5 Minute Book Review: The Art of Fielding

January 8, 2012 in 5 Minute Book Review

I went to a summer sleep away camp from the age of nine through sixteen. I say I ’went’ even though ’sent’ might make for a better story (if I were a more interesting person), since I really did like being there, which was strange since most of the day was meant to be spent in athletic pursuits playing all sorts of sports games and I never enjoyed playing any. I shone the brightest during wood shop or some other creative activity and I would usually stay in the shop well past the end of my bunk’s allotted time.

I never played basketball, I hated it. Hockey I avoided as well. Baseball wasn’t so bad when I was at the mound, but I never managed to hit a ball past any base lines. The only sport I could say I looked forward to was volleyball since I didn’t have to do much. I would just stand in the spot my team captain figured would have the least chance of being reached by an incoming ball and let whatever ball that did come my way bounce off my hands. I once asked a teammate on a timeout why he smelled like oranges. I didn’t realize until I was older that what he smelled like was sweat (we were the same age.)

My most vivid sports memory is from a volleyball playoff game on a court right behind my bunkhouse. My mind was somewhere else and the hem of my shirt was in my mouth. A high flying ball landed right at my feet. All the players and spectators stared at me in silence for what felt like an eternity until one yelled out, ”how about you stop eating your shirt and play the game.”

I’ve never followed sports. I know who A-Rod is for the same reason I know who Kim Kardashian is even though I’ve never seen her show. I am more familiar with Derek Jeter’s work on SNL than his day job. And even though I’ve never had any interest in playing or following competitive sports, I bought The Art of Fielding since I had read about its publishing in a magazine a few months ago.

There’s been a lot of criticism about the cliche characters, the not so believable late in life self-realization of the college dean, the ending scene on the lake, and the subplots that seemingly have nothing to do with the main story. I don’t need to parrot those reviews, which you can find on your own, but at least as someone with no prior interest in competitive sports, least of all college competitive sports, I did find myself interested and even fascinated with the baseball related aspects of the book. The rules and politics of professional baseball, the MLB drafting process, and the quotes from the fictional guide The Art of Fielding all kept me interested even without the beer and hot dogs.

Tags: Affenlight, Chad Harbach, Dunne, Skrimshander, The Art of Fielding

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http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/chillbearlatrigue/ Chillbear Latrigue

My parents put me in T-Ball when I was like six or fifteen or whenever kids join T-Ball. I consistently hit the tee out to the pitcher’s mound and the ball would roll foul. When they would put me out in right field or somewhere else safe from flying balls, I would sit down and play in the dirt. Other kids on my team would sneer at me throughout the game. Next year, when the coach—a friend of my parents—called to see if I wanted to play another season, I told my mother that I wasn’t interested. She argued that the coach said the team really needed me. For some reason I bought that and joined for a second miserable season.

I actually think I would have been a better athlete had I not been put into something that I hated so much. Now, when I see a baseball player, I try to stab him. Usually, I’m not around them though.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/militantrubberducky/ MilitantRubberDucky

Don’t worry, I used to chew on the leather ties of my softball glove.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/uncivily-obedient-2-2/ uncivilly obedient

I was signed up for a little league baseball team when I was maybe in second grade, but I don’t remember going past the first game. I do remember having a team t-shirt and a cap so at least I must have looked cute.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/chillbearlatrigue/ Chillbear Latrigue

MilitantRubberDucky wrote:

Don’t worry, I used to chew on the leather ties of my softball glove.

It’s true. I once saw a group of PETA protesters splash a bucket of blood on MRD’s teeth because they had a leather tie stuck in them.

(It was fake blood.)
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/uncivily-obedient-2-2/ uncivilly obedient

MilitantRubberDucky wrote:

Don’t worry, I used to chew on the leather ties of my softball glove.

I only bought my own glove once and I somehow didn’t realize until later that I bought a lefty glove and I am a righty.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/whyamihere/ WhyamIhere?

So books about baseball are no longer taboo here? I’m so confused.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/whyamihere/ WhyamIhere?

I coached baseball and softball for several years because I am the father of three children. Coaching kids who were forced to be there was always the worst but I still had more fun with the non-competitive recreational teams that had those kids than the competitive traveling teams that did not.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/fracturedacetabulum/ FracturedAcetabulum

This book piqued my curiosity for a lot of reasons. I played a ton of baseball. My twin and I were a tough, tough duo. He was a pitcher, I was a catcher. Pity the batter that stood between us because we were pissed of at each other more often than not and chose to exorcise those demons on the sacred ground of a baseball field.
The book also interested me because of the low-budget/self publishing angle (though I’m not entirely sure of the details, it’s my understanding that the book is kind of an indie-thing, subpop thing-for the olds).
I’ve downloaded the free sample onto my Kindle but have yet to read.

Baseball is a funny sport for a lot of reasons. For many, it’s just a sport. For many it can be the first time in their life where they’ve had to rely on others and coalesce as a “team” member.

I have fond memories of the summers spent at the ball park-being one of four boys (my twin and I the youngest), I had been around baseball literally from my birth to high school. I don’t regret my decision to walk away from baseball the way I did (very funny story).
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/fracturedacetabulum/ FracturedAcetabulum

@WhyamIhere: Hopefully you were not “that coach” who was there for all the wrong reasons. You seem like a sensible dude, but sometimes sensible people become absolute a-holes in the presence of sporting activities.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/whyamihere/ WhyamIhere?

I started coaching when my son was about 5. I interrupted his coach, who did not understand 5 year olds, and told him to lighten up and teach the game rather than yelling. He handed me his clipboard and said, “If you think you can do better why don’t you do it?” So I did.

The local recreational teams always had kids who were forced to be there so it was tough. Quite often those parents also thought their children weren’t getting enough playing time. Well. I usually gave them close to the minimum. If the kid didn’t really want to be there and another kid was dying to be there then why would I force the one to play any longer than necessary.

The traveling competitive teams almost never had kids that did not want to be there. Those teams had tryouts and kids got cut. If they didn’t really want to be there, they invariably didn’t make it past the tryout. The problem was that those teams were always full of “those” parents and coaches.

I used to teach a sportsmanship class for parents that the city required you to take to register your child. I stopped because no one showed up once the city stopped requiring it.

I’m not really a big sports nut. College I like Navy and FIU. Pro I like the Dolphins, Marlins, and Panthers. I don’t care at all for basketball. I don’t play any fantasy sport and I don’t schedule anything around sports and watch them if I have nothing else to do.

Oh, and the designated hitter rule is the stupidest thing humans ever invented.
http://wordsmoker.com/help/members-3/whyamihere/ WhyamIhere?

@FracturedAcetabulum I guess the @ did it but you caused Wordsmoker to send me an email telling me that I was mentioned. I don’t remember that happening before.

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