Day 6 of 2025 baseball book reviews: The pandemical influencers

“My Baseball Story:
The Game’s Influence on America”

The author/editor: Nick Del Calzo
The details: Oxman Publishing, 352 pages, $49.99, released in fall of 2024; best available at the publishers website or the official book site.

A review in 90 feet or less

This is what happens when you send out an all-points bulletin — or even just a gentle nudge — asking people for their baseball origin stories. At a time when they have time to think it through.

A baseball story that makes them feel most connected. Or, the baseball story that takes them back in time. Or gives them hope.

Grandparents. Dads and sons having a catch.Mickey Mantle. Fantasy camps. Ticket stubs. First gloves. Romance. Food. Scorebooks. Historical events. Ted Williams. Fan appreciation nights. Family outings. Broken hearts. Foul balls. An autograph.

Perry Barber, in the leadoff spot, page 26, photographed at the 2012 Cape Cod All Star Game at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Mass., working as an umpire, remembering how she didn’t fall in love with the game until age 26 in 1981: “My mother, in that prescient way mothers have, pushed me off the pedestal to which I’d grown attached, straight onto the baseball diamond, and a ruder but more necessary awakening a grown woman never had. … Through umpiring, I’ve learned more about human nature, my own included, than I ever could have from a thousand poetry books, psychology treatises or behavioral studies and it’s been a glorious and fruitful education for more than 40 years and counting.”  

Kimi Ego, page 164, a 2003 visit to Dodger Stadium: “Our family was invited to be guests for the re-dedication ceremony of the Japanese stone lantern. In 1965, an Ishi Doro (Stone Lantern) was gifted to Walter O’Malley … from (sportswriter Sotaro Suzuki and his wife, Toku), who realized the gift would symbolize universal friendship among the peoples of the world. … The two-ton, eight-foot stone lantern was placed on a hall near parking lot 37 (now lot 6) where Walter O’Malley often visited during the baseball season. Who could have imagined the stone lantern with its eternal light would symbolize the Dodgers hopes and dreams? … May the stone lantern’s eternal light continue to shine brightly to signify Dodger Stadium as its own ‘wonder of the world’ for everyone to enjoy.”

Pete Dreier, page 138, on meeting Johnny Antonelli, the New York Giants star pitcher of the 1950s and his “boyhood hero” in Cooperstown: “In 1958, when the Giants moved to San Francisco, they broke my heart. I would never again cheer for the Giants as a team, but I reserved a special loyalty for Johnny. I only wish that he and his wife had been able to visit Los Angeles so I could buy them lunch.”

Scott Melesky, page 142, writing about Aug. 16, 1981, Phillies vs. Mets, Shea Stadium: “We got up early and made the 45-minute drive from Oradell, New Jersey, to Queens, New York. My uncle Jim and cousin Michael lived there and got us excited for the game by leading a rousing rendition of “Take me out to the Ballgame” and “George Washington Bridge.” At the time I was unaware of the Major League Baseball strike and the struggles of the Mets, who languished in fifth place. I was just excited to see my first baseball game. For a 7-year-old out of the small-town Wolcott, Connecticut, Shea Stadium was a sight to behold. I had never seen a stadium before. It was big, shiny and circular. I loved the orange and blue colors and the Big Red Apple protruding behind the outfield wall. I was so excited.”

Even moreso after Neil Allen preserved a 5-2 Mets win. The post comes with a photo, from left, Uncle Jim, cousin Mike, brother Tom Jr., and Scott with the large helmet.

Lisa Corrigan, page 130, the wife of Colorado Rockies broadcaster Jack Corrigan, on learning the game: “It was the summer of 1975 when my boyfriend took me to my very first Major League Baseball game at Cleveland Stadium. I was going into my junior year at Kent State University and he was in his second year of graduate school. Since I had never been to a game, he told me to watch the white lines from home plate to first and third base. He said a player will never step on those lines coming onto or going off the field because they are very superstitious. Of course, I didn’t believe him. So what did I do the whole game but watch the players step over those lines! Who would have ever thought that my first game would lead me to become the baseball fan I am today. It prepared me to be the baseball wife these past 39 years.”

