Interview with sports biographer Jonathan Weeks

Today’s special guest is writer Jonathan Weeks to chat with me about his new sports history-biography, The Umpire Was Blind! Controversial Calls by MLB’s Men in Blue.

During his virtual book tour, Jonathan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, please use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Jonathan Weeks spent most of his life in the Capital District region of New York State. He earned a degree in psychology from SUNY Albany. In 2004, he migrated to Malone, NY. He continues to gripe about the frigid winter temperatures to the present day. He has published several books on the topic of baseball. He would have loved to play professionally, but lacked the talent. He still can't hit a curve ball or lay off the high heat. In the winter months, he moonlights as a hockey fan.

Welcome, Jonathan. Please share a little bit about your current release. 

I’ve written several books on the topic of baseball. This is the first one that focuses almost entirely on umpires. I didn’t realize that there were so many interesting characters until I started doing my research. Tim Hurst was among the most colorful umpires of the early-20th century. Renowned for his nasty temper, he had an unusual way of keeping catchers under control. “Never put a catcher out of a game,” he told a New York Herald reporter. “If the man in back of the bat is sassy and objects to your calling of balls and strikes, keep close behind him while doing your work and kick him every time he reaches out to catch a ball. After about the third kick, he’ll shut up.” Hurst got away with murder for sixteen years, until he finally crossed the line. In 1909, he was fired by American League president Ban Johnson for spitting in the face of Philadelphia Athletics’ infielder Eddie Collins.

What inspired you to write this book?I grew up watching baseball and have seen a lot of bad decisions made by umpires. In 2016, I caught an episode of the HBO series, “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.” In this particular installment, a Yale professor named Toby Moskowitz claimed that he had analyzed a million major league pitches over a three and a half year period. The data showed that 30,000 incorrect ball-strike calls are made each season for an overall accuracy rate of about eighty-eight percent. That’s not a very impressive number. I was actually somewhat astounded and decided to explore the topic in greater detail.

Excerpt from The Umpire Was Blind!:

            Let’s face it—umpires are only human.

            For well over a century, the activities on major league baseball fields have been dramatically affected by the flawed decisions of officials. In late-August of 2008, a rule was implemented by commissioner Bud Selig allowing crew chiefs to call for video reviews on questionable home runs. (Video review had been used just once in the majors prior to then—during the 1999 season.) The rule proved beneficial less than a week later when an apparent homer hit by Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees was disputed by Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon. Crew Chief Charlie Reliford examined the footage and allowed the call to stand.

            From 2008 through 2010, the use of video replay was invoked more than a hundred times, resulting in several dozen overturned home run calls. After much debate, a new regulation was established in 2014, allowing each manager one official challenge per game with a new one being granted each time a dispute is upheld. In addition to home run calls, managers can now challenge a number of other situations, including fair-foul rulings and fan interference calls.

            The use of video replay has served to drastically reduce the number of bitter disputes. John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball, remarked: “Gone are the days when a Bobby Cox, Lou Piniella, Sparky Anderson or Earl Weaver could combine cathartic exercise with theatrical relief in disputing an umpire’s judgment call. The modern skipper just signals for the replay booth.”

            Before the advent of video replay, controversy on the field was common. And the face of baseball history was irrevocably altered by the questionable judgments of umpires on multiple occasions. For instance:

--In 1908, a game-winning hit by Giants infielder Al Bridwell was disallowed, ultimately costing the New Yorkers a pennant.

--In the 1985 World Series, an erroneous decision by umpire Don Denkinger helped the Royals to a championship.

--In 2011, umpire Jim Joyce spoiled what should have been a perfect game for Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga when he blew a call at first base on the final out of the game. 

            Legendary Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson once quipped: “Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile.” Defending his own limitations as well as those of his peers, hall of fame arbiter, Billy Evans, contended that: “The public wouldn’t like the perfect umpire in every game. It would kill off baseball’s greatest alibi—‘we was robbed.’” At the very least, umpires are an inescapable necessity. And despite their many faults, they have played an integral role in shaping the game’s past

What exciting story are you working on next? Though I’ve written extensively about baseball, I’m also a hockey fan. I have always wanted to write a book about my favorite team—The Boston Bruins. The project is nearing completion and will be released next year through McFarland Publishers. The current working title is Best of the Bruins: Boston's All-Time Great Hockey Players and Coaches.

When did you first consider yourself a writer? 
I wrote my first short story when I was around nine or ten years-old. Before then, I wrote and illustrated my own comics. I didn’t realize that I had any talent until I got into high school and started getting compliments from my English teachers. I realize now that anyone who writes is technically a writer. But honestly, I didn’t actually feel like a writer until I was holding a copy of my first book in my hands. It was such a proud moment. And it never gets old. I still get really excited when the author copies arrive on my doorstep.  

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write? 

I have a full-time job as a mental health counselor. I write whenever I can. Mornings are usually when the best ideas come to me. I’m an early riser. I get up around 4 or 5 a.m. and start hacking away at the keys while I’m having my first cup of coffee.
 

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Interview with non-fiction writer Jonathan Weeks

Today’s guest loves baseball – including writing about it. Jonathan Weeks is here as just one stop along a virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for his newest book, Mudville Madness.

