Two sweet Cheater’s Guide reviews
A nice recommendation in the Detroit News and a really positive review in the Chicago Sun-Times. Now I can tell you to order the critically-acclaimed (and Jim Bouton… uh, what would you call that, baffling?) Cheater’s Guide to Baseball. Hee hee hee.
Opening Day post coming.
USSM redhot book giveaway!
Hey, I’ve got a paperback copy of “Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong
One rule: you must have registered before today. I will check. If I pick you and you registered today, I’ll pick again.
You may wonder “Derek, it seems like if I could somehow show that I purchased or gave a nice review of your book, the excellent Cheaters Guide to Baseball, that my chances of winning this seemingly unrelated giveaway would dramatically increase.”
And I would say “With that kind of mindset, I know just the book for you: a Cheaters Guide to Baseball. But you’re welcome to try to influence the outcome that way.”
Cheater’s Guide now shipping and buyable
I’m as surprised as anyone, but Amazon’s now shipping the Cheater’s Guide to Baseball, and so is Barnes and Noble, Powell’s, and all kinds of good places.
Remember, your purchase indirectly supports USSM.
The next really simple thing you can do for the book is review it. If you loved it, liked it, didn’t like it, when you’re done, throw something up on Amazon or B&N. Reviews are good.
And if you liked it, please, go ahead and tell people. Bug them to buy it. Buy it for them. And if they need a signed copy, let me know, and we’ll work something out.
If you’ve got other ideas on how I can sell more of these things, please let me know. Or comment. Whatever. It’s my first solo book, I’m inexperienced and eager.
Publishers Weekly on Cheater’s Guide
How cool is that, The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball got reviewed in Publishers Weekly.
Baseball blogger Zumsteg (ussmariner.com) argues that cheating-within reason-is not only not a bad thing, it actually makes baseball a more nuanced game. Using a wealth of anecdotal evidence and some statistical analysis, he argues that baseball has evolved hand-in-hand with the aid of its scoundrels, scamps, and shifty characters-and that doctoring the ball or stealing signs necessitates teams, umpires and even fans adopt more complex strategy. Zumsteg draws the line at gambling, game fixing and steroid use, showing little sympathy for the Black Sox and even less for Pete Rose. While baseball aficionados will be familiar with many of Zumsteg’s stories, his wit will keep most casual fans entertained. Whether he’s describing what might happen in a car crash with Pete Rose (“I admitted that I hit your car … Can’t we stop this witch-hunt and get on with our lives?”) or laying blame for the steroid era on everyone from the commissioner to the fans, Zumsteg dispenses with the sanctimoniousness of most current sports writing. Although his prose style and humor are sometimes better suited to the Web (a few lengthy asides come across as amateurish), Zumsteg still creates a funny, honest look at the history of baseball’s black arts.
They may well be referring to the conversation about intestinal parasites Jeff and I have in the steroids chapter (“A Conversation About Jason Giambi with Fulbright Scholar Jeff Shaw”). It is… well, if I made a list of adjectives to describe that sidebar, “professional” would not be one of them.
Anyway — pre-order now, while it’s still a bargain at $11.
USSM job-hunting
The last time I made a post like this, it was almost three years ago and it worked out really well, so I’m returning to the well — I quit my full-time Program Manager job to write my book in July. I finished writing the book and also cranked out 306 USSM posts (which works out to ~1.5 posts/day ). And I sold some fiction. Anyway – if you’re in IT or work someplace cool that’s hiring, read on. I’ll spare everyone else the rest of the post appearing on the front page.
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USSM breaks new ground, maybe
I’ve heard the inclusion of my piece “Bugs Bunny, greatest banned player ever” in the next Best American Sports Writing Annual makes USSM the first baseball blog and possibly the first blog of any kind to break into that hallowed series. I’d have to hit the library and look through the archives to check, and it’s strange to think that might be the case, but looking through the table of contents available for the last couple of editions, there’s ESPN.com and Slate, but I don’t see anything… this being the internet, I’m sure if that’s not true someone will be here to break up the party momentarily.
