Book Review: Six Decades of Baseball

For a fan to write a book about their experiences in baseball they have to have experienced a lot, and Bill Lewers has.· In his book Six Decades of Baseball he chronicles his life memories connected to our national pastime.· The first thing you need to know about Bill Lewers is that he is a Red Sox fan, which immediately makes him more knowledgeable about the game than most fans.  He also grew up in New York so he has a unique prospective into the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry and the history of the game.·

Six Decades of Baseball includes 138 anecdotes from Lewer’s life as a baseball fan from the 1950s-present.· Most baseball fans have their favorite moments as a baseball fan buried somewhere in their memory but few have been able to witness as many great moments as Lewers.· The memories are as diverse as his first trip to Fenway in 1963 to watching Jesse Barfield battle dense fog in Baltimore to make a catch.· Lewers also witnessed some historic moments like witnessing a triple play at Camden Yards or watching Carl Erskine throw a no-hitter at Ebbets Field in 1956.

Lewers breaks down his thoughts into short 1-2 page chapters in chronological order as his baseball life evolves.· He takes you with him as he enjoys the highs and lows of the great game and he also includes many oft overlooked tidbits from baseball history.  He also tells the story of some of his favorite players through the years and they are not the usual cast of characters.  It has been said that going to a baseball game is like going to a Grateful Dead show; you never know what you are going to get.  For Lewers’s six decades of being a fan he was able to see nearly everything.  His archiving of ticket stubs and score-sheets help him tell the story of all of those event.

It is nice to see baseball through the eyes of the paying fan and Lewers’ book reminds us why we love the game so much.  You can learn more about the book on the Six Decades of Baseball website.