Baseball
The Turbulent Midcentury Years
by Steven P. Gietschier
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Pub Date Jul 01 2023 | Archive Date May 31 2023
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Description
2024 SABR Seymour Medal
Named a Best Baseball Book of 2023 by Sports Collectors Digest
Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years explores the history of organized baseball during the middle of the twentieth century, examining the sport on and off the field and contextualizing its development as both sport and business within the broader contours of American history. Steven P. Gietschier begins with the Great Depression, looking at how those years of economic turmoil shaped the sport and how baseball responded. Gietschier covers a then-burgeoning group of owners, players, and key figures—among them Branch Rickey, Larry MacPhail, Hank Greenberg, Ford Frick, and several others—whose stories figure prominently in baseball’s past and some of whom are still prominent in its collective consciousness.
Combining narrative and analysis, Gietschier tells the game’s history across more than three decades while simultaneously exploring its politics and economics, including, for example, how the game confronted and barely survived the United States’ entry into World War II; how owners controlled their labor supply—the players; and how the business of baseball interacted with the federal government. He reveals how baseball handled the return to peacetime and the defining postwar decade, including the integration of the game, the demise of the Negro Leagues, the emergence of television, and the first efforts to move franchises and expand into new markets. Gietschier considers much of the work done by biographers, scholars, and baseball researchers to inform a new and current history of baseball in one of its more important and transformational periods.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781496235374 |
| PRICE | $44.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 672 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Samantha B, Media/Journalist
A terrific baseball history snapshot with an eye to the sociocontextual place of the sport within the framework of society.
While the era of baseball Gietschier is examining is certainly a well-documented one: this is one of the best of a very small number of books that have attempted to take a contextual approach to the evolution of the sport at this time.
This would be a great companion read with Fran Zimniuch’s Baseball’s New Frontier, which is a lovely contextual narrative of the expansion era that immediately follows the mid century years Gietschier has honed in on.
If you’re well versed in baseball history, there will be plenty of material here that is already familiar to you, but Gietschier adds plenty of original analysis to the mix, and his somewhat unique and much-needed approach to baseball history makes for excellent narrative nonfiction.
Allison V, Educator
This is an amazing book on Baseball,, sociology, and the news of the times. It was not a light, turn page however. This is definitely a book for die-hard historians. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange for my honest opinion.
Reviewer 1170878
Baseball
The Turbulent Midcentury Years
by Steven P. Gietschier
Release date: July 1, 2023
A thouroughly researched, well written history of baseball in 20th century. While reading this I was constantly reminded of Ken Burns fantastic documentary series on baseball; though this book encompasses a compacted scope from the lead up to the great depression through World War 2 and baseballs boom and expansion thereafter rather than the history of the entire sport start to present day.
As a fan and follower of the sport of baseball for my entire life, some of the material I'm familiar with but there was also plenty of fresh material covered here. I particularly enjoyed the author going into the lighting of stadiums and how night baseball was introduced and became the norm; the advent of radio/television and how that relationship developed through baseball. This book also devotes a good portion to baseball's minor leagues and their interaction with the big leagues. The latter portion of the book includes major league baseball's move westward into California as well as the expansion of new teams. The book was full of fascinating information and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy baseball, history in general, and especially those who enjoy both. Thank you to the publisher University of Nebraska Press and netgalley for access to an advance copy of the book.
Pat L, Reviewer
A good book about the history of the game and some of the main players. I found the section about Landis the first commissioner interesting as he went more into his life He does go over more of the bigger things that happened in the game and with the players. There were some areas I would have liked him to have touched on more but that is just me overall a good and a lot of research went into this book.
Melissa H, Librarian
At the heart of the book is the story of baseball's evolution in the years following World War II, a period marked by rapid transformation and upheaval both on and off the field. Gietschier delves into the various factors that shaped the game during this time, from the integration of Major League Baseball to the rise of television and the expansion of the sport into new markets. In addition to its exploration of historical events, the book also celebrates the enduring appeal of baseball as a source of joy, passion, and community for millions of fans across the country. Gietschier captures the magic of the game through vivid descriptions of iconic moments, memorable players, and beloved ballparks, reminding readers of baseball's timeless allure.
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