Dan Ewald

I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. There's a bit of truly excellent history in here, which makes reading it worthwhile, but far too much of the book mourns the Good Old Days and far too much is devoted to explaining what a Good Man Mr. Fetzer was. It just didn't work for me.

I've now read three biographies of John E. Fetzer. Brian Wilson's John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age is the best, but it's largely devoted to Fetzer's spiritualist activities. Carol Hegedus covers much of the same territory as Wilson in Stories of One Man's Search, though her book covers some material Wilson doesn't--particularly his relationship with Tucson. In contrast, Ewald's book's largely devoted to Fetzer's ownership of the Detroit Tigers.

NONE of these books explore Fetzer's business history in any detail. He was a pioneer owner of radio and television stations, a topic that would certainly be worth exploring. I'd really like to see such a book.… (meer)

I didn't know a lot about Dan Ewald before reading this book, except that he was one of the folks Ernie Harwell always credited at the end of a broadcast. It turns out Dan was Sparky Anderson's gatekeeper, and this book is a memoir of their relationship. It's cast as a long conversation occurring a few days before Anderson's death. There are a bunch of stories about, and often told by, Sparky. The last fifty or so pages are a real tear-jerker. Ewald likely intends this as an inspirational book, and it can certainly be read that way.

Besides the Life Lessons, the book contains a quite a bit of biographical material, and a surprising amount of information and commentary about Sparky's managerial methods. Sparky was more a motivator and molder than a tactician, as anyone who followed his teams knows. Ewald witnessed Anderson's methods during his Tiger years, and heard yarns about his work with the Cincinnati team's already-established egos. Also potentially valuable is the author's discussion about the differences and commonalities between Anderson's two personas--Sparky, the always-on-stage manager, and the homebody known to his friends as George. I'd long been aware of the Sparky/George division, but hadn't previously seen it directly considered.

This book's been the stand-in-line book on my smartphone for the past few months. It's been a worthwhile companion. Recommended, particularly to Tigers and Reds fans, and to anyone who wants some clue about how baseball's managers do their work.





This review has also been published on a dabbler's journal.
… (meer)