Jerry Klinkowitz, who teaches at the University of Northern Iowa, was one of the owners of the Waterloo Diamonds from 1978 until they were sold in 1994. This series of essays explores that experience from a variety of perspectives; he talks about how he got involved with the team, about how he wrote a novel (Short Season) based on his ownership experiences, about his grandstand neighbors, about team officer Mildred Boyenga, and about why the Diamonds failed.
Taken in isolation, each essay is excellent. They aren’t so successful as a book. The main problem is repetition; many of essays cover the same general material and some of the stories get told several times. Said differently: The book’s not very long, and about half of it could have been left out. Nonetheless, this is a valuable look at how baseball looked in Waterloo during the 80s, and is worth your time and a few of your dollars.
This short review was originally published on A Fan’s Guide to the Midwest League and was republished on LibraryThing.