From Publishers Weekly
The Cape Cod Baseball League, which began in the 19th century as local entertainment for summer residents, has evolved into the jewel of American amateur baseball. Sanctioned by the NCAA, the league invites the best college players to come to breezy seaside communities to work on their game during what amounts to their off-seasonâ€"late June through mid-Augustâ€"without sacrificing their amateur status. And come they do, to one of the 10 teams sponsored by small towns and New England businesses, staffed by volunteers, the players hosted by local families and given day jobs as clerks, seafood haulers and day-camp counselors. Collins, a former editor of Yankee magazine and once a Dartmouth second baseman with dreams of the big leagues, brings a local historian's eye and the heart of a fan to a chronicle of one Cape Cod League team, the Chatham A's, during the 2002 season. He has produced a book that will be a treat to casual fans who might not know the process by which college players are courted by agentsâ€"graded as to character, body type and bat speed, and then tagged with a price. Collins wisely focuses his story on a handful of the most promising Chatham players, most memorably Wake Forest's slugging third baseman Jamie D'Antona, an extremely likable nutcase, for whom readers will find themselves rooting hard. There is also the undersized Blake Hanan, the brainy Princeton righty Tom Pauly and the sphinxlike load of a pitcher, Tim Stauffer. Their crusty manager, John Schiffner, adds a little spice and tobacco juice to the mix. Along the way, readers will gain an appreciation for summer on Cape Cod and the place of baseball, as it once was, in the heart of local communities. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
The Cape Cod Baseball League is not well known except to New Englanders and professional baseball scouts (one of every six major-league players competes in it). The summer league, which attracts many of the best collegiate and amateur players from around the country, provides young players an opportunity to play in a competitive environment while functioning as adults in a community. The players typically room with local families, hold jobs with local businesses, and become part of the fabric of local life. Despite the small-town atmosphere, there can be a great deal at stake. Collins, former editor of Yankee magazine and a former college player with major-league dreams, understands the league, the game, and the odd dynamic that exists when teammates are vying for a ticket on the first leg of the journey to the major leagues. His profiles of the players, coaches, and local citizens who come together in the Cape Cod League offers a captivating, timeless brew of scuffed baseballs, white sand, and pristine dreams. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Boston Globe
"A wonderful, dramatic, thoroughly absorbing book."


Seattle Times
"Exquisitely rendered.... Collins is at the top of his game as a writer, skilled at layering locale, drama and character."


Chicago Tribune
"An intelligent treatment of big-league dreams fulfilled and dashed."


Booklist
"A captivating, timeless brew of scuffed baseballs, white sand, and pristine dreams."


Rocky Mountain News
"Flat-out brilliant and a three-hanky read for anyone who loves baseball."


U.S. News &World Report
"An engrossing portrait of marvelously gifted boys in men's bodies-swaggering one moment, full of uncertainty the next."


Bill Littlefield, Boston Globe 5/2/04
"An exceptional look at one of the region's summer gems."


Boston Herald 5/2/04
"With his portrayal of the Cape Cod Baseball League...Collins is at the top of his game."


Portland Mercury 4/22/04
"An astonishing debut."


Sportsology.net 03/13/04
"[An] absorbing account of life in the Cape Cod Summer League...[It's] also a wonderful slice of Americana."


Book Description
Every summer, in ten small towns across Cape Cod, the finest college baseball players in the country gather in hopes of making it to"The Show." The hopes are justifiably high: The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best amateur league in the world, producing one out of every six major league players, from Nomar Garciaparra and Frank Thomas to Jeff Bagwell and Barry Zito. Jim Collins chronicles a season in the life of one team-the Chatham A's, perhaps the most celebrated team in the league. Set against the backdrop of a resort town on the bend of the outer Cape, the story charts the changing fortunes of a handful ?of players battling slumps and self-doubt in their effort to make the league playoffs and, more importantly, impress the major league scouts. We learn about everything from the physics of wooden bats and the physiology of elbows to the psychology of slumps and the lure of drugs. In the course of a single dramatic season, with euphoric wins and devastating losses, we come to know the intricacies of the major league scouting network and the rapidly changing profile of major league baseball. In the tradition of The Boys of Summer, The Last Best League is about dreams fulfilled and dreams denied, about Cape Cod and the rites of summer, and about the way one small town grows to love a group of young men coming of age in America.