As part of his tour, Jonathan will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one randomly chosen commenter. To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment below.  To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and leave comments there, too.

Bio:

Weeks spent thirty-eight years in the Capital District region of New York State. He obtained a degree in psychology from SUNY Albany. In 2004, he migrated to Malone, New York, and has continued to gripe about the frigid winter temperatures ever since. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research, he has authored two non-fiction books on the topic of baseball: Cellar Dwellers and Gallery of Rogues. His first novel, The Bridgeport Hammer, (a baseball story set during the WWII era) is being released in the summer of 2014. He writes about the game because he lacked the skills to play it professionally. He still can’t hit a curveball or lay off the high heat.

Check out his “Cellar Dwellers” blog at: jonathanweeks.blogspot.com

Welcome, Jonathan. Please tell us about your current release.

Mudville Madness spans three centuries of baseball history and includes some of the most unusual events that have happened on the field. Some of those events are dark and disturbing, such as the stadium collapse in Philadelphia that killed twelve people in 1903 and the murder by sniper fire that occurred before a New York Giants game in 1950. Other events are more on the amusing side, like the story of Kitty Burke—a burlesque dancer who became the first woman to log a plate appearance in the majors after she wandered onto the field during a game in Cincinnati. Though some of the material in Mudville Madness will be familiar to hardcore fans, there’s a little something for everyone here.       

What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve published two other non-fiction books on the topic of baseball and, during the course of my research, I acquired more interesting anecdotes than I knew what to do with. Eventually, I came up with the idea of dedicating a volume entirely to baseball’s odd occurrences. I started looking at boxscores around the age of seven or eight and began to realize that every game has a story behind it, no matter how great or small. There are so many fascinating stories worth sharing. The people who have played the game are just as interesting as the sport itself. In Mudville Madness, I have tried to highlight the personalities and events that make baseball unique and wonderful.     

Excerpt:

June 12, 1970

Dock Ellis was an occasionally dominant presence on the mound, winning at least 15 games three times and making one All-Star appearance during his 12-year career. During the 1970 campaign, he carved a small niche in baseball history when he tossed a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. It wasn’t pretty as he fell behind hitters all evening, walking 8 and hitting one. But the performance became quite remarkable fourteen years later when Ellis admitted to being under the influence of LSD at the time.

A free spirit, Ellis allegedly ingested the drug around noon believing he was not scheduled to start that day. About an hour later, his girlfriend was perusing a newspaper when she discovered that Ellis was listed as a probable starter for the first game of a twi-night doubleheader against the Padres. She escorted the Pirates’ hurler, who was now feeling the effects of a powerful hallucinogen known as “Purple Haze,” to the airport, where he caught a flight to San Diego. 

Ellis remembered very little of the game, which started at 6:05 pm. He described his mood as euphoric and reported various hallucinations. “The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes. Sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn’t,” he alleged. Years later, he embellished the story even further, claiming that he saw Jimi Hendrix and Richard Nixon at different points in the game. He said that Hendrix was using his famous Stratocaster guitar as a bat and Nixon was the home plate umpire.

Snopes.com—a website that prides itself on debunking urban myths—posted the story’s status as “true” though from a guarded perspective. Ellis’s behavior was normal enough not to arouse suspicion from players or umpires. He was lucid during post-game interviews. But what would his motivation be for making such a claim? It only served to tarnish the crowning achievement of his career.

After his playing days were over, Ellis sought help for his substance abuse. He later worked as a counselor to help others combat drug problems. He died in 2008.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have another nonfiction baseball project completed though I haven’t submitted it yet. Since I don’t want to jinx my chances of publication (I’m a bit superstitious), I prefer to keep specific details to myself. So far, 2014 has been a big year for me. In addition to Mudville Madness, my first novel is being released. Entitled The Bridgeport Hammer, it’s a fantasy baseball memoir set in World War II amidst a backdrop of Nazi espionage. I’m really proud of it. I’ll be doing a virtual tour for that book in a couple of weeks. Right now, I’m working on a young adult novel that combines supernatural elements with baseball. Baseball is a common theme in all my books. I’ve always heard it said that you should write what you know. In the future, I have plans for a historical novel that takes place in the sixteenth century—long before the game of baseball was invented. That will be a quantum leap for me.      

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I was in elementary school, I used to write and draw comic books to sell to my classmates. Most of the material was derivative superhero stuff. I think I charged five cents per issue. After that, I didn’t make another penny off of my writing until I was in my mid-forties. You don’t have to make money to be a writer (though it’s nice if you can make living off of it). I’ve tried my hand at almost every form of writing over the years—short stories, novels, poetry. I’ve even written dozens of songs on my guitar. I haven’t always shared my material with others. I went through a long period in which I didn’t have the confidence for that. I’ve always had a passion for writing though.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I don’t write full-time. I work as a counselor serving mentally ill adults. I really enjoy helping people. In my spare time, I hang out with my two daughters a lot—ages seven and eleven. They’re great kids. I try to write every day very early in the morning. I’m usually up before 6 am. That’s when I get most of my writing done. I roll out of bed and head straight for my computer without the benefit of coffee. I’m not sure how I do it.     

Thanks, Jonathan!