Mickey Mantle's Last Home Run (Book) - 7/22/2025 9:38:50 AM
Absolutely enjoyed your story loved the characters and the flow.
Mickey Mantle's Last Home Run (Book) - 2/15/2019 10:14:18 AM
I'm not a baseball fan. But from that excerpt, I'm a fan of your writing. It's as though you lived that year, 1968, in that vicinity, going to Yankees games. I was working as an engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area that year, and wasn't paying attention to baseball at all, even when I went to NYC to attend my cousin's wedding to a Manhattan girl and Robert F. Kennedy was lying in state at St. Patrick's Cathedral. My father was a big baseball fan, sometimes watching one game on television while listening to another on the radio. He was a big fan of the Milwaukee Braves and Hank Aaron.
You are very courageous to write about the mixed feelings everyone had at that time between what had been establishment black-and-white positions in society, rapidly changing. I love history and we need to learn from it. By writing this book for young people, they can get a feel for what it was like for young people at that time with some of the same questions haunting society still around.
Ron
Maggie (Short Story) - 8/10/2020 2:44:27 PM
Interesting, but a little on the passive side. I feel that it needs a one two counter punch to spice it up.
Erin K
Mickey Mantle's Last Home Run (final chapter, same as the novel's title)) (Short Story) - 10/2/2019 8:52:03 AM
Unlike many ballplayers in that era, Mickey Mantle had quite a life after retirement. He may have acted in some movies, and certainly in commercials. Other ballplayers faded into obscurity, only remembered by their family and friends… Their local community.
Jonathan certainly plays a major role in this book. His entrance as Groucho Marx in the last chapter is a good example. My brother once brought a black young friend over from where they both worked at a country club lodge as bussers. My brother was a freshman in engineering at WVU where I worked, staying with me and working as a busser for money for school because he was afraid that he couldn't handle what the waiters had to do at this high-class place that catered to senators and other bigwigs like Ronald Reagan campaigning for president. The young black man was on a work internship from the Kennedy Detention Center. Had killed someone in the tough streets of Pittsburgh and was serving time.
Anyway, my brother dressed up as a fisherman (easy, because he had his fishing gear with him). And the black young man got a sheet from my brother and with a marker, wrote K K K in big letters on the front, and Kill a N*g**r on the back. Off they went to a Halloween party of college students. That guy, without a costume, was quite creative and willing to tolerate controversy, just like your character, Jonathan, in real life. That's why your writing is so realistic.
While I found the smell and smoke of cigarettes quite seductive, even as I sucked in my dad's secondhand smoke over the ashtray watching him play poker at four or five, but I'm glad I quit smoking at seven. When I occasionally got a cigar when some colleague had a baby and wanted to show off, I attempted to smoke them. While they generally smelled quite good from the perfume they were soaked in, smoking a cigar was like breathing in a coal fired furnace… Very hot, abrasive and not at all, pleasant. Why I never tried a pipe. All professors were supposed to smoke a pipe and grow a beard at one time in the 70s. I rebelled. It was/is just in me.
It was interesting how you brought back English into that last chapter. Your high school English classes must've been a great influence on you. While I struggled to take so many English classes and have to go through the basics so many times from grade school through my doctorate, I'm grateful for all those classes introducing me to some of the best literature ever written. I wouldn't have done it on my own. Much more interested in playing a game of pickup baseball than reading or even writing in those days of being outdoors all the time with no books in my pockets.
An appropriate ending to a story of youth in the turbulent summer of 1968. Well done!
Ron
Darrel's Demise (Short Story) - 9/30/2019 8:09:29 AM
A nice, winning conclusion to the game that has been building for some time. And a novel conclusion, matching similar events in the World Series, past. And the rhubarb (interesting name… derived from the sweet-and-sour vegetable?), conveniently paved the way to remove the adversaries to the success of Jonathan and TJ during the last game of the season. Hero stuff.
