Sunday, May 24, 2009
A. Bartlett Giamatti
I've been reading "The Summer of '49" by David Halberstam (which I highly recommend, by the way), and he uses a quote from former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, that made me go out and read the whole article. I'm sure some of you have read this already, but even if you have, it's worth a reread. Giamatti clearly had a love and understanding for the game, and it's a shame that he had such a short time as commissioner. He's a far cry from Bud Selig, which is most certainly a good thing.
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3 comments:
Another great quote from Giamatti, showing he understood the importance of baseball beyond a source of profits for the owners.
"On matters of race, on matters of decency, baseball should lead the way."
For those that don't have the time to read the entire article, the lead paragraph is some of the best baseball writing I've ever read:
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops."
For some other great baseball writing, check out John Updike's article about Ted Williams' final game. I sent it out to a few of you when Updike died in January, but if you haven't read it it is well worth your time.
great book.
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