Review: Feeding the Monster

Last night I finished the Boston Red Sox book titled, “Feeding the Monster” by Seth Mnookin. This book is hands-down, the best Sox book I have ever read.

Once the Sox won the World Series, I started reading Red Sox-related books like there was no tomorrow. I think I read between 5-10 books after the World Series. I read somewhere that 30-35 books were published after the Sox won the championship.

Positives of “Feeding the Monster”

· This book offered an amazing amount of insider knowledge. I had already heard about a lot of the stories that were featured in the book from sources, but it will be extremely eye opening to other readers.

· The book helped to clear the air on one story I had incorrect. An anonymous teammate of Schilling’s slammed the pitcher last year. He said, “When he comes into the game people cheer him like he’s the Pope.’ The book added “the player was complaining that Schilling wasn’t confronted with the jeers while the rest of the team faced when they struggled. ‘You think they’d let Pedro get away with this? Why does he get a pass?’”

I always thought Keith Foulke was behind this quote. According to the book and Howard Bryant, Kevin Millar made those statements. It’s a little understandably considering how bad he played last year and how the fans treated him.

Negatives of “Feeding the Monster”

· In the footnotes, the reporter takes time explaining some of the basic aspects of baseball, stats, etc. Is it really needed? I don’t know.
· There is definitely a lot of information that is factual and can’t be changed so if you have read other Sox books recently, it may be a lot of the same info.

The bottom line is I would strongly recommend reading or buying it as a gift for any Sox fan.

Sidenote:

When discussing the best Sox books, let us look at the top three:

· “Feeding the Monster,” Seth Mnookin
· “Now I Can Die in Peace,” Bill Simmons
Note: Some people will argue that they won’t read this book since they have read all his columns before. I disagree. Simmons’ adds some hilarious footnotes to his columns and it is always enjoyable to reread columns you haven’t seen in a couple of years.
· “A Tale of Two Cities,” Tony Massarotti and John Harper
Note: Massarotti and Harper offered their thoughts on the 2004 season from the Red Sox and Yankees’ clubhouses since both are beat reporters. This book offered some amazing “inside baseball” nuggets and I definitely recommend reading this book.