🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

1. Major League Baseball teams are "on-duty" starting from Spring Training in February through October/November if their team makes the playoffs.
2. The everyday nature of a baseball season (in contrast to the NFL, NBA, or NHL) creates a mental strain that is unique to the sport.
3. The 162-game season is a grind (albeit a well-paying one for the players) for everyone in the baseball team's organization from the GM to the clubhouse manager (not as well paying).

🎨 Impressions

• This was a fun quick read - not very deep in analysis, but Svrluga did a good job in exposing the human side of the players on the team by spending time with their families and highlighting the less than glamorous parts of the game.
• It was interesting to see the balance between the, often-noted, superstitious routines of baseball players vs. the constant uncertainty (e.g., injury, schedule, being sent up or down to the minors, etc.).

How I Discovered It

A listicle of "The Best Baseball Books to Read." I chose this book because it was published recently (2015), so that I could contrast the lived experiences of a season in the late '60's (from Ball Four) from the mid '00's.

Who Should Read It?

I would really only recommend this book to someone who somewhat seriously follows Major League Baseball as it doesn't lend itself well to a casual fan (IMO).

☘️ How the Book Changed Me

How my life / behavior / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.

• I changed my perspective from not being able to really empathize with the struggles of MLB players making millions of dollars per year to seeing that the grind of a MLB season touches folks all across the organization that make significantly less. Players just get the best compensation of it all.
• I reflected upon the individual vs. team nature of the sport of baseball and how that has transformed my professional career and how I approach team dynamics. I am used to contributing my part of the process and relying on others to do the same to benefit the collective whole of an organization.

✍️ My Top 3 Quotes

• "Yet part of this process of fitting into a team, of being around people more than you’re around your family, is being able to exist in something of an isolation chamber. It’s being ready to show up and perform regardless of who’s around, no matter who leaves and who stays."
• "There is no team sport that relies on such a fundamental individual element: batter versus pitcher. "
• "So the grind of baseball almost forces players to obsess about their own situations, with the team as a backdrop."

📒 Summary, Highlights, and Notes

Kindle Highlights

Yet part of this process of fitting into a team, of being around people more than you’re around your family, is being able to exist in something of an isolation chamber. It’s being ready to show up and perform regardless of who’s around, no matter who leaves and who stays. There is no team sport that relies on such a fundamental individual element: batter versus pitcher. So the grind of baseball almost forces players to obsess about their own situations, with the team as a backdrop.

Location: 1704