Me and the Spitter;: An Autobiographical Confession

By Gaylord Perry

Book Overview

Saturday Review Press, 1974, First Edition! There are a few small rips on the dust jacket, the price is clipped, and there is some discoloration just on the first few pages (All Pictured). Otherwise,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0841502994
• ISBN13: 9780841502994
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Saturday Review Press
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

34 Years After it was Printed:It Seems Like Yesterday!

"Me and the Spitter" was written by Gaylord Perry in 1974, when he was at the pinnacle of his career. Gaylord was well known for throwing the "dipsy doodle" also known as the "spitball". Many of his detractors accused him of cheating, but since Perry hung up his cleats in 1983, baseball fans have seen everything from "corked bats" to steroids to get ahead. So was Gaylord cheating, or did he do what he had to do to survive? You, the fan, must be the judge. One wonders as they read this memoir if he ever even had a "spitter", as some fans suggest that this book was written as a psychological ploy, or a decoy. Perry knew opposing hitters would read this book, and there is the possibility that Perry had no more than a very good slider pitch. If hitters "thought" Perry, with his tricky antics of before throwing a pitch would touch various parts of his face, arms, ears, belt, e.g. all to make a hitter "think" the ball was doctored, he could psychologically beat the hitter before a pitch was even thrown. Umpires would follow his every move on the mound. Opposing batters would scream insults at him. Red Faber: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Spitball Pitcher Protesting managers would be tossed out of games because of him. WEAVER ON STRATEGY Rival teams would train cameras on him. However, this eventual Hall of Famer managed to pitch in the major leagues from 1962 to 1983 without ever being caught. Whether this book is trickery or not, Perry cheerfully confessed in "Me and the Spitter" who taught him the pitch, how it was done, and why no umpire could ever detect it. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 was because this book is only 222 pages, of which the first 100 are devoted to his childhood and his high school and minor league career. Perry kind of "whizzed" through his rise to fame, but when he went into his story, he hit hard with good, cold facts, and excellent stories. Perry early in the book explained that in 1964, while pitching for the San Francisco Giants, the team made a trade during spring training for pitcher Bob Shaw. Perry was a power pitcher, with only a curveball and fastball. Upon meeting Shaw, Perry commented: "I noticed right away that some of his pitches traveled to the plate in a very unnatural way. My eyes near popped from my head. I knew how Tom Edison felt when he discovered the electric light. Bob Shaw promptly became my idol. Shaw threw the illegal spitball, one of the best I've ever seen". After working with Shaw all spring, Perry undertook the following task: "I had to learn how to load it up, how big a load the ball would carry. Where to drop the load, how to grip the ball, how to release it, how to control it. And probably more important of all, how to hide it from four umpires, three coaches, a manager and 25 players on the field, as well as spying executives up in the box seats".Coming Back With The Spitball: A Pitcher's Romance (1914) The first time Perry used it in a major league game was on May 31, 19

The Hurler Who Saved Baseball In Cleveland

The autobiography of Gaylord Perry was published when he was winning games for the dreadful Cleveland teams in the 1970s. Perry was a fan favorite and basically the major gate attraction in the cavernous Cleveland Municipal Stadium. As an aside, I wonder what the fate of the club would have been without Perry. There were rumors abound that the franchise was destined to be sold to business interests in New Orleans due to fan apathy. The book is an honest look at his life on and off the field. There was a growing market for baseball books "written" by players during this era, with a focus on - of course - the New York Yankees. If you are interested in this period of baseball - and want to get away from the Bronx Zoo - then Me and the Spitter is your diamond gem.

A great book if you can get it

As a huge baseball fan and avid reader of sports books, I was a little skeptical about the quality of this book when I found it at an estate sale. I bought it anyway, and started reading it when I got home. I read the entire book that evening, and read it twice the following day. It is that hilariously funny, and very well written. I can't say enough good things about this book. Mr. Perry's description of his home life, and characterizations of the umpires he would become intimate with over the years are wonderful. This book rates as the best biography of a baseball player ever. Nowhere is humor and readability combined with the history and making of great ballplayers. Get this book and read it, and I should add, no baseball book I have read deserves another printing more than "Me and the Spitter".

AMONG THE BEST BASEBALL AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

Well written, moves along nicely, sounds like it really is Gaylord talking, and has lots of good material about the spitter. Written in mid-career. One very interesting tidbit is the story of his first time throwing the spitter in a major league game, because it's a game that many of us old-timers remember for a different reason: it was the 23-inning game in 1964 between the Giants and Mets, which I think was also the first-ever extra-inning game at Shea Stadium. I remember that I noted at the time what a great relief job Gaylord did -- he pitched the last 9 or 10 innings -- but of course we didn't know about the secret subplot. (The losing pitcher, a guy with a similar first name, Galen Cisco, also pitched the equivalent of a complete game and also did a great job.) Gaylord was then a marginal young pitcher on the verge of getting shipped out, and he had to do SOMETHING; I guess we'd have to say it worked. In the end portion of the book, he explains that he had stopped putting anything illegal on the ball and that he was able to get it to do the same tricks just by using his perspiration. But, of course, who really knows?