The Long Season: The Classic Inside Account of a Baseball Year, 1959

By James Brosnan and Jim Brosnan

Book Overview

One of the best baseball books ever written. It is probably one of the best American diaries as well. --New York Times

A timeless classic from baseball's golden era, legendary pitcher Jim Brosnan's witty and candid chronicle of the 1959 Major League Baseball season, which set the standard for all sports memoirs to follow.

The Long Season was a revelation when it was first published in 1960. Here is an insider's perspective on America's national pastime that is funny, honest, and above all, real. The man behind this fascinating account of baseball and its players was not a sportswriter but a self-proclaimed average ballplayer--a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Called Professor by his teammates and Meat by his wife, Jim Brosnan turned out to be the ideal guide to the behind-the-scenes world of professional baseball with his keen observations, sharp wit, and clear-eyed candor.

His player's diary takes readers on the mound and on the road; inside the clubhouse and most enjoyably inside his own head. While solving age-old questions like Why can't pitchers hit? and what makes for the best chewing tobacco, Brosnan captures the game-to-game daily experiences of an ordinary season, unapologetically, the way I saw it--from sweating it out in spring training to blowing the opening game to a mid-season trade to the Cincinnati Reds.

In The Long Season, Brosnan reveals, like no other sportswriter before him, the human side of professional ballplayers and has forever preserved not only a season, but a uniquely American experience.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006266705X
• ISBN13: 9780062667052
• Release Date: July 2017
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

An excellent book, not a stone left unturned

While Brosnan ruffled some feathers with this book, it isn't anywhere near as controversial or raunchy as Jim Bouton's "Ball Four." Brosnan does mention his difficult contract negotiation, but it's not as bitter as Bouton discussing contracts. Brosnan has an elephant-like memory for conversations and the batting history of every hitter he faces. You get to see every aspect of a game, from the pitchers discussing how to pitch to a batter to who's got the best pitch to the manager's pep talks before the game. Brosnan has an excellent grasp of the language and even perplexes some of his not as scholarly teammates with some of his words. Overall, a great read from a talented pitcher and author. I look forward to reading "Pennant Race."

Brosnan's book- Benign Ball Four Before Ball Four

I really enjoyed this book, which is a milder, tamer, less controversial book written 10 years before Jim Bouton's Ball Four. Both books are written by good, but not great relief pitchers named Jim. Both are written in diary form while the pitchers toil for less than stellar teams. Funny, and at times irreverent, Brosnan's book is worth the time to read! Teaser: I love the nickname Brosnan's wife gave him. :-)

The First Of The Real Sports Journalists

I first read Mr. Brosnans book in the year it was published. My opinion of it has not changed in the last (could it be true) almost half a century. In "Long Season" Mr. Brosnan gives us what seems to be a very believable and accurate account of what major league baseball was like in the almost now forgotten days of the mid twentieth century. As a pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, Mr. Brosnan (I cant bring myself to call him Jim) gives what is a humorous and thoughtful insight what it is like to be a non-marquee player on teams that were quite frankly, less than steller. The Book, which is written in diary form, is an easy read. It flows from start to finish in a very readable manner. Mr. Brosnan has the talent to make everyone of his teamates and coaches come alive. As the reader, you feel that you are sitting in a bar, sipping on an adult beverage and listening to the author tell you of his everyday life in a now forgotten world of professional sports.I guarantee you will become a fan of bullpen pitchers and oversized, bespeckled and hard-throwing righthanders within the first 10 pages.My recomendation, is for you to grab this book and its sequal Pennant Race" before any other basebll books that are available anywhere. You wont be sorry, and once you have read it, you will be sucked into the history of baseball totally.

Gentlemanly, Irreverent, Serious,

This insightful diary by pitcher Jim Brosnan recounts his struggles on the mound for the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. Jocks weren't supposed to write books, but this college-educated ballplayer (uncommon in the 1950's) wrote a very good one. Brosnan's mild irreverence annoyed the game's overseers in an era when ballplayers earned modest paychecks and rarely popped off. Older fans may enjoy reading about long-forgotten ballplayers playing in now-demolished ballparks like Forbes Field and Sportsmen's Park. Brosnan followed this book with "Pennant Race," a diary from the 1961 season. Some alledge that the Chicago White Sox tried to insert a clause in Brosnan's contract banning him from publishing anything, while others say he was blackballed from the game after 1963 for his writings. Readers may also enjoy "Ball Four," pitcher Jim Bouton's funny and more combative diary of the 1969 season.

an early, non-bitter version of Bouton's Ball Four

I read this and Brosnan's Pennant Race as a kid - a must for anybody growing up as a baseball fan in the late 50's, early 60's - the era of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, etc. - a daily journal of Brosnan's career as a reliever for the Cubs, Cards, and Reds all in one long season - 1959.