Review of "Strange But True Baseball Stories," by Furman Bisher

 Review of

Strange But True Baseball Stories, by Furman Bisher

Four out of five stars

Memorable events rather than strange

 With a major league baseball season of over 150 games and at least 16 teams in the majors, there has been ample opportunity for unusual events to take place. What is described here is more in the area of memorable rather than strange. For example, the famous Bill Veeck publicity stunt of having Eddie Gaedel bat in a game is not strange. To many, it was a brilliant move to attract nationwide attention to what was a lousy team that drew few fans.

 The fact that Stan Musial started out as a pitcher until he hurt his throwing arm and became one of the best hitters of all-time is also not strange. Several other players started out at one position and then became great at another. Actor Chuck Connors was a baseball player of dubious distinction until he became an actor. Again, not all that unusual, and certainly not strange.

 Having said that, this is a nice book of historical events in baseball. It shows how the game reflects the world around it and that the people that have played it were human. The most unusual story is how Ty Cobb literally discovered himself as a baseball prospect.