Off the Record

by Buzzie Bavasi and Eden O'Neill

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809248859
• ISBN13: 9780809248858
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.

Customer Reviews

REALLY GOOD

WHAT A PLEASURE IT WAS TO READ THIS BOOK BY BUZZIE BAVASI, FORMER GM FOR THE DODGERS. I LEARNED ALOT ABOUT HOW THE GAME WAS BACK IN THE 1940'S 50'S AND SO ON. BUZZIE HAS SOME GREAT STORIES AND OPINIONS ABOUT THE GAME NOW AND BACK IN THE DAY. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS REFRESHING LOOK ON HOW THE GAME HAS CHANGED IN THOSE 40 YEARS (FOR THE WORSE) BUZZIE MAKES SOME VERY GOOD INSIGHTS ON CONTRACTS, HALL OF FAME VOTING AND CHAGES HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. INSIDE ARE SOME NICE PHOTOS OF MANY FORMER DODGERS ESPECIALLY OF THE 1955 WORLD CHAMPS AND OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. ALL IN ALL THIS IS A GREAT BOOK FOR ALL DODGER AND NOSTALGIC BASEBALL FANS. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS.

A recapitulation of a baseball executive who saw the game change from a small to a very big business

Emil Joseph "Buzzie" Bavasi was a longtime executive in baseball from the minor leagues up to the majors. He is best known for his time in the Dodgers organization, he was part of the integration of major league baseball and the move of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to the west coast. From 1951 until 1968, he was the general manager of the Dodgers, after which he resigned to become the GM of the expansion San Diego Padres. In 1978, he was hired to be the GM of the Los Angeles Angels, a position that he retired from in 1984. All of his years at the head of an organization have given him a great deal of memories, some of which he has put down in this book. While Bavasi laments many of the changes in the game, he does not blame the players for the changed salary structure. What criticisms he voices are largely reserved for the owners, for he believes that it is the absurd and competitive hobby business nature of the owners that is causing the salaries to rise so quickly. Bavasi does spend some time criticizing players; the one he is most vocal about was Fred Lynn. He concedes that Lynn had tremendous talent; his conclusion is that Lynn is a slacker who will miss a game for even the slightest of reasons. Like nearly all of the old-timers of the game, he thinks that the players in general had more drive to succeed in the earlier years than they do now. He compares modern players to those on the '55 Dodger team, often talking about how fiercely they wanted to win and the passion they had for the game. There are no great revelations about the inside functioning of baseball in this book. In general, the impression is that Bavasi is a decent and honorable businessman who just happened to spend his working years running a baseball team.

Timeless Hidden Gem

Buzzie Bavasi, a real character, captures baseball behind the scenes and offers terrific insights as to how the game has changed and how it didn't have to if the right decisions had been made along the way. The ending, which I won't spoil for anybody, is particularly amusing.