Let's face it...we live in a world where information is power. This ideal is widespread in the high-tech high-paced world that we live in where what you know,may make you well-known. This notion recently came to fruition with some tell-all books like Tom Verducci and Joe Torre with "Yankee Years" and Jose Canseco's "Juiced."
Steve Bilifer of Sports Business Journal recently wrote an article about Torre's part with the book and its everlasting effect. Bilifer writes, "For 12 years, Torre came across as a calm, honest and noncontroversial presence in the toughest pressure cooker in sports. That image has taken a hit since the release of his new book. The book should sell well, but after this tortured book tour, Torre won’t be able to buy back his unblemished image as a straight shooter." Many players are coming out with these big tell-all books for the purpose of dishing out the information they know to turn a profit. Jose Canseco did the same thing with "Juiced" and he turned an enormous profit for saying everything he knew about steroids, and now Joe Torre is doing the same thing with his Yankee memories.
These players and coaches lose a lot of credibility and respect in the game often for releasing all of this information, but their wallets open up for the bills that sell. Why is the clubhouse not the clubhouse anymore? The old baseball adage is whatever happens in the clubhouse or locker room stays there. Canseco and Torre broke this to leak the info to the public, something seen as unacceptable in many sports circles.
Another unfortunate thought is that this seems to be one of the only ways to keep sports literature popular. Fine sports stories like Warrick Dunn and his tale of overcoming his mother's murder as a young boy and his success story seems like a best seller but it only finds itself well down the list of many book selling stores. By giving the reader something juicy and entertaining, the media starts to publicize the controversial stories and increases the readership. Fans love juicy news and juicy entertaining tales sell in the 2000s.
How many of you agree or disagree with this? In "mediasport," Leah Vande Berg writes of sports heroes and their impact on celebrityhood and culture. Joe Montana, Michael Jordan and other various athletes are included in this list of icons. Vande Berg also mentions Dennis Rodman to the list. Rodman is seen as "flamboyant" and the opposite of the "clean cut, all-American" public look and persona of a Nolan Ryan or Joe Montana (Vande Berg 146). Rodman worte a book of his own entitled "Bad as I want to be" that spread more news about him and his wildish behavior...another bit hit.
In the handbook of Sports and Media, R. Glenn Cummings argues if sports fiction as a non-genre. "The assertation that sports fiction is simply drama or comedy that happens to involve sports leads to the question of whether sports fiction actually constitutes a disctinct genre of entertainment." (Cummings 187)
My take: I'm tired of these tell all sports books. I'm a growing historian of the games and the tell-all sports books should have their own place in the bookstores. Put tell alls in one section and put historical sports books in another aisle.
In the ESPNized world that we live in, entertainment and sports have merged to unprecededented proportions. Give me a good historical baseball or football book anyday and I will read it. Unfortunately, sports fans love the juicy stories now, and those are the best sellers.
What do you think?
-Michael Radomski
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