Myth Buster
In “Smart Ball,” author Robert F. Lewis II uncovers the shady methodology of Major League Baseball becoming a monopoly in the United States, and the economic motivations for signing Jackie Robinson, and finally ending the color barrier in the sport. Lewis sheds light on how the baseball owners were able to maintain the dreaded reserve clause until the 1970’s, before the union and courts successfully removed it.
The author outlines the path baseball took to become the national pastime sport, creating its own mythology behind the birth of the game in the U.S. Lewis brilliantly demonstrates how baseball developed its own origins, continued the folklore over the years, and contrived its own history. The book also points out that by the 1960’s, football (both professional and college) had passed baseball as the nation’s favorite sport.
Lewis makes a compelling comparison between baseball to secular religion. The author points out that baseball players compare to church missionaries, both promoting the product to the masses. Case in point, when baseball organized a world tour during the dead ball era, it was used for marketing purposes. Back in the states, religious organizations maintained no baseball on Sundays until the 1930’s, as it was perceived to be the Lord’s day.
The author shows the comradery built between the country and baseball through the war years. Often times, players would pause their baseball aspirations to serve in the military. Lewis notes how teams sports grew in popularity after the second world war. “Smart Ball” also shows how Major League Baseball has utilized both soft power and hard power to achieve its many goals through the decades.
By: Robert F. Lewis II
Narrated by: Scotty Drake
Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
Release date: 07-18-12
