This week’s edition of “DK Recommends” is David Halberstam’s book, The Teammates. The book details four Red Sox teammates, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky and Ted Williams, and their friendship that would last a lifetime and transcend the game of baseball. I had previously recommended another Halberstam book in this space, Summer of ’49, and the characters in this book played a central role in that one as well. But while Summer of ’49 touches on many characters and spans just one season, The Teammates focuses on these four friends and covers tales from a fifty years together. One of the most interesting aspects of the book for me is the roles that each plays within this group of friends. Doerr is the good-hearted, hard-working simple man from Oregon. DiMaggio is the cerebral member of the group, a savvy businessman who made a fortune in business ventures after his playing days were through. Pesky was the “younger brother” in the group, always smiling and usually the butt of somebody (Williams) jokes. And Ted is the gruff, know-it-all, tough for many to love, but loved tremendously by his dear friends. Their personalities in life were not much different than their traits as ballplayers. The book truly takes the reader full circle, covering from the peak of their athletic prowess to Pesky and DiMaggio traveling to visit Ted Willliams dying in the hospital. And with Johnny Pesky due to have his #6 retired tonight, joining Doerr and Williams in being so honored, it seemed like a very appropriate time to recommend a book that shows this foursome was not simply a group of good baseball men, they were a group of good men and great friends.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
DK Recommends: The Teammates
This week’s edition of “DK Recommends” is David Halberstam’s book, The Teammates. The book details four Red Sox teammates, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky and Ted Williams, and their friendship that would last a lifetime and transcend the game of baseball. I had previously recommended another Halberstam book in this space, Summer of ’49, and the characters in this book played a central role in that one as well. But while Summer of ’49 touches on many characters and spans just one season, The Teammates focuses on these four friends and covers tales from a fifty years together. One of the most interesting aspects of the book for me is the roles that each plays within this group of friends. Doerr is the good-hearted, hard-working simple man from Oregon. DiMaggio is the cerebral member of the group, a savvy businessman who made a fortune in business ventures after his playing days were through. Pesky was the “younger brother” in the group, always smiling and usually the butt of somebody (Williams) jokes. And Ted is the gruff, know-it-all, tough for many to love, but loved tremendously by his dear friends. Their personalities in life were not much different than their traits as ballplayers. The book truly takes the reader full circle, covering from the peak of their athletic prowess to Pesky and DiMaggio traveling to visit Ted Willliams dying in the hospital. And with Johnny Pesky due to have his #6 retired tonight, joining Doerr and Williams in being so honored, it seemed like a very appropriate time to recommend a book that shows this foursome was not simply a group of good baseball men, they were a group of good men and great friends.
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4 comments:
I actually enjoyed Summer of '49 more as a baseball book....but this is also excellent. Worth a red for fans of baseball history and ALL Sox fans.
I'm not much of a reader if they make it a movie i'll watch it. I'm sure my lack of reading is evident in my many spelling, puncuation and other gramatical errors
not sure I am allowed to do this but I would like to recommend another book: Quiet Strength. It is Tony Dungy's book and it is an incredible book that everyone can apply to life, not just sports.
Doesn't he bash, maybe not bash, but allude to Belichick being not the classiest... ?
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