Jim Collins (3)

The Last Best League flatters baseball more than the people that play it. The book takes a coach’s eye view of the world, measuring a roster of human talent and attempting to extract the optimal performance from it. (It so happens that John Schiffner, the head coach of the Chatham A’s, and the rest of the coaching staff escape the book unscathed.) In this view, Collins follows the lives of several collegiate baseball players over the summer of 2002 in the Cape Cod Baseball League. They work summer jobs, they lift, they party, they worry about their draft bonuses (or if they will be drafted at all), they try to pick up women. Occasionally, they play baseball. The afterword in the tenth-anniversary edition depicts a different set of vagaries at the professional level—the injuries, the non-existent job security, the dumb luck. By the end, you marvel that anyone can do it at all.… (mere)

Baseball is likely my favorite hobby, and living so close to Cape Cod, when my fiancee picked up this book I had to read it. I think Collins does an excellent job of reaching for the larger theme (the last chance that these 20 year old baseball players get to just have fun before turning pro while also assessing where they fall in the hierarchy of baseball skills) without being oppressive about it. I felt like I really got to know the young men playing for the Chatham As in 2002, and Collins was remarkable in giving a real look at not only how they played baseball, but how they lived during their summer.… (mere)

I've read this book four times in the last few years. It is an outstanding exploration of the college summer ball. Mtemple4 has some basic misunderstandings, which may impact on the reader's overall understanding. This is not about amateur ballplayers trying to make the majors. When you play in the Cape Cod League, you are - more than likely - going to play pro ball. The reason you go to the Cape is to improve your draft position and cash a bigger check. Also, you don't go from amateur to pro. As in the appendices Jim follows up with several of the major players and tracks their progress through the minor league system.

It is a very good book, and written in very non-baseball English. But I still reserve recommendation for those with at advanced understanding of the business of baseball, and the road from college to the pros.… (mere)

105/257
In the pages that I have read I have found out a little background of this book. The book is about amateur baseball players trying to make it to the major leagues. They players who are serious go to the cape cod league where everyone has the same goal; to make the majors. The main character in this book, to me is , Jamie D'Antona. D'Antona is a hard working player who loves to go out and party. Jaime also attended Wake Forest and is known for his power hitting. To me Jaime changes through the book because in the beginning he doesn't really think he has a chance at the majors. Also in the beginning Jaime parties all the time and gets into trouble. Even though I am only half way through the book I think Jaime will change into being a confident player in the majors and he will stop partying as much because he knows the consequences. I related to this book because when little league was done I had to try out for babe ruth. When I tried out I was nervous I wouldnt make it to the next level. But fortunately I did. So far I have liked all of this book and it is very interesting for me. I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes or plays baseball.… (mere)