Someone wins an advance reader’s copy of The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball
207 unique non-authors commented, some of who, ignoring instructions, registered today and made their first comment in that thread. They got thrown out. No one (surprisingly, given the subject matter) attempted to bribe me or otherwise cheat. So lacking a good n-sided die, I used Excel’s RANDBETWEEN, and we have a winner, which I’ll announce when I hear back from them. Unless they want to remain anonymous.
If I may make a pitch, though — it’s clear that at least 200 of you are interested in reading it. For only $11 more than free, you can pre-order the final version that features pictures with captions, corrected illustrations, and I promise that either at the USSM signing event (to be announced) or in some other fashion, I’ll make every effort to sign it for you.
Pre-orders will be hugely important in the book’s success, so if you’re thinking about it, please do go for it — it’s $11 and you’ve got months to cancel if all the readers and reviews this far turn out to be wrong.
Thanks to everyone who entered, it was good to see.
Free advance copy of The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball
I hold in my hands one rare advance uncorrected reader’s copy of The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball. I’m going to give it away to a USSM reader today.
If you’d like it, autographed or not, leave a comment below and I’ll randomly select someone and send it to them. The one caveat: to prevent mass registrations, your account must have been registered before today. Long-time lurkers, apologies, but your day will come.
Also, a reminder – March 3rd, Peoria. Meet two major league GMs, Jonah Keri, me, and get a Cheater’s Guide bookmark or something similarly exciting. Check it out.
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First review for Cheater’s Guide to Baseball
From the Feb 1 Library Journal:
Zumsteg, Derek. The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball. Houghton. Apr. 2007. 256p.
ISBN 0-618-55113-1 [ISBN 978-0-618-55113-2]. pap. $13.95.
It’s been said that an athlete who “ain’t cheatin’ ain’t tryin'” and that “rules are made to be broken.” Zumsteg (coauthor, Baseball Prospectus) has written a lively and challenging account of cheating as part of America’s pastime, whether it’s the habits of particular notables, such as Gaylord Perry and his spitball, or modern day pharmaceutical legerdemain. He also ponders such issues as whether it’s cheating to try to bunt to break up a no hitter. No, it ensures that the game evolves and progresses! This one’s a sure hit.
Pre-order now, folks. Your purchase supports me writing for USSM.
The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball
Only $11 – a bargain at twice the price.
First book event of any kind– Peoria, March 3rd, you can meet two major league GMs, Jonah Keri, me, and get a Cheater’s Guide bookmark or something similarly exciting. Check it out.
New adventures and old stories
Dust off the old login and one finds that Felix isn’t fat any more, JJ Putz has an extension, and Jose Guillen has turned into a “potential thumper.” Derek’s been an Atlas both in terms of holding up the site on his own and in terms of supplying encyclopedic information. That last one isn’t altogether surprising.
It’s not that the offseason has lacked action. Rather, I think of it as when a physical confrontation begins with a series of furious slaps, and the bewildered recipient — who had thought himself strong, or at least inured to such assaults — slipped into something akin to catatonia. Then, when the action did actually slow, so did the poor survivor’s capacity for commentary. Stunned drooling became a realistic (if not preferred) alternative.
Offended by the analogy? It’s not the whole fanbase rendered to drooling disappointment. Like Ash says in Army of Darkness: Just me, baby. Just me.
For distraction’s sake, Okinawa is a fine place to be. I hide from sports news. Hibernate a little bit. Wrap myself up in the book I’m writing, seeking solace in new adventures and old stories — a few of which even involve my favorite baseball team. The loosely organized theme: loyalty is a virtue, and virtue is its own reward. Hang in through the tough times.
Let me load three tales into the chamber and see what spins out. One old, one new, one borrowed. Nothing blue, ’cause I don’t work that way.
TALE THE FIRST: THE TALE OF LAS VEGAS (OLD)
Before dipping to the land of Pachinko, I ventured once more to Gomorrah with a group of friends. You know, for the canyon hiking.
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