Take me out to the ballgame

by Gary Morgenstein

Book Overview

Baseball and bailouts, as American as apple pie. Weaving today's economic malaise with the powerful magic of a Cinderella baseball team, Take Me Out to the Ballgame is a political baseball novel for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1448620503
• ISBN13: 9781448620500
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fellini, New York Style

Intrigue and triumph. Murder and passion. Baseball and broads.And lots of body-mind games. Gary is terrific. And this new novel tells us a lot about his magical writing. You could say Take Me To The Ballgame is Fellini revisited,Brooklyn-New York Style.

A fun read sure to entertain and make readers think

Baseball isn't the first thing one would associate with economic crisis. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is a story that blends America's pastime with America's current time - financial politics. The Buffalo Matadors were one of the worst teams in the league, but when an aspiring millionaire takes over, their fortunes reverse, and the tactics he used will seem oddly familiar to many readers. With a healthy dose of allegory and some not-so-allegory, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is a fun read sure to entertain and make readers think.

A baseball and political thriller set in today's financial crisis - Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Synopsis: Take Me Out to the Ballgame is an unusual thriller carefully combines baseball and politics with the pain of the current financial crisis. The Buffalo Matadors have not come close to a world championship in close to forty years, but their new owner, Harry Witowsky, is a self-made hardware store millionaire determined to turn the team around. With jobs down and mortgages failing, Harry believes that fans rely on baseball to escape their increasingly dire lives. Savoring the new and glamorous image of himself as owner of a baseball franchise, Harry and his exploitative marketing assistant Switzer, develop unorthodox ways to spur fan involvement and promote the Mats. On "Mortgage Day" Harry picks out one ticket holder and pays his mortgage for a full year. Mortgage Day wins fan loyalty while simultaneously triggering an Attorney General investigation. By undertaking to assume someone else's mortgage, the AG considers Harry to have illegally acted as a bank without a license. Egged on by Switzer, Harry stands firm the AG and covers the mortgage with his own money. Mortgage Day is public relations move that changes the Mats and Harry's life and it is just the start of increasingly fan oriented and risky promotional stunts. Add to this mix, aging sports reporter Eddie Olds. Eddie works with Harry and Switzer to encourage greater fan participation even as an uglier element starts to rise. It begins innocently enough, encouraging fans to become part of the action, "a tenth player", first by stopping foul balls from being caught. But with the ushers no longer policing liquor and unruly behavior in the stands, incendiary billboard slogans, and the unexpected chance of winning the pendant, things quickly escalate and everything changes. The Mats fans are hooligans like English soccer fans, but the self proclaimed Number One fan Cal stands out from the start. Insecure and a loser, the Mats had always been his grand passion. When the team suddenly becomes popular, Cal holds himself apart from the new "Where's My Bailout?" fans. Obsessed with the possibility of winning the championship, everything else recedes from Cal's life. Increasingly unstable and paranoid, Cal concocts ways to help the Mats reach their goal. Review: Take Me Out to the Ballgame is fast paced, absorbing, and funny. From those that see the danger in its early stages like the Mat's longtime manager Cy to Mickey, Cal's longtime friend and baseball buddy, each of the characters are complex and carefully developed. Each scene layers upon the next to push the action forward as the absurdity adds to the humor. I highly recommend this book. Publisher: CreateSpace (June 24, 2009), 290 pages. Review copy courtesy of the Author.

A Baseball Political Thriller

Morgenstein, Gary. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". CreateSpace, 2009. A Baseball Political Thriller Amos Lassen Just recently I have become both an avid Gary Morgenstein reader and an avid fan. His newest novel is a political thriller which revolves around the world of baseball and it will keep you riveted. This is a book for today as it weaves today's economic situation, politics and baseball together. The Buffalo Matadors are a dying franchise. They have not won a championship in 37 years. However things are about to change. Harry Witowsky, a self-made millionaire, buys the team and is set on bringing back the glory of the past. The team begins to pick up speed and with that opinions about them change and the games begin to sell out. There are new sexy cheerleaders, the Mattettes and the "door Mats" seem to be on their way to becoming a winning team again. Harry is determined to change the Mats from doormats to welcome mats. The crowds begin to return and the team is intent upon winning. Harry gets rid of some of the veteran plays and brings in new blood and the surge is underway. Of course, the upswing causes resentments but Witowsky holds on. His plan for "Mortgage Day" (a lucky fan can win mortgage payments for a year) gets him into a legal problem but he manages to emerge as a hero with other plans up his sleeve. Many begin to look to the team as a respite from the economic woes of the country. The recession has caused great fear but the Matadors help bring the country out of its feelings of loss and fear. Many still remember that the threat of terrorism still looms but the Matadors are there to ease the situation. Cal Fleisher is the number one fan of the team and he is willing to go whatever distance to show how much he cares. This is a story for today that is excellently crafted and beautifully written. It shows our love for baseball and for country and Morgenstein shows us how to once gain take pride in our country. It is a great summer read and makes you remember when baseball ruled and economic problems were not that serious.