Seasons in Hell: With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and "The Worst Baseball Team in History"―The 1973–1975 Texas Rangers

Absolutely brilliant read, very funny in parts and really got to the heart of a team who were great off the diamond but awful on it

Anyone who thinks baseball is the overly groomed, PR conscious, coddled player, outrageous money game we see today has missed the true glory days of the sport. Not that the Texas Rangers of 1973 through 1975 were anywhere near glorious....they were wretched. When the Washington Senators were sold down south and arrived in the old orange monstrosity that was home to the Texas Rangers, baseball fans in the metroplex thought they were in heaven. It only took a seson or two to disabuse them of this belief. I was in the stands at Arlington stadium nearly every home game.....not as a fan, as an employee. Mike Shropshire was along for the ride as a sportswriter for a local paper and was front row for the wreckage that was the early Rangers. Castoff players, oddball owners, pugnacious managers were all part of the scene. Back in the day, players weren't sequestered and standoffish, stadium staff often found them in the same watering holes we frequented after games. This is a hilarious look at the early days of the Rangers, the emergence of Billy Martin as their manager, the beginning and end of David Clyde and a cast of unbelievable players. It is a must-read for anyone who yearns for the "good old days" of the sport and who remembers the 70's.

Great read, some real chuckle out loud moments.

I happened to stumble upon this book while searching on Amazon. I'm glad I found this. The book ostensibly is about the 1973-1975 Rangers but most of the book is on the 1973 team, which was one of the worst teams in MLB history. Whitey Herzog, who managed the team for most of the '73 season, is a source of numerous great quotes in the book. While discussing a pitcher nearly throwing a no-hitter against the team, he says if anyone threw a no-no against the Rangers, "they oughta slap an asterisk on it." He discusses the plan for pitching phenom David Clyde, and wraps it up by saying, "then we're gonna bottle his sperm."Speaking of Clyde, his sad saga is expounded upon in great detail here. Then-Rangers owner Bob Short, desperately looking for a way to get fans into Arlington Stadium, rushed Clyde to the majors at the age of eighteen shortly after he was drafted. Clyde's career got off to a good start, but he soon faded and he was done in the majors by 24. In another attempt to get fans, Short dumped Herzog and replaced him with Billy Martin. Martin's story is all too familiar: Takes over a team, quickly snaps them into shape, almost as quickly wears out his welcome with the front office and his players, gets fired, lather, rinse, repeat. Amazingly, Martin took the Rangers who finished last in the AL West and went 57-105 in '73 to a second place finish and a 84-76 record in '74. However, both the Rangers' players and front office tired of his act and fired him in '75.Shropshire's fantastic memory and biting sense of humor makes this an enjoyable read. The book's only drawback is the terrible editing job. Don Larsen's last name is misspelled "Larson." Even worse, Muhammad Ali's first name is mispelled "Mohammad." In the afterword, he refers to Aaron Sele as a left-hander. One problem: Sele is a right-hander. Despite these blunders, this is a fun, quick read. Recommended.

This book was very funny with some episodes that bordered on the insane. The author’s full participation in the craziness was very entertaining but at times was pathetic. Billy Martin’s initial first year success with the Rangers was followed up with the team crashing and burning in year two. This was the story of Martin’s Managerial Career.I highly recommend this book for the insights about baseball in the 1970’s and it was a hilarious read.