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The Last Commissioner: A Baseball Valentine

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The Last Commissioner: A Baseball ValentineOn a beautiful July morning in 1991, three men gathered in a hotel suite for an informal breakfast and conversation. The discussion ranged widely over events and characters of the past, famous names and fabled accomplishments flowing along with the coffee and juice. Two of them, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, were the ultimate symbols of athletic glory for generations of American men. The third man, Fay Vincent, was living a dream, sitting with and

On a beautiful July morning in 1991, three men gathered in a hotel suite for an informal breakfast and conversation. The discussion ranged widely over events and characters of the past, famous names and fabled accomplishments flowing along with the coffee and juice. Two of them, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, were the ultimate symbols of athletic glory for generations of American men. The third man, Fay Vincent, was living a dream, sitting with and asking questions of his boyhood heroes.

Fay Vincent never set out to be the commissioner of baseball. He got into the game alongside his good friend A. Bartlett Giamatti, as deputy commissioner, when Giamatti was named to the sport's highest office in 1989. They spent their first spring and summer dealing with Pete Rose's gambling, and Vincent's legal expertise complemented his friend's moral thunder. But that was to be their only season working side by side, as Bart Giamatti's heart gave out just days after the announcement of the Rose suspension. Vincent found himself the only logical candidate to fill a position as guardian of the best interests of the game he loves.

In The Last Commissioner: A Baseball Valentine, Vincent takes us along for the ultimate fan's fantasy camp. As commissioner, he got to talk baseball with the likes of Yogi Berra, Larry Doby, Warren Spahn, Ernie Banks, Eddie Lopat, Whitey Ford, and Henry Aaron. He brought his legal training to bear on the delicate issue of whether Roger Clemens uttered the magic word that would justify his being tossed out of a playoff game (and it's not the word you think). He was one of the few outsiders at the annual Hall of Fame banquet for the new inductees and their immortal peers, where he watched, amazed, as Johnny Mize demonstrated to Ralph Kiner his method of hitting an inside pitch -- a piece of advice from forty years past. And he brought equal respect and attention to the greats of the Negro Leagues, listening to the gracefully told stories of Joe Black and Buck O'Neil, slowly learning how Slick Surratt earned his nickname, hearing Jimmie Crutchfield give as good a definition of a well-lived life as we will ever know.

Vincent shares these stories and more: his high regard for umpires, instilled in his youth by his father, an NFL official and respected local ump; his close relations with the Bush family, forged in a summer spent working in the oil fields with his schoolmate Bucky Bush, the 41st president's brother (and 43rd president's uncle); his unusual experiences with the relentless George Steinbrenner, including the famous meeting where the Yankees owner was facing a two-year suspension and plea-bargained it down to a lifetime ban. Vincent also gives his candid views on the state of baseball today, firm in his belief that the game will survive its current leadership and even prosper.

Through it all, Vincent's deep love of baseball shines through. His most remarkable accomplishment as commissioner may have been to emerge from the office with his fandom intact. The Last Commissioner is truly a valentine to the game, written with the insight and vision that comes from the lofty perch of the ultimate front-row seat.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 09/21/2007
ISBN: 9781416578017
Pages: 336
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.79d
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SKU: 73147745922

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Great organizer for your kitchen sink
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Wonderful for our kitchen sink. It holds exactly what we need. Just wish it was a little bigger. Other than that, it looks fantastic and keeps what we need close by.
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Sturdy and practical
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Doesn’t take up a lot of space. The basket to hold your brushes can come out. So if you have a shorter brush you can use it without the taller basket. Holds my hand soap and dish soap with extra room if needed. Has a little shelf on the front that I put my straw cleaning brush. The bottom dish comes out for easy cleaning and catching water drips. It’s sturdy and pretty cute.
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Best organizer with a water spout to keep them counter dry!
Color: Black - 9.25″, Color: Black - 9.25″
I am thoroughly impressed with this product. I tried a product that goes over the middle of the sink and it blocked everything off and would always fall off in a funny ways. I had no room for my pots and pans and started getting irritated with it. This is up and out of the way has a little spicket to drain off the water and as you can see I got all of my sponge and soaps in the same spot which is wonderful cleaned off my counter beautifully. I chose the color black to blend in with my black countertop and also to look nice and clean on the counter. One of the best organizers I have ever found for a countertop. It's sturdy metal so far seems rust resistant, but I haven't had it long enough to know for sure. Mobilize easily to clean. Fabulous little sink caddy. I highly recommend to those of you that like to be organized and keep your counter nice and dry, and still arrange things so that it can be out of the way.
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