One of the most satisfying sounds of spring is the phrase "Play Ball!" With this happy statement, baseball season begins. While baseball does not hold the cultural dominance it had in the 1950’s, it is still followed avidly by millions of fans. There is nothing quite like sitting in the stands on a beautiful summer evening and rooting for the home team. Many teams routinely draw over three million fans a season, and some teams, like the Boston Red Sox, have to cap season ticket sales to have a few seats available for individual games. Some of this writer’s most enduring memories of childhood revolve around this fascinating sport. Baseball has a long written history dating back to the inspirational poem "Casey at the Bat" in 1888. Wayne Stewart has carried on this literary tradition with this interesting book "The History of the Kansas City Royals."
In 1969, the expansion team named the Kansas City Royals began playing. As an expansion team, they were able to draft players from other major league teams. Of course the best players on those teams were protected, which left the Royals drafting second rate athletes. Because of this, the first several seasons for the Royals were summers of mediocrity. The franchise began building a powerful team by the later 1970’s and had become a dominant force by the 1980’s. Famous players for the Royals during this period were Frank White, Willie Wilson, Hal McRae and George Brett. Interesting pictures and short summaries of their accomplishments accompany this part of the book. The October post season successes and failures are told in detail. While the late 1970’s tended to end in losses in October, the 1980’s were another story. The two World Series appearances by the Royals were exciting, and the 1985 World Series Championship was the crowning achievement of the franchise. Unfortunately, as the author states, the Royals have fallen on hard times in recent years but are hopefully on the upward surge today.
This book and others like it about major league teams are very popular with students from Grades 2-8. All these series books about baseball teams have exciting pictures of famous players and stadiums. The writing level keeps readers turning the pages to find out more about their favorite team. While this review is about the Kansas City Royals, similar books about most big league teams can be found in the library. Like most good non-fiction books, these accounts are often filled with charts and statistics as well. This allows readers to develop analytical skills in math and logic. While the books may seem like they are purely informational, don’t short sell their ability to teach students in a number of academic areas. So if you are looking for fun books for youngsters to read, these baseball team books are just the ticket. They can be found in the children’s 796.357 section of the library. After you have enjoyed reading these books yourself, just remember to go out and play catch with your son or daughter. After all, it is spring and that great phrase, "Play Ball" is in the air. Enjoy!
