Reviews for Whole New Ball Game

The average rating for Whole New Ball Game based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-08 00:00:00 Brent Wagner My beloved grandfather was a huge baseball fan. When he babysat me, he loved to set us up with ice cream and watch the games on TV, or even take me to the Olympic Stadium (that was when Montreal still had a baseball team: RIP Expos!): he’d explain the game, the strategies, the signals. He had played in minor leagues when he was younger, before his heart condition forced him to take it easy on sports, but he never lost his passion for the game. When the movie “A League of Their Own” came out, we watched it together and he was delighted when I asked for a baseball glove and bat for my birthday. We played in the garden together for hours every summer. I still have a soft spot for that movie, even if I know now that it’s about 30% historical, 70% Hollywood: Tom Hanks' amazing "There's no crying in baseball!!" rant cracks me up every time, but most importantly, the movie captures a unique event in the history of women's athletics. I recently realized that it came out twenty-five years ago! That did not make me feel any younger, but it reminded me I had this little used book I found about the AAGPBL tucked away somewhere, waiting to be read. As you might have guessed, I am fascinated by the AAGPBL and I was actually shocked at how hard it is to find any literature on the League. Having a chance to become professional baseball players meant that these women were given the opportunity to lead independent lives, and opened the door to careers they could have never imagined having access to before. I was always puzzled and deeply disappointed by the fact that the League closed in 1954 and that there hasn't been an equivalent organization since. This book is a short and light read (I hadn't realized that it was for young readers until I brought it back home and saw the Puffin logo on it… oh well!), which is great (because yes, let's make young girls read about this!) and it is also surprisingly informative. Macy does an excellent job of putting the creation of the AAGPBL in its historical context: the draft, the war effort, the new feminine ideals that the American government was promoting (the strong, tough and yet attractive Rosie the Riveter is the iconic image of that era’s “propaganda” and a personal favorite of mine). Of course, gentlemen such as Mr. Wrigley (yes, the chewing gum magnate and owner of the Cubs; the league was his brainchild) wanted to keep making money from professional sports while men were away, but they also gave women an incredible opportunity at the same time - for a better salary than they could have made almost anywhere else! The idea of sending these women to charm school and have them chaperoned seems ridiculous to our modern sensibilities, but it was in line with the time's idea that public figures should be polished and classy (for example: Cary Grant was under contractual obligation with the studio that employed him to wear a suit in public at all times, because they felt that if he was caught looking like a slob, it would hurt his popularity as a leading man); many of the younger girls might not have been allowed to play by their parents had they not felt their daughters were safe and behaving well. The teams were scattered through mid-sized towns in the Midwest, where it was felt this sort of "wholesome" entertainment would be well-received, so the girls had to be perceived as ladies by the public in order to sell tickets. But even if they were forced to wear lipstick to play, their game (and tempers!) could often best that of their male counterparts! I was very impressed to learn of some of the league’s players incredible accomplishments: many of them were very serious athletes who were involved in many other sports, sometimes even at the Olympics level! A few of them eventually had kids who became major league baseball players and who obviously learned from the best. I was also quite sad to finally put together that the rise of television and other sources of entertainment (the sudden popularity of bowling and drive-in theaters, to name a few), combined with a swing back of the pendulum when it came to Americans' view on a woman's proper place (leading to sever drops in women's employment after WWII) finally got the League to fold due to low attendance, which made its business model unsustainable. A few attempts were made in the 90's to revive professional women's baseball, but that did not go very far, unfortunately. This is a small, but very informative and inspiring book. I only withheld the last star because I really wished this book was twice the size it is. It made me want to hunt down more books on the subject, and I am now trying to convince my husband to swing by Cooperstown next time we are in New York State, so I can go check out the Baseball Hall of Fame's "Women in Baseball" exhibit for myself and pay respect to these pioneers of women's athletics. If you enjoyed “A League of Their Own”, like baseball or are interested in the history of women in sports, this little book is worth checking out!

Review # 2 was written on 2007-05-23 00:00:00 Susan Singer As you may or may not know, A League of Their Own is my favorite movie of all time. This book tells the true story of the founding of the All American Girls' Professional Baseball League, and all the various permutations it took on in its early years. It has stats, pictures, letters from former players, and it explains the history of girls' baseball very well. I've been reading it on and off for a couple of months, but it is very enjoyable.