The legendary author takes you through the National Baseball Hall of Fame– literally– in a 264 page odyssey that will leave you feeling like you’re in Cooperstown, even if you’ve never been there

SCOTT JACOBS

Welcome to Baseball Heaven.  Welcome to Cooperstown, NY.  Take a walk with me as we walk into baseball’s greatest shrine.  Look– over there– in the lobby, and you’ll see Sculptor Stanley Bleifeld’s “Character and Courage” statue, a wonderful tribute to Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and Roberto Clemente.

But wait.  I’ve never actually been to Cooperstown.  Until recently, I’d never really read much up on it.  So how do I know this?  Let’s just say I’ve got a pretty damn  good tour guide walking me through the fabled aisles of the most well known place in the quaint New York town.

Bert Sugar’s Baseball Hall of Fame: A Living History of America’s Greatest Game is more then just a book.  It’s an addiction, a twenty first century marvel, a book so perfect, it’s hard to say what’s more impressive, the top notch writing or the first class photography.  It’s attention to detail is so impressive, that the only thing missing is some Yankee Stadium dirt, or a little wooden splinter from one of Reggie Jackson’s bats. Find great deals on BBCOR bats at HomerunMonkey.com.

Never have I seen a baseball book that achieves perfection– but Sugar and photographer Bruce Curtis’ compilation is almost as magnificient as the place they strive to document.

From the lobby all the way to the third floor, Sugar and Curtis take Baseball’s ultimate last stop, and give it life.  Each picture is followed with a story.  Everything baseball is covered.  Sugar takes you to Cooperstown where he dissects the small baseball paradise and delves into the mystery of — why Cooperstown.  Then it’s onto the entry way, and from there you’re on your way to a book tour unlike any you’ve ever seen.

Baseball Hall of Fame is the ultimate five tool talent, a blue chipper that comes through with the versatility most books could only dream of having.

The pictures are stunning.  Whether it’s a group picture of the first four classes of living inductees at the Hall of Fame (Shocker here: Ty Cobb was late for the picture and didn’t get included), A snapshot of Mickey Chochrane’s Philadelphia  Athletics jacket from the 1930’s, or an image of Al Schacht’s top hat, which came to be the Washington Senator entertainer’s trademark (because, let’s face it, someone had to come up with a reason to see the Sens), Curtis has all the bases covered here.

But here’s what set’s the book apart: its interest in the little guy.  It’s not just about baseball players here.  Sugar and Curtis make sure that anyone who’s in the Hall gets their due and that’s admirable.  It’s so easy to just cover the greats, guys like Babe Rut, Mickey Mantle, and CY Young, but Baseball Hall of Fame delves into baseball’s other half, and also covers the people who didn’t “play ball.”  Guys like Bill Veeck who inaugurated “Bat Day” in 1952 and Eddie Bennett, one of the first baseball mascots ever (unofficially).

But wait, there’s more.  Baseball Hall of Fame literally covers anything you could ever wonder.  How did hot dogs get their start in ballparks?  The answer’s inside.  What was Grandstand Manager’s Day?  Hint: the book covers that too.

Baseball Hall of Fame is the ultimate five tool talent, a blue chipper that comes through with the versatility most books could only dream of having.  If you love baseball, or if you call your self a sports fan, this coffee book is a must have for your collection.  Sugar and Curtis’ goal was to capture baseball’s greatest treasure chest, and in doing so they created a timeless collector’s item, good enough to get it’s own spot in the Hall.

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