I read all the Baseball 100 stuff when it was posted online initially, and then told my wife that she absolutely had better get it for me for Christmas. It's not until I saw these photos that I realized I'm going to have to wrestle it away from my 9 year old if I'm ever going to have any time with it!
I assume you've got HJ Heinz at #57, but I confess that I don't even know what position he played. I just know he could really slow down the advance of the offense.
Joe, you are not the first Substack writer to practically apologise for taking a vacation.
But your readers are good employers. We are happy to pay you for vacation time, when you are not expected to work at all. No permission is required. Hopefully your family will remember this as a family time together, not as you working in a different place from usual.
That is my son in bed reading in the first photo. This was the year that he fell in love with baseball. I took him to his first big-league game (Braves-Brewers in ATL). I had to wake him up close to midnight so he could see the Braves celebrate the World Series victory. He wants to go out in the yard and throw every day.
He is also an avid reader. When I asked him in September what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "I don't know, how about a big book?" That day I ordered an autographed copy from Rainy Day. I had to contain my excitement until his birthday rolled around in late November. I told him, "you said you wanted a big book. Well, here is the biggest I could find." He was thrilled, and began reading it every night before bed. Now we talk about the player he read about on the way to school every morning.
Thanks Joe, your book is helping me share my lifelong love of baseball with my son.
Just a suggestion for your son's next baseball book: Lawrence Ritter's <I>The Glory of Their Times</I>, a collection of oral histories of the game in the first decades of the 20th Century. Such early stars of the game as "Hans Lobert, Chief Meyers, Fred Snodgrass, Harry Hooper, Sam Jones, Smokey Joe Wood, Rube Marquard, Ed Roush, George Gibson and Ty Cobb’s roommate Sam Crawford" (per the Amazon description of the DVD) tell their stories and the stories of their teammates - including the tale of Herman “Germany” Schaefer's steal of First Base.
Like Joe's 100, this is a book about not just Baseball but America as it had been.
My 8-yr old son came into my room looking for a book to read before bed, saw The Baseball 100 and History of Religious Ideas sitting on my night table, and picked… History of Religious Ideas. I obviously did something wrong somewhere along the way.
I am insanely jealous of this. That's really just perfect and fantastic. I suspect Joe had a lot of people in mind when he wrote the book, but 8-year old budding baseball fan was probably rather high on the list.
Thanks for everything, Joe. And enjoy the time off. With Covid and not wanting to fly, we've started roadtripping this year, similar as I did as a kid and young adult, and it's just as great as I remember. I hope you have a good trip.
Thanks for so often sharing your wonderful year with us, and doing it so well! You are the sportswriter we all secretly aspired to be. Enjoy your trip, and here’s hoping you somehow find some time for R&R!
I read all the Baseball 100 stuff when it was posted online initially, and then told my wife that she absolutely had better get it for me for Christmas. It's not until I saw these photos that I realized I'm going to have to wrestle it away from my 9 year old if I'm ever going to have any time with it!
Just got my signed copy from Rainy Day Books.... in time for the holidays ... my gift to myself.
Loved the series at The Athletic -- have reread so many of the essays already (Monte Irvin!) ... and can't wait to read them again.
Thanks for the good reads this year and for the last forever years, Joe. Have a great vacation, drive safely, and enjoy connecting with the family.
Here here!!
I assume you've got HJ Heinz at #57, but I confess that I don't even know what position he played. I just know he could really slow down the advance of the offense.
Joe, you are not the first Substack writer to practically apologise for taking a vacation.
But your readers are good employers. We are happy to pay you for vacation time, when you are not expected to work at all. No permission is required. Hopefully your family will remember this as a family time together, not as you working in a different place from usual.
Enjoy the trip!
Safe Travels Joe and family! You're very much appreciated!
That is my son in bed reading in the first photo. This was the year that he fell in love with baseball. I took him to his first big-league game (Braves-Brewers in ATL). I had to wake him up close to midnight so he could see the Braves celebrate the World Series victory. He wants to go out in the yard and throw every day.
He is also an avid reader. When I asked him in September what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "I don't know, how about a big book?" That day I ordered an autographed copy from Rainy Day. I had to contain my excitement until his birthday rolled around in late November. I told him, "you said you wanted a big book. Well, here is the biggest I could find." He was thrilled, and began reading it every night before bed. Now we talk about the player he read about on the way to school every morning.
Thanks Joe, your book is helping me share my lifelong love of baseball with my son.
Just a suggestion for your son's next baseball book: Lawrence Ritter's <I>The Glory of Their Times</I>, a collection of oral histories of the game in the first decades of the 20th Century. Such early stars of the game as "Hans Lobert, Chief Meyers, Fred Snodgrass, Harry Hooper, Sam Jones, Smokey Joe Wood, Rube Marquard, Ed Roush, George Gibson and Ty Cobb’s roommate Sam Crawford" (per the Amazon description of the DVD) tell their stories and the stories of their teammates - including the tale of Herman “Germany” Schaefer's steal of First Base.
Like Joe's 100, this is a book about not just Baseball but America as it had been.
My 8-yr old son came into my room looking for a book to read before bed, saw The Baseball 100 and History of Religious Ideas sitting on my night table, and picked… History of Religious Ideas. I obviously did something wrong somewhere along the way.
I am insanely jealous of this. That's really just perfect and fantastic. I suspect Joe had a lot of people in mind when he wrote the book, but 8-year old budding baseball fan was probably rather high on the list.
Thanks for everything, Joe. And enjoy the time off. With Covid and not wanting to fly, we've started roadtripping this year, similar as I did as a kid and young adult, and it's just as great as I remember. I hope you have a good trip.
Happy Holidays to you and your family. It's rare that we can pay for something in life and feel like we are the ones getting a gift.
Thanks for so often sharing your wonderful year with us, and doing it so well! You are the sportswriter we all secretly aspired to be. Enjoy your trip, and here’s hoping you somehow find some time for R&R!