I can't recommend enough Our team by Luke Epplin, about the 1948 Cleveland Indians,
Amazing descriptions of the action that Bob Feller saw in WWII in the Pacific, and the unusual experience of Larry Doby during the War in the Pacific as well.
Great, great section on the once front-page Barnstorming tour of the nation by Bob Feller and Satchel Paige, leading All-Star teams of White and Black players respectively (Paige's team won more often), with the perplexing and at times infuriating comments by Feller, who seems to have never lost an opportunity to dismiss the talents and abilitites to play in the majors of African American players, even as they were hitting him hard and beating his team of Major Leaguers regularly.
Wonderful sections on Bill Veeck, one of the baseball people I most admire, and of the organization of the Negro Leagues, and a whole lot more, all on the way to how the championship 1948 Indians were built.
I have never liked Feller. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. There are others - Frank Robinson, Steve Garvey. I never liked Pete Rose, but he is different from the ones I just mentioned. Pete is human, has weaknesses, and I disliked him for the seeming straight-world, type-A, Republican haircut, work hard and get ahead attitude he seemed to embody to me as a youngster totally identified with the counterculture.
But I have never, never heard Pete Rose talk down an opponent or another player, nor show anything but humility and humor when talking about how good other players were. Plus Rose, which I did not know at the time, was one of the white players who went out of his way to spend time with and have actual serious friendships with African American players (including Frank Robinson).
But Feller, Robinson and Garvey, all of them immensely talented, always seemed to find ways to undermine the accomplishments of others. Feller with nearly every Black player he was ever asked about: Willie Mays ("not the best catch I ever saw, and Willie wore his hat two sizes too big to make it fall off to make it seem like he was running harder than he was..."), Jackie Robinson ("not major league material"), Satchel Paige, "He can pitch really well when he wants to but doesn't want to often enough"). And so on.
Robinson insulted the 1969 Mets before, during and after the World Series they kicked his *** in. Garvey, was, well the whole Republican package I thought Rose embodied, partly mistakenly.
But on the other hand, Feller's time in the military during the War is very worthy of both our respect and our thanks. That said, after the War he was the first player in the majors (this too he got from Paige) to learn to market himself, and be an entrepreneur according to the book. Though Dizzy Dean, who also took a lot from Paige but was much, much more openly appreciative of Satchel in public than Feller, might lay claim to that one.
Anyway, awesome book. Must read.