While I know Bleacher Report is not really for full length books, I thought I'd review a baseball book I just read, entitled Theology: How a Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land.
Red Sox fans, this is your kind of book. Not only does it go into detail on Theo Epstein's early life right up to the present, but it does this in a way that everyone can understand.
The book begins by talking about that Halloween night in 2005, when a man in a gorilla suit ran away from Fenway Park (the man being Theo Epstein escaping from reporters). The book then goes into Theo's early life (you know, he was born in New York) and the reasons why he loves the game of baseball so much.
The novel then goes into details in "Climbing the Ladder," "Methods, Strategies... Secrets," and "Reviving a Franchise."
These chapters essentially describe how Theo became Theo, how he used the "Yale Card" to get an internship and job with the Baltimore Orioles, then making friends and moving to the San Diego Padres (picking up a law degree on the way), and building a name for himself to be hired as the youngest General Manager ever.
The novel also talks a lot about how Theo has a slightly different way of looking at the game and the parts that many of us would consider essential to the game, like stolen bases and bunts.
Red Sox fans will enjoy this book because it truly gives you a clear understanding of why Theo left the Red Sox only to return a few months later.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the book (and perhaps also the most controversial part) is the end of the book. where it goes through Theo's Best Five and Worst Five moves since being with the Red Sox. Without trying to spoil it, Hanley Ramirez may not be on the list you think he would be on!
Now, the author, John Frascella, Jr., is a Red Sox fan, so you do hear some of the Red Sox bias (or anti-Yankees, whatever you want to call it), but the book is very well written and easy to understand.
Overall, Theo-logy is an exciting book that details the inner workings of why and how Theo Epstein became Theo Epstein. I highly recommend it as both an avid reader and a baseball enthusiast. And so Red Sox fans, let's play ball!
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