Review of "Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud," by Joe Pepitone with Barry Stainback

Review of

Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud, by Joe Pepitone with Barry Stainback 0872234282

Five out of five stars

 Joe Pepitone has to be high on any list of baseball players that had amazing talent for the game yet threw it away in a self-destructive frenzy. He was a very good fielder as well as a hitter, lost in most of the talk about his wayward ways is the fact that he won three Gold Glove awards at first base. When Mickey Mantle’s legs were giving out and he was moved to first base from center field, Pepitone took over in center and did a credible job.

 While Pepitone is open about his many mistakes and childish behavior, the rendition reaches the point where his excuses tire the reader. Yes, his father hit him consistently and he was under great pressure to do what was expected of him. Furthermore, his father did die shortly after Joe yelled to him that he wished his father were dead. Yet, that excuse wears out as you read about how much he failed to put out effort, treated his wives horribly, openly considered women as nothing more than sex objects and was completely irresponsible with money.

 In the modern world where professional athletes are regularly excoriated in print and hero worship is a thing of the past, this book is a bit of fresh air in that nearly all of the exposed dirt is in reference to Pepitone. You do have to give him credit for that, as there is no question that he could have said much more about teammates such as Mickey Mantle. From this book, it is clear that if Pepitone could have righted himself in his early twenties, he would likely be in the Hall of Fame. To achieve what he did on the field of play given what he did off of it is an amazing feat.