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Minor Players, Major Dreams
by Brett Mandel
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Bison Books (1996-12-01)
ISBN: 080328232X
EAN: 9780803282322
Dewy Decimal #: 796.357640973
Paperback: 243 pages
SKU: 08030405
Condition: Like New As issued n
Comments: Paperback. Like new condition with no markings and no creases to spine or cover. Very slight wear to cover. Near fine copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Brett Mandel, tired of his nine-to-five job, dreamed of a life of baseball instead: not merely as a spectator, not in weekend pickup games, but in professional baseball. Unlike millions of other dreamers, he made it happen. In 1994, he convinced the newly formed Ogden (Utah) Raptors of the Pioneer League to allow him to join the team and write a book about the minor-league experience—and the Raptors’ first year in baseball. The Pioneer League is a rookie league, designed for first-year professionals, fresh from college—or even younger. It is the first step many take toward the major-league career that will open to very few. Most are destined to last only a brief moment, but that moment is full of promise and was particularly so for the Ogden Raptors, a new team for a city that had a proud baseball heritage but had been without a team in recent years. Minor Players, Major Dreams is a wonderful insider’s view of the low minors and the young men chasing dreams as big as the skies they play under in Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Alberta.
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Amazon.com Review
Former high school ballplayer Brett Mandel yearned to experience a year in the minor leagues, so he convinced the Ogden (Utah) Raptors, about to embark on their maiden season, to let him chronicle that season from the perspective of a uniformed player. They agreed. The resulting saga describes the long bus rides, the bad food, the frustrations, and hopes that are all a part of baseball dreaming with affectionate good humor. The book's true life, though, steps up in the poignancy with which Mandel draws his teammates, young men destined for the most part to fall short of their great desire. As a player, Mandel went 0 for 5 on the year, proving that the pen, long deemed mightier than the sword, can be mightier than the bat, as well.
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Customer Reviews
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Can't put it down
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-09-12
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
What can I say? I read this book in three days. Couldn't put it down. Before I found out about this book, I actually had a similar idea. Except mine would have been more photography than writing. Anyway.....Mandel was able to bring the prospective from the player's standpoint. For a guy who never wrote a book before, he did a fantastic job of making you feel part of the team. I am very jealous of his experience. Anyone who's a baseball fan....this is a must read. Especially after you been to a couple of minor league games to know some of the quaint features he talks about. I've read no greater baseball book.
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An Honest Account of Life in the Minor Leagues
Rating (5)
Date: 2001-02-12
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Brett Mandel does an excellent job of portraying a year with the Ogden Raptors of the short-season Pioneer League. This is a well written, easy-to-read account of the ups and downs of life in the low minors. At times it is funny, at other times touching. I found myself pulling for him to get into a few more games than he did, but at least he's had an experience not many of us get. Good work on this book!
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Oh dear god - what an awesome book!
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-03-08
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
What a wonderful book! I picked this one up, and it stayed in my stack of books to read for about 6 months. That was a mistake - I should have read it first. This is a great book if you're a fan of baseball, particularly if you're a fan of minor league baseball. This tells the story of Brett's year with the Ogden Raptors in 1994 from the start to the end of the season. Brett's writing style is very easy to read. I tend to do most of my reading before going to bed at night, which usually means I can take several sessions to actually finish a book, as I did with this one. Most books suffer from when you pick them up again, it's not that easy to jump right in where you left off. This one does not have that. For me, it lent itself great to reading it in chunks. Brett was on the Raptors for a whole year, and this book is his recollection of the travels, details, and behind the scenes things most people will never hear about. Check this out - this book has nothing to do with the Texas Rangers (my favourite team), but it's a great GREAT baseball book!As an added bonus, I met the author last year when my wife & I went to Baltimore to see the Rangers play there. Brett and some friends were coming back from Cooperstown for the HOF induction ceremony, and were in Baltimore to see the Orioles play. He himself told me about the book, and we had a few moments talking about the Phillies, as we're both from there. I wish I would have already read the book at this point, but Brett was a great guy to meet in person, too!
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A MUST read for baseball wannabes and couldabeens
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-01-05
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Brett Mandel, the self-proclaimed worst player in professional baseball, paints a telling portrait of life in the lowest of the minor leagues, with a brand-new independent team, the Ogden Raptors. The horrible hotel rooms and the endless bus rides, complete with entertainment, the encouraging foster family and discouraged teammates are presented in a way sure to open the eyes of anyone who wants to or wishes they had played professional baseball. He profiles the people he meets during his sabbatical year, warts and all, while demonstrating uncommon restraint. As grinding as the trip may have been at times, it's clear that Brett enjoyed his turn as a Raptor, would probably do it again in a Philadelpha minute.
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Mandel gives an accurate account of life in the low minors.
Rating (5)
Date: 1997-12-18
Mandel's account of low level minor league baseball is right on target! The dream of making it to the major leagues is seen through many perspectives: a high draft pick who sustained an injury, two players who were released as twenty year olds, and college players who did not get drafted. The author shows how these players are trying to use independent baseball as a means to get into an affiliated organization. The author relates well with the average ball player who had their major dreams taken away after high school or college. This book is a must read for fans and players who want to know the truth about minor league baseball.
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