Carl Erskine (–2024)

You don't have to be an old fan of the Brooklyn Bums to enjoy reading this book. In fact, you don't even have to be a baseball fan at all to enjoy reading this book. But if you are a baseball fan–and a fan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers at that–you will enjoy reading this book even more.

In this book, Carl Erskine tells 175 anecdotes about his teammates, rival players, managers, and even one about a Dodger batboy. He reminisces about the Yankee-Dodger rivalry, the Dodger-Giants rivalry, and about his teammates' acceptance of Jackie Robinson as the first black baseball player in the Major Leagues.
Not all the tales were from the Dodger dugout. One of them in particular came from the Polo Grounds bullpen on a rather memorable day for New York Giants fans. It was the ninth inning of the final game of the 1951 playoff series, and the Dodgers had a two-run lead. But the Giants had two men on base, and the potential winning run coming up to bat in the form of Bobby Thompson. Carl Erskine and Ralph Branca were warming up in the Polo Grounds bullpen for the Dodgers, and Charlie Dressen, the Dodger manager, called to see if his relievers were ready. "They're both ready," said Clyde Sukeforth, the bullpen coach; "However, Erskine is bouncing his overhead curve." So Dressen called for Branca. The rest is history. As for Erskine, whenever he was asked what his best pitch was, he would say, "The curveball I bounced in the Polo Grounds bullpen!"
https://contemplationsofmoibibliomaniac.blogspot.com/2017/07/tales-from-dodger-d...… (plus d'informations)

Carl Erskine’s ‘Tales from the Dodgers Dugout’ is exactly what the title promises us. Erskine’s tales are, more often than not, less than a page long so you can read some of the many put the book away for a while. On the other hand, the 230 pages can all be read on a rainy day. The short impressions, stories are written in an easy way and when you finish one, you want to read the next one.
One of the fun things is that Oisk doesn’t stop with the stories when his active career ended. He recalls meetings of old-timers games as well. I learned about statistics and players I never knew. Which is always nice! I liked this collection of personal observations by one of the Dodgers’ legendary pitchers.
There are so many fun stories, but it’s not easy finding that story you liked because there is no index, so that’s about the only negative point. A final positive point, at least in this copy, is Erskine's autograph on the title page.… (plus d'informations)

Jackie Robinson looms large in this little book, but it's not really about him. This is the autobiography of Carl Erskine, one of Robinson's teammates. Erskine was a star pitcher in his own right (he threw two no-hitters -- I'd say that qualifies him as a star) but was only one hero among the star-laden Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1950s. My dad grew up in Brooklyn; my mom in the Bronx. He was a Dodger fan, she rooted for the Giants. I'm a native Washingtonian, but enjoyed reading about that cross-town rivalry in the book -- albeit from Erskine's obvious Dodger slant.

But as the title suggests, the book is not all baseball. Most of Erskine's narrative takes place off the field. He gives us brief insights into clubhouse shenangigans, relationships, including, of course, that of his long-time catcher Roy Campenella, and the hero of the age Jackie Robinson.

General manager Branch Rickey signed Robinson to the big leagues only after watching him for more than a year in the Dodger's farm system. He wanted to know more about Robinson's character, his mettle. Rickey knew the first African American to integrate major league baseball would have to be tough -- able to withstand pressures, injustices, racial indignities, and insults. He was right. But he also found the right man to do it. Number 42. Erskine relates many times when Robinson was mistreated, prohibited from segregated hotels, and played in stadiums with racially separated bleachers.

Robinson had to stifle his anger for those early years, but was somehow able to channel the negatives into positives. His strength of character, excellence, and class transcended the ugliness that stalked him. Erskine described Robinson as a team leader and a very nuturing presence on the team, encouraging players at every turn even while so many outside the clubhouse were disparaging him. He had to overcome so much just to do the thing he loved: play baseball. How he succeeded on a daily basis, Erskine wonders, "is mind-boggling. Most men would have cracked."

As I said, the author's life is the focus in this modest little book, but Robinson gets the attention whenever he's involved. Erskine had a deep respect for his teammate and it's clear that he wanted the man remembered for more than his number.

By the way: This memoir reminded me of The Teammates by David Halberstam, a book I read a couple years ago about Ted Williams and his former teammates when age and illness brought them back together. It's a touching book and Halberstam's writing should not be missed.

Find more of my reviews at Mostly NF.… (plus d'informations)