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Working for the whole

Cover of The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Ca
A review of The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record by John Eisenberg

I found this a very interesting read. I enjoyed both sections though of course I am more familiar with Ripken (my time period) than Gehrig so it was good to learn more and see him as more than the man speaking at Yankee Stadium at the end of his career. I think what really made the book work were the sections in between that looked at baseball streaks in general, a little history of statistics in baseball, and more importantly the people and their own feelings about their streaks. I am not much on metrics; my enjoyment of baseball lies in the joy of playing, strategy, and teams that work for the whole rather than individual achievements, so it was refreshing that both Ripken and Gehrig were more concerned with their contributions to their teams than setting out to establish records.

Jan 29, 2018