Book Reviews Book Awards BC Book of the Month Essential Books

BaseballChronology.com: Seymour Medal Honorees for 1998

By Patrick Mondout

SABR (Society For American Baseball Research) annually awards the Seymour Medal to the best book of baseball history or biography published in the previous year. Below are the finalists and winners for 1998, including links to the book at Amazon.com for your convenience. We also have a list of all winners and finalists from 1996-2006.

SEYMOUR MEDAL FINALISTS & WINNERS
WINNER		The Detroit Tigers: Club and Community, 1945-95 by Patrick Harrigan "This study of the Detroit Tigers over a half-century demonstrates how baseball has reflected the fortunes of America's postwar urban society. Patrick Harrigan shows that the declining fortunes of this franchise have been inextricably linked with those of its city and surrounding community. Attention is paid to major on-field exploits, but the focus is on the development of the ball club as a corporate enterprise and its symbiotic relationship with metropolitan Detroit." Read more...
FINALIST		Big Red Dynasty: How Bob Howson and Sparky Anderson Built the Big Red Machine by Greg Rhodes and John Erardi "It may seem like a big conceit, but the assertion that the Big Red Machine was the last baseball dynasty--and always will be--is not far off base. Unless the business of baseball changes drastically, it will be mighty tough to assemble a team of all-star players and keep them together long enough to build the sort of dominance the Cincinnati Reds (and their fans) enjoyed in the 1970s. Greg Rhodes and John Erardi present this formidable marriage of all-stars and brilliant coaching with anecdotes, quotes, pictures, and year-by-year commentary. The exciting rise of the Reds begins with the arrival of general manager Bob Howsam in 1967 and subsequent hiring of little-known Sparky Anderson three years later and gains momentum with the grooming of one of the greatest lineups to take the field. Over the course of seven years, the Big Red Machine won consecutive World Series, four National League pennants, and five National League Western Division titles. The "Great Eight"--led by Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Davey Concepcion, and George Foster--earned 63 All-Star selections, six MVP awards, and 26 Gold Gloves. The glory of this dynasty, maybe the last of its kind, is preserved with a careful, knowledgeable touch and a true fan's attention to drama and detail." Read more...
FINALIST		Baseball on the Border: A Tale of Two Laredos by Alan M. Klein "For Alan Klein, a cultural anthropologist specializing in sport, "the border" is almost a nation of its own. Having formed teams of players from both sides of the Rio Grande for almost a century, organizers and followers of the "Border Birds" often join forces but just as frequently squabble with each other in a chronic border tension. From 1985 to 1994 there existed a significant but unheralded experiment in professional baseball. For ten seasons, the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (The Owls of the Two Laredos) were the only team in professional sports to represent two nations. Playing in the storied Mexican League (an AAA affiliate of major league baseball), the "Tecos" had home parks on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Laredo, Texas and in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. In true border fashion, Mexican and American national anthems were played before each game, and the Tecos were operated by interests in both cities. Baseball on the Border is the story of the rise and unexpected demise of this surprising team." Read more...
FINALIST		Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad "In baseball and beyond, 1997 has been the year of Jackie Robinson, the 50th anniversary of his obliteration of the game's color line, and a time to reflect on a marvelous man whose heroism and decency cut far beyond the foul lines. Arnold Rampersad, a Princeton professor who's edited the poetry of Langston Hughes and the essays of Richard Wright, and collaborated with tennis great Arthur Ashe on his powerful memoir Days of Grace, steps up to the plate here with the first truly comprehensive Robinson biography. It's an important accomplishment, ripe with historical and social insight without losing sight of the human being at its core. Thoroughly researched--Rachel Robinson gave the author access to her husband's personal papers--and filled with fascinating new detail, the book, like its subject, consistently takes the extra base, thrilling with its overall skill, depth, and perspective." Read more...
FINALIST		New York Yankee Openers: An Opening Day History of Baseball's Most Famous Team, 1903-1996 by Lyle Spatz "From 1903 through 1996, the New York Yankees' opening game for each season is fully covered. The game descriptions are nearly inning-by-inning, highlighting the big plays and the top performances. The comprehensive game accounts are augmented by rich looks at the pageantry of opening day." Read more...
BEST BASEBALL BOOKS OF EACH YEAR ACCORDING TO SABR