Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer’s Search for the Soul of Baseball
- ISBN13: 9780060855000
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Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball’s most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Mike Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings. But Schmidt’s book goes beyond the Balco investigation and never-ending free-agent bonanzas that dominate the back pages. It also examines all that’s right with our national pastime, including interleague play, expansion, and, most surprisingly, better all-around hitters. Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a hall of famer’s look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and
Rating: 
(out of 20 reviews)
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1976 Mike Schmidt #480 TOPPS Baseball Card- NICE
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Review by Disappointed Schmidt Fan for Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer’s Search for the Soul of Baseball
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The subtitle of the book, juiced players, monster salaries, sham records, and the soul of baseball speak to the most precious problems that baseball faces today. Too bad then that only about 20% of Schmidt’s book is really on these topics. The rest of the book is about Schmidt’s career. I’m a baseball fan and I would have appreciated reading about his career. If the title of the book had been “Mike Schmidt’s Story: The Greatest Third Baseman in the History of Baseball,” I’d have bought it. I don’t need to be baited and switched into buying that book.
Problem is, when Schmidt does finally get to the issues at hand, his opinions seem so weak it makes me wonder why he made the effort. Take the sham records, for example. Does Mike think we need asterisks or any other delimeter to set aside the travesty of routinely hitting 50+ HRs/season? Nope. What does he say about Barry Bonds? Not much. What does he say about monster salaries? Sure, they’re a good thing for baseball players, and so are the pensions. The soul of baseball?? Surely nothing could eliminate the soul of baseball faster than a major league manager betting on his own team, even to win. Yet, when it comes to whether or not Pete Rose, his former teammate, should be in the Hall, Schmidt says he should, and even after Schmidt has gone out of his way to help Pete (apparently according to the story) to make ammends with MLB.
I wasn’t expecting Canseco. But I wasn’t expecting Marvin Milktoast either. Too bad the reviews by Brett, Morgan, and Rose, and the subtitle, led me to expect a very different sort of book entirely.
And by the way, why use a title for the book (Clearing the Bases) that was used for a Bob Costas publication only 4 years ago?
Anyway, note to retired superstar baseball players. Don’t try to be cute with the subtitle and make it seem like you are going to comment on sham records and juiced players only to punt. Punting is football. If you don’t want to comment on it, great. Tell us some good baseball stories. We’ll listen.
Review by William C. Kashatus for Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer’s Search for the Soul of Baseball
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Mike Schmidt’s most recent book, “Clearing the Bases,” offers a wonderful prescription for the troubled state of baseball today. Instead of bashing the game, Schmidt takes a hard, candid look at such issues and steriod-inflated slugging records, Pete Rose’s on-going challenge to be admitted to Cooperstown, hitter-friendly parks, free agency’s impact of player-team loyalty, and what ittakes to manage in the pros today.
While his solutions may not please the baseball purist, they are carefully thought-out and reasonable. On the issue of steroids, for example, Schmidt admits to understanding the temptation for players to “gain an edge” in order to remain “at the top of their game.” But he believes that he would not take steroids if he were playing today. As for the record books? Baseball must take into consideration the context of the time in which these records were set. While steroids should not be tolerated in the game, baseball cannot justifiably eliminate slugging records simply because a player was suspected of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Nor should a “suspect” be eliminated from Hall of FAme consideration. These are strong sentiments from a Hall of Fame slugger whose own records have been broken in the steroid era.
What sets this book aside from other prescriptive tomes is Schmidt’s earnest desire to approach each of these difficult issues from the standpoint of a former player, minor league manager, parent, and, now, fan. Thus, his judgements are informed by “all sides” of the debate.
This is a wonderful book, judiciously told by one of baseball’s greatest stars. In that sense, “Clearing the Bases” represents Schmitty’s 549th life-time dinger.
Review by Paul Allaer for Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer’s Search for the Soul of Baseball
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I was never a particular fan of Mike Schmidt in his playing days, mind you, I did not have negative feelings about him either. He was one of those superstars that went about his way, playing the game extremely well but without being flashy. Schmidt caught my attention in his post-playing days for sticking by Pete Rose (one of the few) and that always gets your attention in Cincinnati. It was primarily based on that reason that I picked up this book, what did Schmidt have to say about Rose, and other ‘hot potatoes’ in baseball?
