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Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History | 
 enlarge | Author: Rob Neyer
Publisher: Fireside
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $5.99
You Save: $10.01 (63%)
New (2) from $5.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 40222
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.4 x 0.8
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357640973
ASIN: B001AQY086
Publication Date: May 2, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Product Description
BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS.BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME. Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why? Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders. Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series? What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal? Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant? How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"? How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really? Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst? Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime? Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking? These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
Good Baseball Stuff July 11, 2007
Some really good baseball stuff in this book. Some of the blunders are questionable and I think he wanted to write about them and made it fit into the book. I would recommend it just for the baseball stories and lore.
 A baseball fan's delight July 2, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Rob Neyer's book of baseball blunders is sure to please any baseball fan with a sense of history. Neyer analyzes 50 trades and decisions from 1917 through 2003. They range from well-known events such as Grady Little's decision to lift Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning of the 2003 American League Championship series and the trade of Roger Maris from the Kansas City Athletics to the New York Yankees in 1959 to lesser-known events such as the sale of Pee Wee Reese from the Boston Red Sox to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939 and the Kansas City Royals' signing of pitchers Mark and Storm Davis in 1989.
Neyer astutely analyzes these events, challenging long held opinions and impressions by looking at the facts. Neyer is a keen observer of baseball history and his analyses are interesting and sound. His sidebars in the margins of chapters are irresistible. Baseball fans can open this book to any chapter and start reading.
 A Little too Comprehensive for Me May 23, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
While I did enjoy this book, I have to admit that many of the events are too far in the past for me to truly appreciate them. I can't knock Neyer for not going into elaborate detail, because that's not really what this book is about. It isn't his job to build the social climate of the time, clubhouse pressures, etc. It is an interesting read that truly highlights the "hindsight is 20/20" cliche. I'd love to read the next version of this book 50 or 60 years from now so that I can read "Blunder: Pittsburgh Pirates trade Oliver Perez and Roberto Hernandez to Mets for Xavier Nady."
A fun book any baseball fan can enjoy May 8, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
In Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders, Neyer examines around fifty of the biggest baseball blunders in the history of the sport. The list (blunders of his own choosing) includes bad trades, poor personnel decisions and poor player performance. Neyer covers the entire history of baseball, yet focuses on modern day times. This book can be enjoyed by the casual fan. It is full of atecdotes and doesn't rely too much on a bunch of boring stats. Each chapter is a few pages long, allowing you to read bits and pieces at time or to skip parts you don't find interesting. This is a fun book for a baseball fan and would also make a great gift.
This Isn't A Baseball Blunder At All April 17, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Rob Neyer is a heck of a baseball book writer. What he writes about is interesting, informative, and innovative, in the sense that he makes "Big Book of Baseball Blunders" a very good read. Why is that, you ask? (Or more likely, "What do ya mean by that, Bunny?!!!") Well, I'll tell you this: everyone has their own opinion on what the biggest baseball blunders are. People can easily identify the top 4 or 5, most can figure outnext few, they can split on the several after that, and to finish off the top 25 blunders, it's everyone for themselves. There have been a LOT of blunders in baseball, almost all of which seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out bad for any number of reasons. Therefore, you'll never get a unanimous opinion on the top 25-50 biggest blunders in baseball. But, while I may not agree with Neyer's list in totality of the worst blunders in baseball, on each one he offers compelling evidence of why it should be considered one of the worst blunders, in ways that perhaps I hadn't considered before. That's what makes this book interesting, and informative - and innovative in the way the facts are presented to show why each was a bad, bad blunder. And that's why Neyer ranks up there in my list of baseball writers - he gives you something new to look at and think about.
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