“The First All -Star Game:
Babe Ruth, FDR, and
America at the Crossroads”
The author: Randall Sullivan
The details: Grove Atlantic, 496 pages, $30, to be released June 2, ’26
The links: The publisher, the author, Bookshop.org
A review in 90 feet or less:
Hail and farewell, Garret Anderson.
The sudden death of the retired Angels’ outfielder at age 53 on April 16 at his home in Newport Beach from pancreatic issues was a real cause to pause.
GA gave us more than just general admission access to witness him as the only player to wear a team jersey spanning the California (1994-96), Anaheim (1997-2004) and revived Los Angeles (2005-2008) branding names. Which, coupled with his own rather common-man name, made it easier for him to slip under the national radar despite holding that unique spot in the franchise’s history.
The team’s current all-time leader in games played (2,013), hits (2,368), at bats (7,989), total bases (3,743), doubles (489), RBIs (1,292) and sacrifice flies (76), Anderson is momentary now tied with Mike Trout with most extra-base hits (796), second to Trout in runs scored (1,024), third in batting average (.290, behind Vlad Guerrero’s .319 and Rod Carew’s .314), and, if this comes as a surprise, he’s also third in home runs (272, behind Trout and Tim Salmon).
One other key thing perhaps overlooked when those writing about his legacy covered his “graceful and enduring” 17-season MLB career:
Anderson was the first player to ever win a World Series title, a Home Run Derby title and an All Star Game MVP within a one-year span.
Not so trivial.
In the 2002 World Series, ending with so far the only title in the Angels’ 66-year history, Anderson’s bases-clearing double in the third inning of Game 7 gave the Angels a cushion to ride over San Francisco.
In the 2002 playoffs, covering 16 games, he was 21 for 70 (.300) with two homers, 13 RBIs and 11 runs scored.
In the 2023 Home Run Derby, Anderson proved he belonged — he did have a career-best homer total for a season with 35 in 2000, a year when he only walked 24 times. Anderson outlasted Albert Pujols in the final round to win it, using efficiency to get the job done.
“I don’t look at myself as a home-run hitter, but I know I’m capable of hitting some balls out of the park, and it’s just another platform to go out and show America what I can do,’‘ Anderson said after the eight-man, three-round competition. “That swing I used is not a swing I try to use during the season. It was just strictly for trying to hit the ball over the fence. During the season, mentally and physically, I don’t do that. I look for mistakes and try to hit them hard.”
Continue reading “Day 10 of 2026 baseball books: When the galaxy of stars first came into view”
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