Long Balls, No Strikes: What Baseball Must Do to Keep the Good Times Rolling

By Joe Morgan

Book Overview

Nobody loves baseball more than Joe Morgan. He's proved it with his hall-of-fame performance on the field and his brilliant color commentary in the broadcast booth. Bob Costas says, "There may not be anyone alive who knows more about baseball than Joe Morgan. In his playing days, Morgan was a key cog in the Big Red Machine, and he saw the game at its zenith. From his perch in the broadcast booth he watched as baseball self-destructed, culminating in the devastating strike of 1994. And in 1998, he saw the game come back with baseball's electrifying resurgence in the season of McGwire, Sosa, and the Yankees. But as great as '98 was, Joe knows that baseball still has a lot of problems. And while baseball may be back, Joe wants the fans, the players, and the owners to know that some serious changes still need to be made. In Long Balls, No Strikes, Morgan draws on three decades' experience and passion as he dissects what has gone wrong and right for baseball. Some of his insights may seem unorthodox, some will be controversial, but that's never stopped Joe Morgan before. How do we improve the game on the field? Raise the mound Abolish the designated hitter forever Make the umpires learn the strike zone And that's only the beginning. . . . How do we improve the game off the field? Erase the invisible color line that keeps African-Americans from holding management positions Expand the talent pool by sending more scouts to the inner cities Have all teams share equally from the same profit pool And that's not all. . . . Joe Morgan doesn't believe in "the good old days." Tomorrow's game can be even better than yesterday's. But at the end of the century, the game stands at a crossroads. One path leads right back to the troubles that nearly destroyed the game forever in 1994. The other leads to a new Golden Age. If baseball wants to continue to thrive, some changes must be made. But before there are changes, we need to ask the right questions. And if Joe Morgan doesn't know the answers, then no one does.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609605240
• ISBN13: 9780609605240
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 289 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Joe Morgan is the Smartest Man in Baseball.

I picked up this book in the bargain bin at a bookstore (...). This is a book every serious fan should read. It's probably the best baseballl book I've ever read. Joe Morgan knows baseball. He should be the commissioner.What happened to the four man rotation? Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame? What should the Lords of Baseball (excuse me Dick Young) do? Joe knows. Read this book. You'll know too.

Pete Rose should read this one!

I've always enjoyed Joe Morgan as a baseball player and in the broadcast booth, but I was a bit leery about this book. I shouldn't have worried. Joe did an excellent job sharing his thoughts on what's wrong with Major League Baseball as well as what's right. I don't always agree with his opinions, but that's what makes the book interesting.Pete Rose should read this book and take some of his former teammate's advice to heart. Joe's suggestions to Pete are not particularly new, but he's got insight into the man that many other commentators do not.I definitely recommend this book for any baseball fan.

Lots of Food for Thought

Joe Morgan is a thoughtful and intelligent commentator on baseball. It's apparent in his work for ESPN and, now, in his most recent book. While I do not agree with some of his views, i.e., his high opinion of Bud Selig or his touting of revenue sharing as the solution to all of baseball's economic woes, he argues his points thoroughly and rationally, unlike many so-called sports "authorities." My only reservation about the book comes from the fact that, as a former player,he tends to exonerate players and their union from any culpability in the game's current environment. However, his commentary on his former teammate, Pete Rose, should be mandatory reading for those with short memories about Rose's actions.

There's more here than the subtitle indicates.

The time honored advice given to all aspiring writers is "Write what you know." Well Joe Morgan knows baseball, so a book from Mr. Morgan on the sport is bound to be insightful. "Long Balls, No Strikes" is subtitled "What Baseball Must Do to Keep the Good Times Rolling." If that were the only subject, we'd have, at best, a term paper rather than a book, so Mr. Morgan liberally injects additional topics to fill in the page count. Fortunately, this adds to the enjoyment of a pretty good baseball read for the modern era. He freely dispenses (and appropriately labels) his opinions on teams, players, officials and the atmosphere of modern-day baseball operations. One important word of caution: remember, Joe Morgan is first and foremost a PLAYER, so bear that in mind as you weigh his opinions and consider alternative points of view. That doesn't diminish the flavor in any way -- it's a good book for the fan. One interesting comparison he makes is between the 1998 Yankees and the Big Red Machine of 1975 (yes, he was a star member of that assemblage). Not surprisingly, he rates that Cincinnati group a shade above the New Yorkers and challenges them to repeat their ownership of the championship banner (as did the 1975 Reds). Well, they did. I wonder if he'd reconsider his rating? One minor point: the book had too many very careless typos reflecting a poor editing job.

Joe Knows

Joe knows more about baseball than Admiral Doubleday. It is an honor and a privilege to read Joe's insight into the game. I am not so sure Joe is on base in the last chapter dealing with minorities in executive positions. Joe went back to college to earn his degree because he promised his mother he would. Do all of the minority candiates Joe speaks about being qualified for high level positions in MLB have degrees? Is that a perequisite? Worth thinking about...