Glovemen

By George Sullivan

An introduction to the difficult and often-unappreciated role of baseball shortshops explains the high levels of skill that accompany seemingly easy plays and profiles twenty-seven of the game's top... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689319916
• ISBN13: 9780689319914
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Atheneum
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.5" x 0.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Yes, the "web gem" actually predates the birth of ESPN

The argument was made on "Sportscenter" the other night that home runs are okay, but that what really makes it to the Top 10 plays each night are web gems ever since Ozzie Smith brought acrobatic play to the shortstop position. It was noted that not only had outfield fences been pushed closer to home plate, but that the height of the fences had been lowered so that a Tori Hunter could jump up and snatch a home run away from some poor batter. Having written books on "Sluggers" and "Pitchers," author George Sullivan profiles twenty-seven of the greatest fielders of all time in "Glovemen." Following the same pattern as the companion volumes, Sullivan begins with left fielder Barry Bonds and works back to second baseman Nap Lajoie, who is actually described as being "most graceful" on his Cooperstown plaque. Of the twenty-seven baseball stars covered in this book 18 are currently in the Hall of Fame and Bonds will end up there as well. You will find within these pages that all of the positions on the baseball field are covered: Pitcher - Jim Abbott, Jim Kaat, and Bobby Shantz; Catcher - Johnny Bench and Roy Campanella; First Base - Don Mattingly, Keith Hernandez, Mickey Vernon, George Sisler, and Hal Chase; Second Base - Joe Morgan, Bill Mazeroski, and Nap Lajoie; Third Base - Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson, and Pie Traynor; Shortstop - Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, Marty Marion, and Honus Wagner; Left Field - Barry Bonds; Center Field - Kirby Puckett, Willie Mays, Richie Ashburn, Joe DiMaggio, and Tris Speaker; Right Field - Roberto Clemente. The imbalance of positions is because Sullivan profiles the 27 best, regardless of position, which is why there are five center fielders and only one each for the other two outfield positions.Sullivan's introduction talks about the critical but neglected importance of fielding in baseball, and trace both the development of gloves and the way in which statistical categories give insights into a player's fielding skills (such as the interesting idea of "fielding runs"). There are both color and black & white photographs of these great fielders, including a four shot look at Mays' catch of Vic Wertz's blast in the 1954 World Series. However the oddest shot would be of Mazeroski diving to his right for a line drive and not getting the ball, since if there is anybody in the Hall of Fame who is there primarily for his defensive skills that would be Maz. Most of the players are given two-page spreads, although Bench, Robinson, and Mays get four pages (but not Smith? Really?). The back of the book has Fielding Averages for each position and a list of Gold Glove award winners by each league. The latter are interesting to look over to see which all-time leaders are not included in this book (e.g., Ryne Sandberg's nine Gold Gloves at 2nd Base and Al Kaline's 10 in the outfield). But as Sullivan points out at the end of his introduction, the idea of "Glovemen" is not to state unarguable fact, since that takes a