The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City
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- Create Date：2024-03-29 06:20:34
- Update Date：2025-09-09
- Status：finish
- Author：Kevin Baker
- ISBN：0375421831
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Jake
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Sprawling， by design。
Scott Brooks
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You don't have to love baseball or even be rom New York to enjoy this wonderful book。 Baker shows that the history of baseball is also the history of New York City and in a way， the history of America。 At times funny and always fascinating， the book examines the evolution of the game which-would -become-baseball and the people who first played， watched， betted on， and profited from it。 Baker is an every man's sports writer， an erudite historian and executes the book with a novelist's turn of phr You don't have to love baseball or even be rom New York to enjoy this wonderful book。 Baker shows that the history of baseball is also the history of New York City and in a way， the history of America。 At times funny and always fascinating， the book examines the evolution of the game which-would -become-baseball and the people who first played， watched， betted on， and profited from it。 Baker is an every man's sports writer， an erudite historian and executes the book with a novelist's turn of phrase。 If you don't want to go to a game after reading this， there is something seriously wrong with you。 。。。more
Michael Reilly
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Baker starts off by making the point that despite all the nostalgia and "Field of Dreams" mythology， baseball is a city sport。 That is where it thrived and became the national sport。 This is a life and times biography of baseball in New York City up to 1945。 It is a big well researched opinionated take on a huge story。 New York City， for most of the first half of the 20th century， had three major league baseball teams， the Yankees， the Dodgers and the Giants。 That made sense because New York was Baker starts off by making the point that despite all the nostalgia and "Field of Dreams" mythology， baseball is a city sport。 That is where it thrived and became the national sport。 This is a life and times biography of baseball in New York City up to 1945。 It is a big well researched opinionated take on a huge story。 New York City， for most of the first half of the 20th century， had three major league baseball teams， the Yankees， the Dodgers and the Giants。 That made sense because New York was the biggest， most exciting， most powerful City in America during those years。 Baker weaves the story of the City and the teams。 For example， he shows how the Yankees were founded by gamblers connected to Tammany Hall。 They played their first games in 1903 at the "American League Park" in Upper Manhattan。 It was a small rock-strewn wet mess of a field。 By 1923 they were in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx， "The House that Ruth Built。"The book is a chronological telling of the changes in the City and the game in the City。 It is full of great stories which are well told。 To start with， there are the great baseball names。 For the 1885 New York Gothams "patrolling the outfield was the wonderfully matched combination of Silent Mike Tiernan and Orator Jim O'Rourke。" or， in 1908 "Three Finger Brown and Orval Overall pitched Chicago to a doubleheader sweep at the Polo Grounds"Then there are the great baseball characters。 John McGraw coached the Giants from 1902 to 1932。 He won three World Series and lost six。 He was always in the middle of wild tales。 He lost a pennant on "Merkle's Boner"。 He was a vaudeville performer in the off season。 He was the last believer in "inside baseball" in the heyday of the long ball。 Baker traces the start of the Red Sox -Yankee hatred back to 1903 and he tells the full story of the Ruth trade。 He does a nice job pulling out great stats。 "In the course of his career。。。Ruth hit the longest home run ever recorded at the home fields of every single major league team， American League and National。" or "Mickey Mantle's "ratio of home runs to strike outs was nearly one to one （361-367）。 In other words， a fan was just as likely to see him hammer a home run as to whiff。" Baker also does a great job straightening out the New York City history。 The story of stockbrokers jumping out windows when the market crashed in 1929， is a myth。 "Contrary to popular lore， the suicide rate in the city declined that fall of 1929。" One woman fell off a roof， but she hadn't lost her money in the crash。 He points out the significant coincidence that in 1914 two teenage boys were released from juvenile institutions in two different cities， Baltimore and New Orleans。 One was white， the other black。 Between them。 Louis Armstrong and Babe Ruth transformed American popular culture。 Baker traces the sorry story of Black Baseball。 There was a complete ban on black players from the earliest days of organized baseball。 He tells the fascinating story of Alex Pompez， a number runner in New York City， who organized an all-Cuban team that played in the Negro Leagues Baker walks a fine line in the book。 This is a history driven by great story telling based on well researched conclusions， but it also a personal book。 Baker is happy to drop in his opinions and comments。 He takes sides on issues and makes it clear who he likes and who he doesn't。 This is a treat。 I can't wait for volume two which he teases us with at the end of this volume。 。。。more
Jane
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Every baseball fan should read this book。 I am a huge fan of the game， and have always been especially interested in the life and career of Lou Gehrig， among other baseball greats。 I learned things about the iconic baseball players of years gone by that I did not find in any other book。 The reader will also learn little known facts about New York City， where so much baseball history was made。 A must read for any fan of the game。
Patten
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I’ve read dozens upon dozens of baseball histories and biographies， but Kevin Baker’s The New York Game takes an approach that is somehow both unique and painfully obvious in hindsight。 Baker frames the history of baseball through its modern origins in the Elysian Fields of Hoboken right up to the end of the Second World War。 Only， Baker never leaves New York。Baker’s main contention， from the beginning of the novel， is that despite what “big baseball” wants you to think， baseball did not start a I’ve read dozens upon dozens of baseball histories and biographies， but Kevin Baker’s The New York Game takes an approach that is somehow both unique and painfully obvious in hindsight。 Baker frames the history of baseball through its modern origins in the Elysian Fields of Hoboken right up to the end of the Second World War。 Only， Baker never leaves New York。Baker’s main contention， from the beginning of the novel， is that despite what “big baseball” wants you to think， baseball did not start as a rural pastime。 It was played in cities and cities evolved in tune with the “national game。”While telling about the rise of baseball （and New York’s central role）， he also discusses the rise of New York City itself into a world city。 Part of that rise， per Baker， is from baseball， and part of baseball’s rise is because the city。Baker does not shy away from the bad。 He discusses racial tensions both in the city and in the game and deftly lays out the facts。 All the time， he presents in a very personable style。Again， it’s a very unique and specific topic， but it works。 Of course New York made baseball。 I’m hoping for a second volume soon。 。。。more