I learned a new term, drag bunt. In all my baseball days, I never heard or learned that term. But I never watched major league baseball enough or paid enough attention to bunts when I saw them on the screen, not listening to the commentator play-by-play.
Ron
Maggie Part 2 (Short Story) - 9/29/2019 9:16:46 AM
Since girls are generally more emotional, at a time like that, they always seem to get close to someone they perceive with more strength… In this case Maggie grabbed TJ's arm. And, her emotion affected his, nicely done in your narrative.
I'm sure Jonathan was right about all the screaming, bawling and fainting done during those funerals at that time, but 40 years later when I had the unfortunate displeasure of attending funerals of African-American colleagues and friends who died including the president of our university and Mickey Leland, the congressman who was also an alumni, those events were quite solemn without any wailing or fainting, but punctuated with rousing speeches similar to MLK's and the singing of spirituals that were good enough to be broadcast nationally, even when a secretary or custodian died.
The only time I experienced something like that was at my sister's wedding when she was 17. My aunt was in the balcony, wailing loudly during the wedding ceremony and disrupting it. Unfortunately, she died shortly after that or she would have been happy to learn that my sister and that man that "took her away," are still happily married with three sons today, 55 years later.
I noted when you wrote what Jonathan said. "… Have dinner… Go down to the Village…" That was exactly what I did with the wedding party after the wedding of my cousin that very day. The last thing on our minds was standing in a long line to see Bobby Kennedy (although I admired him for his sincerity) lying in state.
What a wonderful way for two young people to meet and establish a bond, or at least an infatuation! So well done and certainly will lead to more in the coming chapters. Unfortunately, probably some heartache that always comes along with young love.
Ron
Maggie (Short Story) - 9/29/2019 7:58:14 AM
Maggie was a real motormouth. But I remember those days. An attractive girl who seemed interested in a guy, was usually a keeper. Girls decided who they wanted to be with, even though guys were supposed to ask girls for dates. In my case, I always ask the wrong girls.
Through Maggie you bring out some of the key people of the time. It seems like regardless whether it is entertainment, sports or politics people are always asked whether they "like" these people or not. Like always determines whether one gets into an argument or not about who is best or better. Really stupid arguments. It looks like TJ is willing to overlook any arguments because of the physical attraction of Maggie. And I agree with him. That's just the way it is.
You are doing a really good job of creating very realistic characters and moving them into events of that time. Eva has a good point. It does seem to be working…
Ron
Maggie (Short Story) - 9/27/2019 3:27:56 AM
I'm wondering if Maggie and Diane are the ice breakers Jonathon and T.J. needed to clear the air between them--clearing out the side.
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (finale) (Short Story) - 9/23/2019 3:32:19 AM
TJ sees the big picture and realizes what was more important in the long run. He has Jonathan to thank for that. Perhaps, he bases his decision on wanting to recoup their friendship.
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (finale) (Short Story) - 9/21/2019 11:49:56 AM
I really like the way you wrote this about waiting in line for so long. Especially because those guys were planning to get to see two games, perhaps both with the great Mickey Mantle in his last season. The controversy was real, as if you had experienced your self. Great job. But TJ and Jonathan are participating in a bit of history that they can tell their grandchildren about. They can get Mickey Mantle's autograph later.
Probably why I never waited in a long line in my life (except while registering for college before computers). A couple of times, like at Expo 67 in Montréal, my buddy Nick and I got there early in the morning when it opened and therefore got in some lines near the front and right into some exhibitions when they opened. Some lines, like at the Czech Pavilion, got hours long later in the day.
Ron
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (section three) (Short Story) - 9/20/2019 3:37:13 AM
Jonathan seems to channel the pulse of the country, wise beyond his years--literally and metaphorically leaving the other guys in the dust on their way to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (section three) (Short Story) - 9/18/2019 12:35:49 PM
Jonathan was really clued in on things. Tying going to the Yankees game with going to see RFK lying in state. Of course, walking through Manhattan like that (why didn't they take the subway?) they got to pass all the distractions that would attract young men in those days, even if they weren't old enough to get in. I'm surprised that Frankie made it to the end of the line.
