The Boys of Summer Reading
A triple-header reading tomorrow at the Decatur Public Library features a solid lineup of baseball authors, including local dad-coach Hal Jacobs.
- Author Hal Jacobs
On the heels of last week’s gathering of women in baseball writing, three fellas take the field tomorrow night at the Decatur Public Library to read from their own baseball tomes: legendary Braves announcer Pete Van Wieran (Of Mikes and Men), Georgia State University’s radio man Dave Cohen (Matzoh Balls and Baseballs), and Decatur journalist Hal Jacobs, who sat down to chat about his locally-published memoir Ball Crazy, which documents his season as a dad-coach with his 12-year-old son’s travelling youth baseball team.
Jacobs, a long-time Atlanta freelancer, and currently a senior editor for Emory College, had his notepad ready during his son’s first season with a traveling youth league, as they geared up for and ground through the big PONY league tournament. It helped him catch the ups and downs of the season, a vivid sense of place and purpose, and some gem-like exchanges between players: “’How did Alexander Cartwright ever think of this game?’ asks our shortstop. … ‘He must’ve been really bored,’ says the ball-hawk centerfielder.”