If the index is correct, Bill Clinton’s new book only mentions baseball once. It’s on page 620, at the start of a discussion of what a tough time the fall of 1994 was. He opens the chapter by noting that Bud Selig had just announced that negotiations with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association were at an impasse, and that the 1994 postseason would be canceled.
He talks about sending David Lindsey to try to bring the two sides together, and about how he invited both sides to the White House for a talk, to no avail.
I wonder if there’s a reference librarian out there who’d like to research where the amount of baseball talk in Clinton’s book puts it in the ranks of presidential memoirs. I read Grant’s Memoirs last week, and they don’t mention baseball, despite its reported popularity among soldiers in camp.
Original comments…
Steve: Doesn’t he talk about getting to third base?
Levi: Now that I’m twenty pages into it, I have already found another mention of baseball, albeit a very brief one. On page 19, he talks about being taken to a St. Louis Cardinals game by his stepfather. They stayed overnight and Bill loved the game and the trip. I assume the Cardinals won.
Jim: But the real question, since you obviously turned to the index first: anything along the lines of “Clinton, Bill, depicted in clothes, to disturbing effect”?
Well, I guess the effect would be a lot more disturbing if Clinton, Bill were depicted out of clothes, but you get the idea.
Levi: On page 34, baseball is mentioned again. The Clintons get a new TV and Bill enjoys watching baseball, especially Stan Musial.
Think maybe this was indexed in a hurry?