Gib Bodet's 70-year love affair with baseball dates from his childhood in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and it has carried him through parts of six decades as a scout with the Red Sox, Tigers, Expos, Angels, Royals, and Dodgers. He played ball in high school and the military, coached youth and legion teams, and finally made the game his profession at age 38. In this memoir, Bodet recalls humorous stories about people he worked for and with--Peter O'Malley, Walter Shannon, Gene Autry, John Schuerholz, Al Campanis and long-time friend Tom Lasorda among them--and describes his role in drafting and signing such players as Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Todd Hollandsworth, Paul Konerko, Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"Written from the heart...honest, provocative, informative...a great read for all aspiring young baseball players and their parents"-A.T. Viglione, athlete and coach.
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Interest Age: From 18 years
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 229 mm
Breite: 152 mm
Dicke: 15 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-7864-7240-6 (9780786472406)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Gib Bodet has been a professional baseball scout since 1969, and has been with the Dodgers since 1979. He lives in Southern California. P.J. Dragseth is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), a former secondary school teacher, and writer for a small local newspaper. She lives in Rogue River, Oregon.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ?vi
Foreword by Tommy Lasorda ?1
Preface by Gib Bodet ?3
Introduction by P.J. Dragseth ?7
My Road to the Dodgers ?13
The O'Malley Era ?39
The Life of a National Cross Checker ?49
It's All Part of Scouting ?57
Moneyball and Swiss Cheese: Both Full of Holes ?75
Coverage of Amateur Players: Twelve Thousand Games, Six Million Miles ?85
Is He Having Fun? Tips for Developing Young Players ?99
Slumps, Streaks, Sliding, Stealing and Other "S" Words ?108
When Junior Is a Prospect: Draft Guidelines ?137
Off to the Races: An Inside Look at the Draft ?161
Four Decades of Baseball Observations ?180
My Two Cents ?215
Epilogue ?233
Index ?235
