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Providing a solid introduction to the teams of the N.L. West for young baseball fans Aug 19, 2005
By Lawrance M. Bernabo
It is not surprising that Barry Bonds appears on the cover of this look at the "National League West" for young fans, but it is ironic since Bonds had not yet played during the 2005 season (he might be ready in September, but who knows). Jim Thome was on the cover of the "National League East" volume and Mark Prior is the cover boy for the "National League Central," and both of them have spent time on the disabled list, but at least they got some games in this year. Then again, this has been a strange year for this particular division. When as of last night this is a division where the San Diego Padres are a game under .500--and in first place. Meanwhile, the N.L. East the New York Mets are playing .513 ball and in last place. What an interesting world in which we live.
Jim Gigliotti introduces the five teams in this division as being an unusual collection of franchises. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have storied histories that go back to their days in Brooklyn and New York, while the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres are relative new comers. The history of the division, which goes back to 1969, is traced to provide a quick overview of the N.L. West as a whole. Then Gigliotti goes on to provide more about each individual club. His stated goal is to allow his young readers to soon qualify as an expert on all of the teams in this division, but that is overstating the case. However, he does give young fans a solid introduction and the means to learn more.
The teams are arranged alphabetically in this slim volume and in each chapter we learn about the history of the franchise, its best moments on the field, and some of the biggest stars who have played for each team. This becomes a disservice to the Dodgers and Giants who have each been around twice as long as the other three teams put together. The Dodgers have six world championships and the Giants have won five World Series. There are photographs of Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax to go along with Duke Snider's Hall of Fame plaque, but that leaves other Dodger greats like Roy Campanella, Maury Wills, and Orel Hershiser just to get their names mentioned. Carl Hubbell has his plaque and John McGraw, Mel Ott, and Willie McCovey get their photographs in, to go along with a statue of Willie Mays, but Christy Mathewson gets passed over.
Still, when Gigliotti talks about New York Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson snaring McCovey's line drive to end the 1962 World Series he is doing his job (remember the "Peanuts" cartoons where Charlie Brown sits dejectedly on the curb and in the last panel jumps up and asks why McCovey could not have hit the ball 2 feet--or even 1 foot--higher?). Sometimes the details are put in the margins of the book, but the important thing is that they are there.
The book tries to tie the old to the new, so while Randy Johnson and Larry Walker have moved on to other teams, young fans have pictures of current stars like Preston Wilson and Jason Schmidt. However, this is a hit and miss proposition since Sean Burroughs of the Padres gets a color photo but is currently in the minor leagues (the son of former A.L. M.V.P. slugger Jeff Burroughs and a Little League World Series star, Sean has not shown the power numbers somebody playing the hot corner has to have).
A lot of the fun of being a baseball fan is pouring over statistics, and in the back of the book young fans will find several pages of Stat Stuff, so that they can see that Todd Helton's lifetime average of .399 with the Rockies is currently a point higher than that of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn with the Padres. While Christy Mathewson still has the career team records for wins (372) and strikeouts (2,499) with the Giants, Barry Bonds leads in none of those categories, although his considerable accomplishments are noted in detail at the end of the chapter on the San Francisco team. Young fans will also find a Glossary of baseball terms so they know what it means to be in the "cellar" or an "underdog."
There is also a Time Line that puts Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951 in historical perspective and a list of books in the back of this Behind the Plate volume where readers can go For More Information about the National Leagues West and Major League Baseball. If you check out the homepage on the web you will get links to the MLB and ESPN cites, which will help young fans find out more about the players and the teams mention. Gigliotti provides a lot of information, but there is so much out there, especially if you are a fan of the Dodgers or the Giants (no one is a fan of both, as this book should also make clear to its young readers).
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