“Clearing the Bases” (201 pages) starts off tentatively in the first half, where Schmidt recounts his days growing up a Reds fan in Dayton, OH, and eventually becoming a superstar in Philadelphia. But the second half of the book is where things really take off, and where Schmidt spouts his thoughts on the hot topics in baseball. “Look, if I had played in the 1990s, I would have considered using steroids” (since it wasn’t illegal then, but eventually stating that he wouldn’t have). He lays the blame also squarely on the Commisioner and the players’ union: “Did they ever bother to compare trading card pictures of guys in, say, 1993 with their cards in 1999?”
Schmidt also makes a convincing argument that with the many changing circumstances since his playing days (new hitter-friendly ballparks, changes in the make-up of bats, etc.), he would’ve averaged 50 homers a year instead of the mid-30s in his playing days. As to Pete Rose, Schmidt clearly is disappointed in both Rose’s handling in the matter (not forthcoming, etc.) as well as the Commissioner’s (not getting back to Rose after the November, 2002 private confession, 14 months before Rose published his tell-all book).
In all, this is a much better book than I expected. Schmidt is clearly a man of integrity, full of admiration, and respect, for the game. His disappointment for not having been considered for the manager’s position for the Phillies in late 2004 is one I share. Baseball needs more guys like Schmidt.
Review by Steven Hellerstedt for Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer’s Search for the Soul of Baseball
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As a general rule autobiographies are pretty valuable things. They allow the great and the notorious to reflect on a noteworthy life, and they allow us to peek over their shoulder while they do so. When the author is perceptive enough, or the events of their lives of enduring interest, the world is likely to be graced with a classic. Athletes’ autobiographies tend not to fall into that category. Athletes are usually reactive rather than reflexive, and most of our curiosity about them can be satisfied by a perusal of the box score or the record book. There are exceptions – the books by Jim Brosnan and Jim Bouton being the most notable – they’re as substantial as peanuts and Cracker Jacks.
So, with modest expectations, I read Mike Schmidt’s `Clearing the Bases.’ Even the unwieldy subtitle (Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, etc., etc.) didn’t fool me none. Putting the word `juice’ in the title of a baseball book nowadays guarantees at least 10% higher sales, and anyway the endless subtitle adds a certain swagger. Schmidt was an All-Star third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1970s and 80s, a first ballot Hall of Famer, and considered by many the greatest third baseman in the history of the game. If Schmidt doesn’t surprise and delight or swagger all that much past the title page, he doesn’t necessarily disappoint, either. The awestruck first venture into a major league clubhouse is duly noted, as are the streaks and slumps, World Series’ wins and losses are all dutifully catalogued, recalled rather than recreated.
Besides a brief and somewhat sketchy look back at his career Schmidt also writes about steroids – he would, he wouldn’t, he would, he wouldn’t but he would have been mighty tempted; modern ballplayers – superior to the old guys because of better nutrition and better conditioning; Pete Rose – interceded between his friend Pete and Bud Selig the last time Rose applied to the Commissioner to be reinstated in baseball; and Barry Bonds. I found Schmidt’s comments on Bonds oddly affecting. Boiled down to its essence, his advice to the beleagured San Francisco Giant superstar is a simple “Enjoy yourself.” Coming from a player who, in his day, was also viewed as an aloof and distant superstar, the advice has a sober, almost Gatsby-like quality to it.
A mild recommendation for Philadelphians and diehard baseball fans.
Review by L. Ross Tieszen for Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer’s Search for the Soul of Baseball
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I grew up a huge Schmidt fan and was excited to read his book, but am left with mixed emotions.
Roughly half of the book was about his life, growing up, playing days, etc. As a Schmidt fan, it was very interesting for me to read him tell his own story. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
The other (roughly) half, however (as the subtitle suggests), is just about baseball generally, and was a borderline snooze-fest for me. He writes about why home runs have increased, why hitting is more difficult today (if those seem potentially contradictory . . . I can’t help you), and how the HoF balloting is flawed because of the personal bias of some voters (he even gets a touch worked up over the sixteen people who didn’t vote for him). In other words, he hits on pretty much everything that sports talk radio shows pick up whenever they feel like there isn’t much “news” to talk about, and he doesn’t seem to say much that’s very interesting. Yep, the newer ballparks sure are smaller. Sure enough, Palmeiro’s going to be remembered for his steroid fiasco. And don’t look now, but I’m hearing that someday our kids might be able to use something called the “internet.”
In summary, Mike Schmidt was — and always will be — “my guy” as far as baseball is concerned, and because of that Clearing the Bases was a worthwhile read for me. If he’s “your guy” too, then obviously you should buy the book! If, however, you’re not particularly a Schmidt fan but are just looking for a great baseball read, it shouldn’t be too hard to find something more interesting.