Major League Dads: Baseball's Best Players Reflect on the Fathers Who Inspired Them to Love the Game [Hardcover]

I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this book. After reading this book cover to cover at least two times it does not disappoint. Reading about how much their Dads influenced some of my favorite players was very heartwarming. My Dad died took young to coach me, but; I now coach my daughters team and hope that she has these same memories about me as she gets older. In reading this book you get to see how much the players fathers cared about their child. The fathers not only were their baseball coaches but life coaches as well. A tight bond with a parent is always a great aspect of life. The fact that baseball is near and to MY heart and seeing how much further the parent child relationship can grow through sports is a great thing. The stories are so touching and heartfelt its hard not to shed some tears of your own when reading this book. Its an absolute must read!!!

very enjoyable & I am sharing another purchase with a relative as a Father's Day gift this coming visit..thanks
for the opportunity to share my thoughts..would highly recommend all dads of little leaguers to view & follow some of the examples in the book..happy reading & teaching with son/daughter!

Authors Kevin Neary and Leigh Tobin have interviewed 134 major league baseball players about their fathers, who were their coaches when they were growing up. Most of the interviews are one to one and half pages. Some are as short as half a page and a handful run three pages. Most can be read in three minutes or less.

The authors have selected quantity over quality. Most of the interviews were conducted in major league clubhouses and the players seemingly didn't spend much time with the authors. Interviewing 134 players was way too many because there's little substance to most of the interviews.

Most of the fatherly advice falls into the following categories: work hard, don't quit, hustle, stay positive, have fun and be passionate about the game. Reading slightly different versions of this advice gets rather monotonous after awhile. There are no poignant or touching stories here.

The formula is a little background on the player, a couple quotes about his dad, some information about the player's first major league game and whether or not his dad attended and not much more. I would have preferred to have fewer players featured with more depth about their father-son relationship.

Many well-known players such as Derek Jeter, Roy Halladay, David Wright, Greg Maddux, Joe Mauer, Justin Verlander and Scott Rolen are included in the book. Lesser known players are also included, such as Scott Dohmann, Sam Fuld, J.J. Furmaniak, Justin Ruggiano, Taylor Tankersley and Jason Wood. An interesting feature of the book is the photos of some of the players when they played Little League or youth baseball.

This is not the type of book that you read straight through. It's best read by picking different chapters, perhaps of your favorite players. I doubt if many readers will read all 134 player interviews. They tend to be more similar than different. The thought behind purchasing this book is probably more satisfying than the book itself.