Just a fun, quick interview with Jane Leavy, a terrific journalist who has written three incredible baseball biographies. I was fascinated to talk to her about the fact that the subjects she had chosen over the years — Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle and now Babe Ruth — seemed to me to be so picked over already. Why not a nice biography on Joe McEwing?
One thing that really intrigued me about her latest book, The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, were some of the early descriptions of her search for the story to tell. Several years ago, I went through a similar quixotic journey with The Babe, tracing steps similar to those Ms. Leavy took. Something about The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in Baltimore made my understanding of Ruth hazier instead of clearer. (You can read my attempt to understand his legacy here.)
Anyhow, I highly recommend Leavy’s newest book, as well as her first two.
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