In Just Play Ball, former big league catcher and legendary broadcaster Joe Garagiola has put together 243 pages that will take you on a trip inside the head of a lifelong baseball man.

With a combination of stories, opinions, observations and teachings, Garagiola pulls up a chair next to you and shares how he sees the game of baseball. Whether it’s the current obsession with statistics, the unappreciated work of catchers, or how to talk to an umpire, Garagiola shares his thoughts without being condescending or overly attached to the “good ol’ days” of baseball – although he does make a case in some instances that modern baseball has lost some connection to its roots.

Just Play Ball is loaded with stories of players, coaches, managers, umpires, and broadcasters which Garagiola weaves together at almost a breakneck speed to create a collage of how baseball has shaped his life.

And while it seems like he jumps from story to story without much rhyme or reason, once you get to the end of the book do you realize the bigger picture that Garagiola has painted. This is a fun baseball written by a true baseball man, and worth picking up.