cover image Sparky!

Sparky!

Sparky Anderson. Prentice Hall, $18.95 (264pp) ISBN 978-0-13-109463-5

In his 20 years as a manager with the Cincinnati and Detroit ball clubs, Anderson became the only leader to win World Series in both major leagues--as he set all manner of other records. Manager of the Big Red Machine in the 1970s, he reveals here that his refusal to fire some coaches led to his own dismissal in 1978. Even more engrossing is his account of the bout of exhaustion, both mental and physical, that made him take a leave from the Tigers in 1989--when the team was on the way to a last-place finish. Writing with freelancer Ewald, Anderson discusses great managers, singling out Casey Stengel for particular praise, and great players, with especially kind words for Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. His comments about the star players of the last two decades are generous in this warmhearted if occasionally repetitious autobiography. (Apr.)