Baseball is Poetry

“What did I tell you,” Buck said as the gallery burst into life around him. “People say baseball’s dead. Baseball doesn’t die. People die. Baseball lives on.” Buck O’Neil

The Soul of Baseball, A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neils America; by Joe Posnanski;2007; William Morrow, New York; 796.357 O583p/978-0-06085403-4; 6/2-6/6/07
Joe Posnanski, a sportswriter for the Kansas City Star, traveled with Buck O’Neil for the last year of Bucks’ life. Buck never met a day or a person that he couldn’t get along with. This book has some great poetry, haiku even, because that is almost the way Buck spoke. Bucks’ mission in life was to educate people around the country about Negro League Baseball and the players who made it great. He was one of the moving forces behind the foundation of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City. He lobbied for the 17 people who were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006, and then even though he was passed over he was the presenter and speaker for those 17. This book has more soul than 99% of the books on the market. If you love baseball this is for you.