It didn't take long to figure out that "The Fenway Effect" was going to move into unfamiliar territory.
As in, the title.
It doesn't really provide much of a clue as to what is to come in the upcoming 200 or so pages. The subtitle isn't much help either - "A Cultural History of the Boston Red Sox."
What then are we getting here? "The Fenway Effect" looks at the Red Sox from a variety of different angles, and some succeed and others fall short.
David Krell's work has appeared on this website in the past. He wrote "1962," which was a mixture of baseball and world events. My problem with that book was that there didn't seem to be a unifying theme. At least he covers that base as the Red Sox are the common denominator on the chapters, although it goes in several directions.
You never quite know what you're going to get from chapter to chapter. Let's take the portion of the book called "Icons." There are four chapters there. One is about Carl Yastrzemski, OK, no argument. One is about Tom Seaver, who pitched for a small portion of the 1986 season. While my admiration for Seaver is close to unlimited, his contribution to team history is small indeed. One is about the Citgo sign, towering over left field. That drew me in initially but bogged down a bit in corporate-speak after a while. The last is on the statues outside of Fenway Park. Can't say I've read that much about baseball statues before, but it's fun to hear that the same guy who did a Yastrzemski tribute also did one for Teddy Roosevelt here in Buffalo.
That's
the pattern that becomes established in the book. There are some
relatively unknown corners of Red Sox history that are explored here,
which is nice. The full story of the Jimmy Fund - a fund-raising group
to fight childhood cancer - is explored well. Can't say I knew much
about the history of Narragansett Beer, which advertised on Red Sox
broadcasts back in the day. I still remember the beverage's ads in the
annual Red Sox yearbook of the era. It's fun to read about Sam Malone's
career (Cheers) and how real Red Sox players were drawn in to stories.
There's a chapter mostly dedicated to the 1967 team, and deservedly so. It changed the course of Boston baseball forever, reviving interest in a long-dead franchise. Most of the games that are reviewed feel a little oddly picked. For example, there's nothing about Bill Rohr's relatively famous one-hitter in the opening week of the season, or the game-saving throw by Jose Tartabull in a win at Chicago. At least the last two games of the regular season and all of the World Series contests are covered.
I have to admit I found myself skimming over some of the material. For example, there's a reference to the Dwight Evens catch in Game Six of the 1975 World Series. Krell doesn't just list some other great catches in the Fall Classic; he writes a paragraph on five of them. My guess is that this audience already knows about it.
The last chapter is made up of fans' comments on what it's like to be a Red Sox fan. It's really difficult to make such comments interesting to a general audience, although I suppose it puts an upbeat tone on the joys of rooting on the way out.
"The Fenway Effect" adds up to a book that will keep your interest in spots and lose it in others. It's written for fans who follow the team closely, but yet they are likely to know many of the details of the team's history already. It's a tough assignment. Your reaction will depend on where you fit in the scale.
Three stars
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