cover image The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball After the Collapse of Its Ruling Class

The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball After the Collapse of Its Ruling Class

Neil J. Sullivan. St. Martin's Press, $19.95 (232pp) ISBN 978-0-312-07723-5

Contemporary baseball fans frequently bemoan the current state of the game, especially what they see as an increased emphasis on business instead of sport. But Sullivan ( Minors ), an associate professor of public administration at the City University of New York, questions whether there ever was a golden age for the national pastime. He gives a laundry list of past ills, reminding readers that for many years players were virtual slaves, working for wretched pay; that owners enforced a color bar, moved teams from city to city in search of more spectators, and overexpanded league memberships, perhaps even to the point of spreading the talent pool too thin; and that over time very few teams have dominated the sport. Previous eras were golden for the owners, but not for anyone else, he concludes. Sullivan finishes with a short and superficial list of the steps baseball can take to survive and grow. An unimpressive study. Photos not seen by PW. (July)