3 Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager by Buzz Bissinger

First Mariner Books, 2006

(Boston)

I am a very picky person when it comes to reading books: I don't really like reading fiction all that much and most of the time I can't stand biographies, especially autobiographies.  There are many exceptions, which make me think that I am simply lazy when it comes to both fiction and biographies.  I tend to think this way especially of fiction, whereas biographies (of both kinds) must be an absolutely interesting person and someone whom I already respect immensely for me to even attempt to read it.  Case in point, apparently the actor Ewan MacGregor has a biography out there (albeit an unauthorized one by Brian Pendreigh).  I like him and his movies but he doesn't need a biography yet - he's only 40!  It's not a knock against him at all, just the idea that someone would write a book about him is a little more than idiotic.  Fiction is a little different because, like movies I've never heard of, it really only takes a few people to suggest it to me for me to consider it.  This excludes classic works of literature which are mostly more than 40 years old or more.  But then there is the many factors that may affect that referral for the better or for the worse.  Is the referrer reacting as part of a larger phenomenon in his or her referral?  I.e. Harry Potter.  Is the referrer a lover of reality shows?  Do they like Shia Labeouf as Indiana Jones?  Do they consider Korean pop music a "great advancement in culture"?  Do they use an inordinate amount of makeup and/or hair product?  Do they dislike the movies High Fidelity, The Usual Suspects, or The Castle?  All of these things weigh heavy on the mind when getting a referral from a friend or acquaintance.  What was I talking about?  

Yeah.  So anyways, I don't usually read those two types of books.  But when I saw this book called 3 Nights in August, I was immediately drawn to it for two main reasons:  it's about baseball, and it had Tony La Russa.

Now, you probably don't know me, or maybe you do - I don't know.  But if you did know me, you'd know that I am crazy for baseball and I love reading or watching or listening or talking about baseball.  This is a reason why Ken Burns has my respect - he did a whole series of specials (9 innings or episodes) all about baseball.  I might also argue that I would consider reading a autobiography or a biography about Ken Burns when he is much older.  

3 Nights in August is written by acclaimed writer Buzz Bissinger, who also happened to author Friday Night Lights, which I care nothing for because it's about high school football - it belongs in the same theoretical trash bin as autobiographies.  Although many people tell me Friday Night Lights was a good television series, I can't bring myself to watch high school kids on television, (yet another reason why the new reality shows are not for me), as if one needs a reason...   In any event, he is a pretty good writer although I find him repetitive at times and possibly prone to a type of hyperbole that sportswriters and trend analysts seem to have in bunches.  

It chronicles one of the greatest events in baseball, the three game series.  This particular series takes place in late August and features a burning rivalry between two of the best teams of the early to mid-2000s:  the St. Louis Cardinals (managed by La Russa) and the Chicago Cubs (managed by Dusty Baker).  This was one of the best times for the Cubs as they went on to win their first playoff game since the early 1900s, and had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Clement.  The Cardinals too had a great season but finished third in the race for the playoffs.  But put all that aside as it isn't really necessary to know - Bissinger does a great job at making you feel the tension of the reality in each page.  

Bissinger had been approached by La Russa to write this book and so had complete access to the coaches, players, trainers, and La Russa himself throughout the games.  He was also given an amazing amount of journalistic license by La Russa to write about what he observed - a great amount of trust to be sure.

But there is no cause for alarm here because, thankfully, Bissinger stays true to baseball the whole way through as he is a fan of the game.  He deals with the players gingerly but toughly, writing about those with the greatest amount of heart (Cal Eldred and Darryl Kile), the greatest talents (Albert Pujols, J.D. Drew), and the least interest (unfortunately also J.D. Drew).  He recounts Tony La Russa's improbable beginnings and contrasts it with his now legendary workaholism, studiousness, and sacrifice.  Bissinger's writing about La Russa's experimentation when Pujols' elbow was injured kept me on edge, actually worried for the future of La Russa despite knowing the happy outcome (the book was published several years ago).

It is certainly an entertaining read for any baseball fan.  I shouldn't say any baseball fan but certainly for special types of baseball fans this book will make you nostalgic and renew your love for genuine baseball people like La Russa, Eldred, Matt Morris, and Pujols.  You get to empathize with La Russa and all the decisions he has to make, the hearts and minds he has to win, and the losses he shoulders personally.  You get to understand what goes through a manager's head during a ballgame: his worries, his feelings on his players, and his frustration at players who either don't listen or don't want to listen.  It was interesting to read about J.D. Drew and Kerry Robinson, whom La Russa wants to play but whom he won't because of injury or idiocy (or both).  In the end, you end up not envying the job he has in one bit but, like a true armchair quarterback, you can't help but think that you might have done something different in that series against the Red Sox...things might have been different if you had just...

                            I'm as nauseous as I've eber been.  I have a terrible headache.  My head is pounding.  I feel like throwing up and I'm having trouble swallowing.  And the beauty of it is, you want to feel like this every day.  -  Tony La Russa