Diamond -- Baseball Writings of Mark Harris

 

Diamond -- Baseball Writings of Mark Harris is a very good, entertaining, and thought-provoking anthology of his in-depth feature writing over the years. Harris was both a journalist and academic until his passing in 2007. He also worked as a screenwriter, giving us Bang The Drum Slowly, starring Robert DiNiro in the movie adaptation. That screenplay is included here in Diamond.

Harris was never the daily beat reporter, chasing Major League teams all over the country. His writing could be compared to a specialist or a marksman. His stories, several of which appeared in Sports Illustrated, went past what the average fan would see from a stadium seat or television.

His stories here take you back to the early days of the Pete Rose gambling scandal eyeing the various sides of the issues. He also wrote about the tragic death of Cleveland Indians player Ray Chapman from a pitch from Yankee pitcher Carl Mays in 1920. Chapman died after the game in a Cleveland hospital. His pregnant wife died a few years later from suicide. Their daughter died at age 8 from measles.

Another cheerier story revolved around fictitious San Francisco Giants fans in various well-known parts of the city offering their opinions on the team after a 10-11 road trip while trying to hang onto a chance to win their division. You would seriously appreciate it you've ever spent any time there.

I didn't read it straight through. I skipped around, seeking to rekindle some of the writing I learned years ago when SI was counting on a large group of freelancers for top, and on deadline, great stories. Some readers would consider books like this a collector's item. I do.