Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball

by Bob Costas

Book Overview

From his perspective as a journalist and a true fan, Bob Costas, NBC's award-winning broadcaster, shares his unflinching views on the forces that are diminishing the appeal of major league baseball... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767904656
• ISBN13: 9780767904650
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Read This Book, Bud Selig!

Bud Selig NEEDS to read this book. The owners NEED to read this book. The players and their union reps NEED to read this book. And all true fans of the game NEED to read this book.Bob Costas has become one of America's most trusted and admired sports commentators. He has earned this status by being informed about the games he telecasts from. He has HUGE encyclopedias of sports stats and factoids. God only knows how he gets some of the stats (ie: "Gary Sheffield bats .232 on artificial turf when it's raining outside, but get him outdoors and he slugs out an astonishing .406 when runners are on first and third.").--note: not an actual Bob Costas quote, but could be close. In any rate, "Fair Ball" is written by someone who loves the game of baseball in every facet. He wants change in the game--real change, not some tinkering around that only prolongs the inevitable. He has closely anlayzed the problems that have emerged since 1993 and, unlike some sports analysts, he has A PLAN. The plan is logical and it is direct in getting to the root of the problems and not merely tweeking it in spots. He argues for ways to implimate proper revenue-sharing, create a fair and better method for salary caps and "floors," and realignement. He hates the wild-card and gives up several pages in his reasons why it is blurring the distinction between baseball and other sports. He even makes his case eliminating the DH and integrating a more "global" representation to the game with worldwide scouting and drafts. In this short book, Mr. Costas manages to make a case for baseball...a "fan's case" that is. These ideas, though maybe never put into practice, will at the very least stir up the argument more. Perhaps during players negotiations and owners meetings, these ideas will gradually make their way to the table. Hopefully we will then have a game that will incorporate what was great about baseball in years past to what is great about the game today. Every one of Costas' ideas has strong evidence to support it. As always, he has done is homework. He stays focused and makes a strong case even addressing those that might criticize his plans as being radical and unrealistic. His ideas are radical, but only in that the changes that have already ocurred in prior years were equally radical--Mr. Costas is only trying to set things right before baseball is terribly harmed. Being a baseball cynic since the strike of '94, I doubt that the owners nor the players have the foresight to care about anything else except their immediate gains. I still love the game and always will. But, I will long for what it was in my youth and in my father's youth. And hope and pray that Mr. Costas will take a pay cut and someday become commissioner.

Costas For Commissioner

Bob Costas presents an intelligent, well reasoned, and objective analysis of the state of baseball. From revenue sharing and realignment to the barber shop debates over the DH, Pete Rose, and the size of the strike zone, Costas outlines a prescription to both revitalize the great American pasttime yet keep it in balance with its long tradition. Fans of the big market teams will find his pill hard to swallow; but having grown up around Kansas City and St. Louis baseball, it seems medication worth considering. Costas steps away from the passioned positions of owners and players to present a plan that will, in the long run, make The Game better. I highly recommend this short, readable book. You may not agree with Costas or like him, but anyone who respects baseball will find his ideas worth consideration. Hey, Bud Selig, are you out there?

Costas hits a home run

A clear, compelling argument for remedies to baseball's problems - from the big issues of revenue sharing and salary caps to the less consequential ones of league realignment and the DH rule. Costas illustrates when and how baseball went downhill, and describes a comprehensive plan to make things right again.Now if only we could get the owners and players union to agree...

Don't read it if you are a Yankee fan

I joked with my buddy earlier this year that I am going to stop rooting for the Yankees because I think the Yankees winning another World Series would be as much fun as winning a pickup game of softball in which you get to choose the eight other players you want first rather than alternating picks. After reading this book, I became even more disenchanted with the Yankees and the unlevel playing field that exists in MLB. What is great about this book is that Costas not only makes the case of what is wrong with the system but provides very rational solutions to improve it. I would love to hear Bud Selig's thoughts on why Costas' solutions shouldn't be implemented other than George Steinbrenner, Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner don't think it is a good idea.