I don't know if I wrote you this before, but I was there at the wedding of my cousin. Small-town boy from Wisconsin meets New York Italian chick, five years his senior, and they get married. She was from St. Pat's school, so eligible to be married there. But he wasn't Catholic, so they had to have the wedding at Immaculate Conception Cathedral. My cousin bought a few rooms in the Westside Motel just off the Westside Highway, only a few blocks from St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The date of the wedding coincided with Bobby's internment. The wedding would have been called off. My grandmother and the groom's grandmother arrived on Thursday night. Friday morning, my grandmother walked to the Cathedral, stood in line several hours, and got to go by Bobbie's casket. My twin brother and I arrived on Friday and had to go to the rehearsal because we both were part of the wedding party, so there was no opportunity for us. We did get to take in a bit of Manhattan for the short time that we were there. My brother and his family went back to Fort Washington, PA, and I flew back to California.
Wonder if they made it in and out before the game?
Ron
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (section two)) (Short Story) - 9/14/2019 3:03:43 AM
remember the day well, the shock of the country has been profound so many years, and still, we continue to read of one more from all walks of life, politics to kids in classrooms
powerful work
never stop writing!
m
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (section one) (Short Story) - 9/12/2019 9:31:57 AM
My memory is confused. If Darrell is on the same team, why would Big Billy suggest that he aim his bed at Darrell? In the dugout or sidelines? Maybe just a figure of speech… A goad.
I really like your realism, making me remember my baseball days and difficulty hitting the ball squarely. I practiced by throwing the ball up and then hitting it when it was coming down. And then had to run after the ball to pick it up and hit it again. JT is very lucky to have that expensive batting machine go haywire, but by many things too good to be true, the blisters are the result of him not stopping and going to tell the owners that their machine was malfunctioning. Too much of a good thing, that's for sure.
Why didn't JT tape his hands? Ah, the Band-Aids! And then the letdown when the coach had Darrell take over.
Another great chapter. Looking forward to the next.
Ron
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones Part 2 (section one) (Short Story) - 9/11/2019 8:32:17 PM
A catch-22 situation for T.J. The faulty mechanical arm enabled T.J. to perfect his stance and gain the confidence he needed with practice. The blisters, on the other hand, (no pun intended)--sabotaged his batting when it counted in the game.
That Mr. Tambourine Man Fellow (Short Story) - 9/3/2019 7:14:47 AM
Shades of Archie Bunker and Meathead… I like the way you presented this. I certainly leaned toward the style of the hippies and especially, the music. My father was a big band fan. But it was my younger brothers who grew the long hair and got him to turn on rock 'n' roll on the car radio. It's interesting how you portrayed Bob Dylan, arguably the greatest poet of the twentieth century. You packed a lot into this chapter, including Joseph McCarthy, infamously from my home state. But I didn't pay much attention when it happened. I was in high school and wasn't bothered too much about communism. We did have our arguments about baseball, but not that heavy because I wasn't a big fan like dad. Dad was a big fan of Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves. But we did argue over the time that loudmouth braggart, Cassius Clay, was about the fight Sonny (The Bear) Liston. I looked at the stats and told dad that Clay would win. He pooh-poohed the idea. We listened on the radio intently, and when Clay broke Liston's arm in the first round, dad walked out of the room and wouldn't talk to me boxing for a long time.
Ron
Lendora to the Rescue (Short Story) - 8/30/2019 3:35:20 AM
It took a great deal of courage from TJ to stand his ground of being impartial and calling things like he saw them without racial bias. Jonathan needs to step up to the plate in that regard.
Lendora to the Rescue (Short Story) - 8/28/2019 8:58:27 AM
You did a great job in this chapter showing how events can create racial tension that can then affect friendships, acquaintances and alliances as people drop back into protective circles. And I'm pleased that TJ wasn't the big hero at the end of the game, more realistic and what often occurs in books like this.
