Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by sportswriter Joe Posnanski provides exactly what the title suggests. Posnasnski wrote about the 50 moments in baseball that were most meaningful to him while admitting that other readers would disagree with the events he chose and the order in which he placed them. He also recognized that such debates among baseball fans of the best or worst moments was part of the game, and he loved those moments, too. Actually, he did a lot more than just those 50 baseball moments such as “the catch” by Willie Mays in 1954, the breaking of the color barrier by Jackie Robinson in 1947, and the 715th homerun by Henry Aaron in 1974. He wrote about whacky moments for fans, umpires, and players. There were the five greatest catches, five remarkable pitching performances, the most memorable moments for all 30 baseball franchises – really, he wrote about 108 such moments.
As Posnanski’s countdown came to an end, his number one baseball moment was when Aaron hit #715 to break Babe Ruth’s sacred record. Like all the other moments, he filled in the background of the event so that it was understandable for the game in which it was played, what it was like for the fans, what it meant to the players, both the victors and the losers, and how it fit into American society.
After a breathtaking description of all of those factors about #715, Posnanski finished the book with a wonderful story about a 17-year-old female fan of the Seattle Mariners, Iris Skinner, also known as “Ichiro Girl.” In 2010 in a game against the Yankees, Ichiro reached into the stands in an attempt to catch a foul ball, and he accidentally struck Ms. Skinner in the face with his forearm. She was not injured and Ichiro quickly made sure she was okay before returning to his right field position. Ms. Skinner then went crazy, she was so out-of-her-mind excited that she had actually been touched by Ichiro. She looked like the happiest person in the world. The video of the event went viral. Then 12 years later, the Mariners invited her back to throw out the first pitch, but they did not tell her Ichiro would be there to make the catch. After going out on the field, the announcer surprised her by introducing Ichiro, and she went nearly as crazy the second time. Iris and Ichiro had their photo taken together, he signed a ball for her, and it was as heartwarming a moment just as much as the original video had captured.
Yes, that’s why we love baseball and if you’re a fan, you’ll love this book whether you agree with Posnanski’s order of moments. If you’re not a fan and you pick this up, maybe you’ll understand more about why people care so much about this game. Thanks to Joe Posnanski for this book. I enjoyed every moment.
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