Being that it’s the end of the season, I wanted to bring you a book that had a retrospective feel to it – and Ken Proctor’s reflections on his 77+ years in baseball is definitely a good one.

It’s rare to find such a book written by someone who’s not a superstar but who still has been involved with the game for a long time — that is what made Ken’s book stand out to me. It’s not about one team, or one season, but about how baseball has been the common thread running through his 82 years, from playing pickup games as a kid in Southern California, to playing at UCLA, to coaching high school teams, to just being a fan.

It may seem that such a book might not be interesting to the average fan – but I think if you spend some time with it, it will rekindle memories of your own. You may not have been to the same games or watched the same players that Ken did, but reading about someone else’s memories and experiences helps strengthen your own. Even though Ken and I are more than 50 years apart in age, I could still relate to the stories he told — playing madeup baseball games in the back yard or at school, going to my first game, being disappointed by a ballplayer not keeping a promise, and so on.

If you like stories, kind of like your parents or grandparents would tell you, than I think you’ll really like Ken’s book. It really is a collection of short stories and observations – chronologically ordered for the most part. You’ll also find some great stories of friendship rooted in baseball, which Ken still maintains to this day.
Not only did I recently read Ken’s book, I got a chance to sit down and talk with him about it – and many other baseball related topics as well. He really is a wealth of information and insight, as well as opinion. Stay tuned for the audio of my interview with Ken. In the meantime, you can find his book at your local bookseller or online at Amazon.com.