I believe that Big Billy may be right that Darrell will be trying to take out revenge on TJ for hitting him in the forehead with that ball. And realistic that Jonathan faces being accused of being a "White Lover" by acquaintances on both sides, stressing his friendship with TJ and others. Believe me, I have probably been referred to as a "Black Lover," behind my back for working 33 years in two predominantly black, purposely separate, but unequal, universities. Withdrawal is all Jonathan can do under the circumstances.
Ron
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones (Section II) (Short Story) - 8/27/2019 3:30:19 AM
While I still view TJ as a sort of milk toast, he's between a rock and a hard place, doing the best he can to remain levelheaded and--safe from the likes of Darrell.
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones (Section II) (Short Story) - 8/20/2019 9:26:39 AM
I finally found out that the protagonist, was TJ. Had forgotten it from earlier chapters. And, for a while in this chapter, I wondered who "Doc" was. I was fortunate, while at a Methodist Quadrennial Conference in Lincoln Nebraska at New Year's Eve on the cusp of 1964-65 to be in the balcony, not 30 feet away from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when he spoke to the 2000 in attendance. I believed him when he told us that he had, "Already been to the mountaintop…" And didn't worry if he had to die for the cause. Two bodyguards stood close on either side of him to take a bullet for him at a Christian gathering.
I wonder if what happened at the school is a retelling of what happened to a school in the vicinity of where TJ lived in Brooklyn. I can see this happening in mixed high schools at the time. I was working as a quality control engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. There weren't many blacks working at the plant. And while there was anger, there wasn't much unrest in San Francisco, as I recall except of course, the Black Panthers. I do remember hearing in the news about riots out east and, of course, Watts. But I didn't have a television, so wasn't watching it like so many, unfolding.
I'm so glad you are portraying TJ as being understanding and not willing to join cliques that form in high schools based on hatred rather than understanding. TJ reminds me of myself in high school, making friends on an individual basis. And making sure that I didn't become restricted by joining a clique like most of them were.
And, for the title of this chapter, I would prefer quoting Billy Joel, "… The Good, They Die Young." But I know that the title comes from the dialogue, and that is good, too.
Ron
Somebody Always Gets the Good Ones (Short Story) - 8/19/2019 10:42:49 AM
I don't know Joe Gibson from Joe DiMaggio, so I won't comment on the baseball references that are very good. The gameplay reminded me of our city league during junior high, where my pitching skills were quite good. I may have wrote before that my father said that I had a natural fastball and also was throwing a good natural curve without knowing it.
My time at bat was terrible because I could only get a piece of the ball, getting to first base on a bouncer in the infield by running my tail off. No belly slides for me. That gravel would end up permanently under my skin. I did pitch a no-hitter, and one three out of the five games I pitched. A fast talker got the premier pitcher role, and was a real loser at 16 to 1, during that only summer we played between working jobs in other years. I finally got glasses in my sophomore year, but joined the track team in high school rather than baseball.
I like the way you merge history with MLK's death into your story and the other ways you make it historically correct.
Ron
The Wrecker Strikes (Short Story) - 8/17/2019 12:47:51 PM
It is obvious in this chapter that your baseball history makes you a great play-by-play writer. You were using terms that in my short baseball career I never learned. But thanks to this chapter, I picked up a few. Having Jonathan play both coach and umpire certainly set up a conflict of interest. But that happens when a team splits to play practice ball. Lucky to be able to have enough players even do that.
And your protagonist, whose name I have forgotten, has now got the dubious nickname of Wrecker, for the inexperience mistakes that he makes, and is also destined to trouble in future chapters by hitting a fellow player but not a friend, Darrell. That makes me want to read more.
Ron
The Wrecker Strikes (Short Story) - 8/16/2019 3:20:36 AM
I think TJ has cause to be alarmed because there's more than baseball at play.
