Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer's Search for the Soul of Baseball - Hardcover

Schmidt, Mike; Waggoner, Glen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060854995 ISBN 13: 9780060854997

Publisher: Harper, 2006

Synopsis

Between 1995, when Mike Schmidt was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the dawn of the recent "Steroid Era," when baseball's biggest names were as likely to appear before Congress as they were to play in the All-Star Game, our national pastime has devolved into a national punch line. Even though the past two years have witnessed the Red Sox' finally putting an end to the Curse of the Bambino and the White Sox' bringing a championship to the South Side of Chicago for the first time in eighty-seven years, the sad truth is that the 2005 and 2006 seasons may be remembered as much for the league's scandals and blockbuster free-agent signings as they are for historic accomplishments on the field. Something has gone horribly wrong with the game, and according to Schmidt, it's time to do something about it.

Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings. With bold and spirited counsel, Schmidt offers his own prescription for restoring integrity to the game and bringing baseball back, once and for all, to its rightful place.

More than just an old-timer's screed against the modern game, however, Clearing the Bases goes beyond the BALCO investigation and never-ending free-agent bonanzas that dominate the back pages. It also examines all that's right -- and what still needs work -- with our national pastime, including interleague play, expansion, and, most surprisingly, better all-around hitters.

Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a Hall of Famer's look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and how it can head back home.

About this title

About the Author:

Mike Schmidt is the greatest-hitting third baseman in the history of baseball. Named Player of the Decade for the 1980s by the Sporting News, he was selected to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999. He lives in Florida with his family.

Glen Waggoner, a founding editor of ESPN The Magazine, is the coauthor of Bobby Murcer’s New York Times bestselling autobiography A Yankee for Life, as well as the bestsellers My Life In & Out of the Rough with John Daly and Clearing the Bases with Mike Schmidt. Waggoner was one of the founding fathers of Rotisserie League Baseball, which sparked the fantasy sports movement in America.

From Booklist:

What would otherwise be a light narrative on life as a major leaguer--with opinions thrown in on various baseball issues of the day--is suddenly serious reading when the author is Mike Schmidt, a Hall-of-Fame third-baseman and one of the best to play the game. Although Schmidt backs off the statement he made on HBO last summer about steroid use--he would have used them, he said then, if they had been available when he played--readers of this volume will appreciate how Schmidt's drive to succeed might have led him to performance-enhancing drugs. Schmidt offers thoughtful opinions on home-run records broken in the steroid era (no asterisks, but view them with clarity), on Pete Rose (ban from managing, but admit into the Hall of Fame), on selecting players for the Hall (use a panel of Hall members for their seasoned input), and on the finer points of playing and managing the game. There are some good anecdotes on teammates, too. Recommended for its ongoing discussion of baseball's concerns and because it's Mike Schmidt doing the talking. Alan Moores
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060854995
• ISBN 13: 9780060854997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208