that it is here in the Northern League where real baseball can still be found. This book updates Stefan Fatsis's Wild and Outside: How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland (LJ 2/1/95), which chronicled the birth of the Northern League. Baseball connoisseurs will thoroughly enjoy this book. Recommended for larger libraries.ÄPaul M. Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
