It's Anybody's Ballgame

A pale echo of Garagiola's 1960 bestseller, Baseball Is a Funny Game, this volume begins with a chapter that discusses the differences between the sport in the 1950s and the 1980s, but which offers few unusual insights. The book picks up when he presents anecdotes about his experiences on the banquet circuit and stories of memorable one-liners he has heard from players and managers. But midway through the memoir, Garagiola becomes caught up in his encounters with various U.S. presidents (he was an active campaigner for Gerald Ford in 1976) and his life as a TV personality. Those who care about what Hugh Downs, Barbara Walters and Johnny Carson are like off the tube will find much inside dope here. To make the potpourri complete, there are chapters on Yogi Berra, who survives the encomiums, and on bloopers by TV reporters. The book is a sort of grab-bag, and a mixed grab-bag at that. Photos not seen by PW. (April)