I know this will stun you, but I don’t explore a wide range of literature.
When it comes to anything of length, you can almost bet, if I read it, it’s sports related.
So be it.
Before I departed for the Dominican Republic this year, I popped into the Phoenix Bookstore and grabbed a variety of sports selections including ” Rocket Man “, by Rogers Clemens
Keep in mind, the Phoenix Bookstore deals in previously read material, so ” Rocket Man ” was written decades before the steroid controversy.
In fact, the bulk of the text deals with a terrific year for Clemens, and for baseball, the 1986 season, when Clemens was 14 & 0 out of the gate for the Red Sox and went to Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Mets.
Forgetting what followed Clemens to contemporary history, this, for me, was enjoyable reading.
Furthermore, forget Roger, what I found most fascinating was the role his brother, Randy, played in what would almost be considered pre-technology.
In 1986 Randy Clemens used radio, newspapers & new fangled satellite TV to track the American League for his brother.
He had relatives in Ohio tape the Indians games, relatives in Illinois follow the White Sox and send him data and on occasion he’d call a radio station, ask to be put on hold and listen to the play by play, all the while building an impressive folder of scouting tendencies for his brother
I’m not a Roger Clemens fan, far from it.
But I have to admit in 1986, he was someone to admire on a pitching mound, which made ” Rocket Man ” a pretty good read.
I’m Fred Wallace