In 1965, Henry Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta. But unlike other Milwaukee kids, Sandy Tolan continued to root for his baseball heroes, straining to pick up games on the radio late at night on a radio station in Nashville. In 1973, he kept a scrapbook as Aaron closed in on Babe Ruth's home-run record. And troubled by reports that Aaron was being subjected to racist hate mail and threats, Tolan wrote him a letter of support. The gracious slugger wrote back. Twenty-five years later, Tolan reconstructs the chase for the record and the treatment of Aaron and what both say about American society. Tolan writes as both a baseball fan and a social critic; his work is balanced and challenging. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Tolan the reader. He reads his own words well, but when he quotes others, there is little distinction in voices. And his re-crations of radio broadcasts would have been much more effective had the producer used the actual recordings, rather than Tolan's pale imitations.
Pub Date: 2000
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
More books have been written about baseball than any other sport, and audiobooks such as this allow the genre to flourish. Former pitcher Ron Darling, now a broadcaster, had a distinguished career, primarily with the New York Mets. Darling has met just about everyone in the sport for nearly four decades and demonstrates his knowledge and connections with the anecdotes in this entertaining memoir. Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner's relaxed delivery sounds as though he is in the broadcast booth with Darling. Like most audio sports memoirs, this book succeeds because of the narrator's engaging style. Hillgartner recognizes that even the duller moments in baseball are bolstered by the legacies of so many who have played the game, and were fortunate to have crossed paths with the author.
Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781721342457
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Willie Mays's baseball life was a long and rich one, worthy of multiple biographies. Known as a five-tool player--he could run, field, throw, hit, and hit for power--Mays enjoyed a long career. The tag-team narration here fits wonderfully: Larry Herron speaks in a serious and deep tone that is commanding, with appropriate doses of emotion. Julian McWilliams uses a higher voice for Mays who, in fact, does have a slightly high voice. Often, when people are quoted--like President Obama--imitations are used and fit seamlessly within the story. Off- and on-the-field anecdotes are interspersed with brief pieces of advice and mini-mantras from the baseball great.
Pub Date: 2020
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781250240231
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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