A general view of a baseball and glove prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. / Peter G. Aiken-Imagn Images
John Feinstein, the best-selling author who wrote “Where Nobody Knows Your Name” – an intimate look inside the minor leagues – died Thursday. He was 69.
The Washington Post, where Feinstein previously was a staff writer, reported he died at his brother’s home in McLean, Va. Just Wednesday, he filed a column for The Post about Tom Izzo, the longtime basketball coach at Michigan State.
“Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball” is one of 48 books written by Feinstein, who was a New York native and graduate of Duke. According to his website, 23 of his books were New York Times Best-Sellers.
A summary of the baseball book on Amazon.com says this about Feinstein’s work:
Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball. John Feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can. Where Nobody Knows Your Name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, focusing on nine men, including players, managers and umpires, among many colorful characters, living on the cusp of the dream. The book tells the stories of former World Series hero Scott Podsednik, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie [Montoyo], shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, a lifelong minor leaguer, waiting for his day to come. From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through.
Montoyo went on to become a coach for the Tampa Bay Rays and manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Feinstein’s most noted work was “A Season on the Brink,” which chronicled Bob Knight and his Indiana Hoosiers through the 1985-86 basketball season. In addition to baseball and college basketball, he wrote about golf, football, tennis and the Olympics. He also wrote novels for young adults.
He also was a frequent guest on the Golf Channel and appeared on ESPN’s “Sports Reporters.” He was the writer-in-residence at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., and taught a seminar there this semester.
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Published 6 Minutes Ago|Modified 6:46 PM EDT
