REVIEW: September Nights by James Shields with Bill Chastain

Tropicana Field, St. Petersburgh FL

The American League East is the toughest division in baseball. Every year, the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays know that they have to wrestle the division title from their much wealthier and well-staffed rivals: the Boston Red Sox and  New York Yankees. But since 2008, the Rays (formerly the neon green clad 'Devil Rays'), have forced their way into the contest for division supremacy and made it a three-corner race.  For fans of the Blue Jays, dreams of a postseason have never been so out of reach.

In September Nights: Hunting the Beasts of the American League East, Rays' pitcher James Shields recounts the final month of the 2010 regular season during which the Rays competed for their second pennant in three years. For the 28 year old, the team's current success is in stark contrast to his earlier years with the organization when it made a name for itself in being a "perennial loser". Yet, while Shields is ecstatic with the teams success (SEVEN of his ten years with the organization have been spent losing), he struggles with inconsistency throughout 2010. Within these competing narratives is a compelling story that will interest any baseball fan.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays logo (1998 - 2000)

Shields is a right-handed workhorse (a pitcher that can consistently pitch many innings in a game) who throws a fastball, curveball, changeup, and cutter. He's definitely one of my favourite pitchers to watch because he throws strikes. You hear his pitches hit the catcher's glove.  At 28, he's now one of the older pitchers on the Rays' rotation that includes David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, and Matt Moore. And, while Shields has experience, he's lost out the position of No. 1 starter to Price. Shields offers readers perspective into what a major league pitcher thinks about: in-between pitches; when he wins; when he loses; when he gives up a home run (or in the case of the Toronto Blue Jays on August 7, 2010 SEVEN); when he's working with other pitchers; when he sees younger talent emerging to "take his job." It's clear that Shields and fireballer David Price are good friends outside of the game and that the former has been a positive mentor for the latter. But, as Shields points out, they're all competing against one another (and any other new and younger talent) for their jobs. That's a part of their relationships. For those of you who get the feed from Tampa on the East Coast, you might remember a game in which Shields was doing some in-game commentary and was showered with sunflower seeds by teammate David Price ... a picture of that made Price's Twitter avatar for a while. For a pitcher reaching the prime of his career (or what conventional baseball wisdom has deemed "prime years"), the trouble he faced with his pitching in 2010 was extremely trying. It was very easy for this professional to slip into panic mode when things weren't going right and he had to learn how to control his emotions on the mound.

The Rays are exploding with young talent. This is an advantage they hold over the aged Yankees and Red Sox. However, with a limited bankroll, the team can't afford to retain this talent for long. In 2010, the Rays lineup included Matt Garza, Carl Crawford, and Joaquin Benoit. All of those guys have since moved on to more lucrative situations. Though in the case of Crawford, his big payday didn't translate into championship glory since he sold his services to the Red Sox. For Shields, it's difficult to know that a team with such chemistry will be taken apart at the end of the season.  But, that's part of professional baseball and the team just has to make the most of their time together.

Tropicana Field - The white roof

One of the more charged moments in 2010 involved a heated episode between certain Rays' players and the fans. Tension had been accumulating over the lack of attendence at Tropicana Field. The Rays play  in St. Petersburgh, FL (about 30 minutes from Clearwater and Tampa). The stadium itself resembles a giant circus tent. The white roof and lights are apparently a nightmare for visiting teams because the ball just disappears in the air. There are also a multitude of criticisms related to the bullpens, catwalks and stark interior. If you've ever watched a game on tv, it's not beautiful in the way that Rangers ballpark in Arlington is or imposing like the new Yankee Stadium. I think that like Toronto, fans really only turn up when the Yankees or Phillies come to town. But, unlike Toronto, the Rays made a World Series appearance in 2008 and had a chance to clinch the pennant in 2010. So, understandably, when the stands remained empty in September, 2010 some of the players were baffled and vocalized their frustration. More significantly, I think the Shields stumbles upon a bigger issue here that all of major league baseball needs to consider: how do you continue making baseball relevant to fans and the wider public in an era when baseball is no longer the American pasttime? Can the league survive only with the publicity generated by nationally recognized brands like the Yankees and the surge in interest during the postseason? It's difficult to say and the Rays certainly aren't the only teams mired in this predicament.

September Nights isn't a literary masterpiece. But, it is an authentic (featuring overused words by baseball players (athletes in general), including: "filthy" and "overnasty" (??)) and thorough account that invokes some of the "September" magic of baseball. For Rays fans, it's a chance to relive each game as narrated by one of the star pitchers on the team. For general baseball fans, it's a chance to get "behind-the-scenes" and to appreciate how far this once insignificant franchise has come in the past decade.

An essential must-read read to help pass time until Spring!

Notables:
Shields' description of Rays manager Joe Maddon confirm my suspicions: he's a cool skipper. Anyone with black hipster  (or as Shields calls them, "Buddy Holly") frames and that  mane of silver hair would have to be kind of cool.

Each chapter opens with a photo of how Shields holds each of his pitches.

Jays fans: 2010 was a bad year. And, it gets underlined on a week-by-week basis in this book. Enjoy! :S