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In 2020, a local Denver TV station ran a story about how a photojournalist was “giving 100 lucky baseball fans from around the country a chance to be featured” in his new book project.

They supplied the stories. Nick Del Calzo would recorded the visuals.

Another Denver TV station followed up in 2021:

He ended up with more than 150 stories to swing from the heels and press between the covers.

Del Calzo got the idea for this during the COVID-19 lockdown when fans worried their memories of the game may vanish before they ever get out to a game again. His idea was that live is baseball and vice versa. He wanted to tap into experiences.

As a Denver marketing executive, he already had done Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, originally published in 2007 and twice reprinted to add new chapters.

It would be no surprise if, after this book gains more traction, a few sequels will be on the way. With or without a pandemic-induced urgency

How it goes in the scorebook

A time capsule, captured and curated for a Cooperstown-centric community.

How did you exist during the Pandemic of ’20 that kept you hopes alive? It’s five years later, and we have some valuable social documentation.

It couldn’t have been watching those often bizarre televised MLB games with fan cutouts in the stands. That was surreal, almost a tease — wish a few people had touched on those experiences to document it for future generations.

The benefits of this project may not be felt until decades from now. Large, bold and beautiful, it will never be misplaced or erased.

A heavy lift with a light touch, in ultra-high-gloss stock and binding with easy-to-go with the next chapter. The coffee-table sized approach makes it all feel bigger than life. More than just another Kodak moment.

Just note: When “My Baseball Story” arrives at your door, it will come in a really nice box, and inside, it is sealed in plastic. Collectors may even be tempted to just leave it pristine condition, like a rare baseball card. Don’t be tempted. And don’t take any chances this will be damaged as you open it up. Here’s an Instagram video of that event could look like at this link.

You can look it up: More to ponder

== “Hey Mom, Wanna Have a Catch?: A Collection of Baseball Stories … Honoring Moms and Dads who Taught us to Love America’s National Pastime,” by Rob Sheinkopf; Palmetto Publishing, 294 pages, $25.95, released April 1, 2025; best found at the website.

Sheinkopf collected 42 baseball stories, adding to eight of his own, that touch on all the subjects that “My Baseball Story” does above. The book is dedicated to Sheinkopf’s parents and he writes that is it “a heartfelt tribute to the moms and dads who nurture a love of baseball in their children, sharing the joy of the game and creating memories that last a lifetime. It’s a celebration of those who spend countless hours playing catch in the backyard (or not), cheering from the bleachers and instilling the values of teamwork, dedication and sportsmanship. Thank you to all the parents who have fostered a passion for baseball in their children.” With essays from the likes of George Gmlech, Rob Elias, Peter Golenbock, Kirsten Turner Clark (“Thans Mom for Making Me a Dodger Fan”), Steve Altman (“Me and My Dad and Moonshots”), and Michael Green. It was nice to meet Rob at the recent NINE convention in Tempe, Ariz.

= “9 Innings To Living Your Best Life: Achieve Success When You S.M.I.L.E.” by Jay Jackson; SmileyJCompany/self published, 228 pages, $29.27, released in December, 2024; best found at the author’s website

Jay Jackson’s 17-year pro pitching career took him from six MLB teams in six seasons — San Diego, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Atlanta, Toronto and Minnesota, debuting in 2015 as a 27-year old. Drafted by the Cubs out of Furman University in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, he spent five years in that organization before going to minor-league stops in the Miami, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee chains leading to his MLB start, and after that, four seasons in Japan before returning to the mainland. He’s more than just a great plug into an Immaculate Grid. And he’s still smiling, using social media platforms to get his new life and experiences out there in the book world and motivational speaking.