Johngy's Beat Reviews "A Game of Extremes"

Chicago IL

22 February, 2022

1:04 PM

Description

If you are a baseball fan, you surely have heard of Herb Washington, the designated runner for the Oakland A's in the mid-seventies. Do you know the mustache story though? As a baseball fan, you also know Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal and slightly spacey, but excellent Bill Lee were briefly teammates on the Red Sox. Do you know what advice Marichal gave Lee? Even non-baseball fans probably know of the Sports Illustrated April Fool's joke involving fictional Mets pitcher Sidd Finch, with a 168 mph fastball. Do you know of a highly touted prospect who was Finch-like? Washington, Marichal, Lee and Finch are well-known to baseball fans, but those side stories aren't common knowledge. Those stories, and many others, are now brought to life by author Roy Lingster in his new book A Game of Extremes: 25 Exceptional Baseball Stories. Photo courtesy of Roy Lingster. Lingster's book is 240 pages of interesting stories involving those players and others like Satchel Paige, Zack Greinke, Dock Ellis, Pud Galvin, Yogi Berra, Mark Fidrych and more. The title is a bit misleading though, because there really are far more than 25 stories in this book. There are 25 chapters, which start as stories about a player, but branch off into a few interesting side stories. At the end of each chapter are more notes relating to specific parts of the stories. Those notes alone are fascinating bits. Lingster has spent 25 years in baseball as a player and coach. He describes baseball as "a hobby that got out of hand." A military sports instructor, Lingster is also the author of The Baseball Player's Guide to Hitting Like a Pro. That first book actually led to A Game of Extremes: 25 Exceptional Baseball Stories. Lingster did not plan to write this type of book, but he found so many interesting stories in researching his first book. Actually, it was his girlfriend who saw all of his notes and said he should do something with them. Photo courtesy of Roy Lingster. Lingster did something great with them. This book is a quick, enjoyable read. It can also be a long read, to be savored one chapter at a time over many separate reading sessions. Either way, You will love this book. In keeping with Lingster's style, I will add my side note. Seeing as A Game of Extremes: 25 Exceptional Baseball Stories came out of Lingster writing his first book, I think another book (or more) is in Lingster's mind. At least, I hope so, because I want more. When I posed that possibility to Lingster, he responded, "It is a hobby for me...but I won't rule out writing more books." Which Hall of Fame batter reportedly was against home runs?Which player brought a potato into a game?Which player wanted 10 tons of guacamole included in his contract?Which pitcher being told he was promoted to the MLB team asked about returning to single A ball as a shortstop?Whose contract included a clause forbidding him from eating crackers in bed? If you won't know the answers, you will after reading A Game of Extremes: 25 Exceptional Baseball Stories. If you already now the answers, read A Game of Extremes: 25 Exceptional Baseball Stories anyway, because you will get extra tidbits that add to the stories. Go to the Roy Lingster page on Amazon to learn more about his books.