Stumbling Around the Bases - by Andy McCue (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first examination of the management of the American League and its consequences for the twentieth century.

Book Synopsis

From the late 1950s to the 1980s, baseball's American League mismanaged integration and expansion, allowing the National League to forge ahead in attendance and prestige. While both leagues had executive structures that presented few barriers to individual team owners acting purely in their own interests, it was the American League that succumbed to infighting--which ultimately led to its disappearance into what we now call Major League Baseball. Stumbling around the Bases is the story of how the American League fell into such a disastrous state, struggling for decades to escape its nadir and, when it finally righted itself, losing its independence.

The American League's trip to the bottom involved bad decisions by both individual teams and their owners. The key elements were a glacial approach to integration, the choice of underfinanced or disruptive new owners, and a consistent inability to choose the better markets among cities that were available for expansion. The American League wound up with less-attractive teams in the smaller markets compared to the National League--and thus fewer consumers of tickets, parking, beer, hot dogs, scorecards, and replica jerseys.

The errors of the American League owners were rooted in missed cultural and demographic shifts and exacerbated by reactive decisions that hurt as much as helped their interests. Though the owners were men who were notably successful in their non-baseball business ventures, success in insurance, pizza, food processing, and real estate development, didn't necessarily translate into running a flourishing baseball league. In the end the National League was simply better at recognizing its collective interests, screening its owners, and recognizing the markets that had long-term potential.

Review Quotes

"Those seeking an explanation of why the National Football League began to surpass baseball in national popularity during the 1960s need to look no further than Stumbling Around the Bases."--Jerald Podair, Journal of Sport History

"McCue demonstrates that he is not only a skilled researcher but also a skilled storyteller with a prosecutorial knack for building a case. The tale he weaves in Stumbling around the Bases adds a unique perspective on the history of Major League Baseball in the '60s and '70s."--David M. Pegram, NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture

"Readers who enjoy books on the business side of the game and its politics will enjoy this one immensely. . . . It will be hard to find another book that tells of the infamy of the American League brass in the 1960's and 1970's."--Lance Smith, Guy Who Reviews Sports Books-- (6/13/2022 12:00:00 AM)

"McCue packs in a great deal of information and insight, armed with his customary attention to detail and deep research. MLB may seem like one big happy family now, but it was not too long ago that there was intense competition."--Bob D'Angelo, Sports Bookie-- (6/7/2022 12:00:00 AM)

"When it comes to baseball research, author Andy McCue is in a league of his own. What an absolute joy it is to read McCue's latest book. . . . If you're a baseball junkie, this is a book for you."--Don Laible, Bradenton Times-- (4/24/2022 12:00:00 AM)

"As integration and expansion pushed baseball into the modern era, it's a wonder the bumbling American League owners could even open their gates. With comprehensive research and a clean, crisp style, Andy McCue chronicles all the behind-the-scenes stumbling and scheming that was just as fascinating as the play on the field."--Tyler Kepner, New York Times national baseball columnist and author of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

About the Author

Andy McCue is the author of Mover and Shaker: Walter O'Malley, the Dodgers, and Baseball's Westward Expansion (Nebraska, 2014), winner of the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research, and Baseball by the Books: The Complete History and Bibliography of Baseball Fiction.