Lindsay
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A rich and detailed history of one of America's favorite sports。 As a fact lover， I enjoyed the bits and pieces past times the early exclusivity of the game， the various ball clubs and leagues and the progressions and improvements made to the game throughout the decades and centuries。 Seasoned baseball lovers and those new to the sport will both gain from a delightful stroll through a much celebrated hobby deep in the heart of New York。 **Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for A rich and detailed history of one of America's favorite sports。 As a fact lover， I enjoyed the bits and pieces past times the early exclusivity of the game， the various ball clubs and leagues and the progressions and improvements made to the game throughout the decades and centuries。 Seasoned baseball lovers and those new to the sport will both gain from a delightful stroll through a much celebrated hobby deep in the heart of New York。 **Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。** 。。。more
Patti
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Note: Thank you to NetGalley， Knopf Publishing， and Kevin Baker for the advanced reader copy of the book。 This review will also be posted on NetGalley。 What follows is my unbiased review of the book。Baseball is intrinsic with New York。 Not just professional baseball， but the baseball that was once-upon-a-time “town ball” that was played by kids anywhere they could find room to hit a ball and run。 Although we treat baseball like a sport of rural areas， it was actually played where people could ga Note: Thank you to NetGalley， Knopf Publishing， and Kevin Baker for the advanced reader copy of the book。 This review will also be posted on NetGalley。 What follows is my unbiased review of the book。Baseball is intrinsic with New York。 Not just professional baseball， but the baseball that was once-upon-a-time “town ball” that was played by kids anywhere they could find room to hit a ball and run。 Although we treat baseball like a sport of rural areas， it was actually played where people could gather together and have enough players to form these teams， mostly in cities and towns。 There was no city where this was truer than New York City。Kevin Baker wrote a book that intertwines the politics of New York City with the history of baseball， showing readers how they influenced each other。 He traces it back before baseball was a professional sport to the numerous clubs that were associated with different groups in the city。 In particular， it was New York City’s Tammany Hall that controlled the City for much of the early days of professional baseball， and controlled what teams were allowed to play there。 This book runs from the mid-19th century until just before Jackie Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers。Baker has researched some incredible detail about those early years of baseball and put together a history like no other。 It was a new experience for me， reading about how the political machine in New York City helped shape professional baseball as we know it today。 It helped shut out many of the other leagues that tried to rival the American League and National League that we know of today。 It also controlled what teams were allowed to play in the city， keeping the （then） New York Giants in quite a privileged position。 It’s also what eventually pushed the team that would be known as the Yankees out of Manhattan to playing in the outer borough of the Bronx。To read my full review， please go to: Book Review – The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City by Kevin Baker 。。。more
Sophie
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The New York Game is a great read for baseball super-fans。 I learned so much about the sport and its history。 I also loved the historical context Baker provided — he really brought the backdrop of New York to life。 My only critique would be that sometimes there were too many anecdotes or fun facts to keep track of！
William McCabe
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I am a big fan of sport's books， but baseball books have a particular history of reaching for literature。 Kevin Baker's The New York Game did not disappoint in that aspiration。 Baker takes a fascinating perspective by focusing on the history of baseball from the late 1800s all the way to the end of World War Two through the prism of New York City。 The reader gets to see the growth of baseball as the city grows into the colossus that we can see today。 There was information that I had already know I am a big fan of sport's books， but baseball books have a particular history of reaching for literature。 Kevin Baker's The New York Game did not disappoint in that aspiration。 Baker takes a fascinating perspective by focusing on the history of baseball from the late 1800s all the way to the end of World War Two through the prism of New York City。 The reader gets to see the growth of baseball as the city grows into the colossus that we can see today。 There was information that I had already known from other books， but other sections， especially at the beginning， really provided me with some fascinating tidbits that I had not known before。 Baker's writing on the dead-ball era was really insightful because I was aware of some of the personalities and events， but the context behind some of these people and events was what lent color to the information I vaguely knew。 Baker did a fantastic job of incorporating the early to glory years of the Giants （a New York staple before the advent of the Yankees）， Dodgers， and Yankees， providing ample time to all of the games， events， and players of these different eras。 Baker's section on the Dodgers of the early 1940s was fascinating， providing the reader with a view of a team that could have taken on the Yankees a lot sooner than they did。 What surprised me the most as I read this book was how much I enjoyed it when Baker veered away from the baseball to talk about the history of New York City。 These asides provided deep context to what was happening on the baseball diamonds， and really showed how intertwined baseball was to the growth of the city。 Watching how the city and baseball changed with one another was truly one of my favorite parts of the book。 As someone who lives in NYC I truly learned a lot。 I would recommend this book to anyone who loves both history and baseball。 It will truly not disappoint。 I received this book for review through NetGalley。 。。。more
Andrew
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