About the Author
Jim Collins, a native New Englander, played college baseball at Dartmouth and is a former editor of Yankee magazine. He is an accomplished magazine writer whose work has twice been included in the annual Best American Sportswriting.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Every summer, in ten small towns across Cape Cod, elite college baseball players gather in hopes of making it to The Show. The hopes are justifiably high: The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best amateur league in the world, producing one out of every six major league players, from Nomar Garciaparra and Frank Thomas to Jeff Bagwell and Barry Zito. In this meticulously reported and brilliantly crafted narrative, Jim Collins chronicles a season in the life of the Chatham A's, perhaps the most celebrated team in the league. Set against the backdrop of a resort town on the bend of the outer Cape, the story charts the changing fortunes of a handful of players battling slumps and self-doubt in their effort to make the league playoffs and, more important, impress the major league scouts. There's Jamie D'Antona, a likable, party-loving, power-hitting third baseman from Wake Forest. Thomas Pauly, a Princeton pitcher who doesn't take his talent very seriously. And Tim Stauffer, an earnest player from Richmond and one of the country's most sought after right-handed pitchers. Who will make it? And why?

We learn about everything from the physics of wooden bats and the physiology of elbows to the psychology of slumps and the lure of drugs. In the course of a single dramatic season, with euphoric wins and devastating losses, we come to know the intricacies of the major league scouting network and the rapidly changing profile of major league baseball. And the way one small town grows to love a group of young men on the brink of stardom. In the tradition of Friday Night Lights and The Boys of Summer, The Last Best League is about dreams fulfilled and dreams destroyed, about Cape Cod and the rites of summer, about coming of age in America. It offers a rare, unguarded view of celebrity-in-the-making. Diehard fans will revel in seeing baseball as it was meant to be played. The rest will at last understand what the game is all about.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

Collins is taking us into Field of Dreams territory, in other words. As the great commercial success of the book and movie of that title makes plain, plenty of people love to go there, so The Last Best League may be just the summer-reading ticket for them this year.—Jonathan Yardley

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Perhaps the best off-the-beaten-path book of 2004...Collins does a masterful job.

Publishers Weekly

The Cape Cod Baseball League, which began in the 19th century as local entertainment for summer residents, has evolved into the jewel of American amateur baseball. Sanctioned by the NCAA, the league invites the best college players to come to breezy seaside communities to work on their game during what amounts to their off-season-late June through mid-August-without sacrificing their amateur status. And come they do, to one of the 10 teams sponsored by small towns and New England businesses, staffed by volunteers, the players hosted by local families and given day jobs as clerks, seafood haulers and day-camp counselors. Collins, a former editor of Yankee magazine and once a Dartmouth second baseman with dreams of the big leagues, brings a local historian's eye and the heart of a fan to a chronicle of one Cape Cod League team, the Chatham A's, during the 2002 season. He has produced a book that will be a treat to casual fans who might not know the process by which college players are courted by agents-graded as to character, body type and bat speed, and then tagged with a price. Collins wisely focuses his story on a handful of the most promising Chatham players, most memorably Wake Forest's slugging third baseman Jamie D'Antona, an extremely likable nutcase, for whom readers will find themselves rooting hard. There is also the undersized Blake Hanan, the brainy Princeton righty Tom Pauly and the sphinxlike load of a pitcher, Tim Stauffer. Their crusty manager, John Schiffner, adds a little spice and tobacco juice to the mix. Along the way, readers will gain an appreciation for summer on Cape Cod and the place of baseball, as it once was, in the heart of local communities. Agent, Stuart Krichevsky. (Apr.) FYI: About a dozen of the players on the Chatham A's were drafted by major league teams, including Tim Stauffer in the first round and D'Antona and Pauly in the second. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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