New Baseball Book Coming Soon
Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 10:35PM I can’t think of a better time than Opening Day to announce that I’ll have a new book on the shelves later this year. It’s been more than four years in the making, and the subject is baseball. The book’s title is “The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken and Baseball’s Most Historic Record.” It’s an in-depth examination of the Iron Man record, which Gehrig and Ripken made famous.
The stories of those two legendary ballplayers dominate the pages, but the central character in the book is the consecutive-game record itself. Few sports achievements have generated more acclaim. Anyone who remembers the events of September 6, 1995, when Ripken broke Gehrig's record in Baltimore, can attest to that. My book opens with a fresh rendering of that night, including perspectives from new sources. Yet for decades, quiet doubts have persisted about the importance of playing in so many games in a row. Why would anyone want to do that? Babe Ruth certainly asked that question.
My idea was to hold the record up to the light, explore its history and underlying philosophy, and ask questions. Where did the idea of playing every day for so long come from? Who thought it was a good idea? Is it, in fact, a good idea? How did Gehrig and Ripken do it? Was one streak somehow more genuine than the other? Aside from their exploits, how has the record evolved? How do today’s players feel about feats of endurance? (Spoiler alert: They don’t care.) Ripken, whom I interviewed, has plenty to say on those subjects and many more.
Ripken was interested in the project, and I also interviewed dozens of others, incouding retired baseball stars Steve Garvey and Billy Williams, who experienced their own moments of Iron Man glory and helped explain what could motivate a man to go for years without taking a day off.
The pub date for the book is July 4, 2017, about as all-American as you can get. I'm biased, but I think baseball fans will enjoy it.
It can be pre-ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Streak-Gehrig-Ripken-Baseballs-Historic/dp/0544107675/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
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