4 out of 4 stars
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Dad, Wanna Be Our Manager? By J. B. Errico
Genre: other fiction, baseball is the main theme, interpersonal relationships also come into play
“Bernie Endino lives in a little, blue collar Pennsylvania town.” Bernie is a bank accountant and a big baseball fan. His position at the bank is a way to make a living but baseball is his passion. Bernie shares this passion with his dad, Johnny. They regularly attend the local team’s games. Unfortunately, the team is not playing well and the owner hopes to sell or move them to another town before the season begins.
Fate steps in when Bernie receives an unexpected windfall. He buys the team and vows to turn them around. He assembles an inexperienced team of managers, coaches and players much to the dismay of the major league team owner, who is constantly looking over their shoulders.
The coaches and team members give it all they’ve got trying to pull off a winning season. Along the way they share laughs, tears and personal hardships. They learn a variety of life lessons in the process of attempting to make a difference to the team and to prove they are better than anyone thinks they are.
I really liked the book because I am a baseball fan. Bernie is very likeable and you can feel how stressed he is at times. His father, Johnny, is the one I most emphasized with as he struggles with team issues, as well as personal ones. Bernie and Johnny’s family is supportive of them though at times it is a struggle with balancing time between the two. I would have liked the family to play a more major role. The team members are quite diverse and each one is described in detail. The players, with all their idiosyncrasies, grow on you and I felt sad when someone was benched, cut from the team or injured.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. The author’s style draws you into the story; I wanted to know what would happen next. The characters are all believable and could be your next door neighbor. The chapters are a very nice length, not too long. Chapter titles give a clear indication of what to expect in each chapter.
I would recommend this book for someone who loves the game of baseball. There are lots of details about individual games and you need to know the terminology used and basic rules of the game. If you don’t understand the game, I think you will be bored very quickly. At times I felt there was too much game detail (inning by inning) but it didn’t distract from the overall story. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.
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Dad, Wanna Be Our Manager?
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Like ChrisKauf's review? Post a comment saying so!
Lovely review and congrats to the author for receiving full ratings.
