Redheaded Outfield And Other Baseball Stories

It is a pleasure to present this collection of baseball stories — both exciting and hilarious, and with plenty of quirky characters — by Zane Grey, the master of the Western fiction genre.

Much of the baseball language in these stories may sound unfamiliar to us. For example, Grey uses the word “swing” in reference to the pitcher’s windup, not the motion of the bat. I hope fans will enjoy discovering many other “new” baseball terms from 100 years ago.

Five of the stories (sections 2 - 6) are closely related. They are all about the same fictional minor league team, they share a cast of characters, and they are all narrated by the team’s manager. Not only that, but, taken together, they form a single complete story arc of both a baseball season and a double romance. Unfortunately, and for reasons mysterious to me, they are out of order in the book. If the listener wants to experience the saga of “The Rube” as a whole, I recommend listening to these sections in this order: 2-5-4-3-6.

Some of the stories include stereotypical and offensive references to indigenous North Americans (which unfortunately persist in some form in our own time). I hope these historical representations of the attitudes of white Americans of the early 20th century can serve as opportunities for reflection and discussion. (Summary by Warren Bergmann)