Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Book Review: Fantasyland
Date: February 14, 2008
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: Reviewing Sam Walker’s excellent foray into the world of fantasy baseball.

Yup, I can read. Really well, too. I’m an avid reader, especially during the summers when, without books, my brain would turn to mush working at the ol’ Toyota plant here in Cambridge. Genre of choice? Hey, you guessed it—sports non-fiction. I’ve read a lot of really interesting sports books that some of you may enjoy, so from time to time I’ll throw up a brief book review on the site. I assume at least some of you can read.

Since Yahoo has officially said ‘green light’ by opening registration for fantasy baseball on their site, it’s high time this review came to fruition. For those who don’t fancy themselves strong hockey or basketball fans, right now is that dull time between fantasy football and fantasy baseball. When the calendar hits March 1, it will be an all out blitz for fantasy die hards to absorb the knowledge of Caple, Shandler, Mr. Roto, Erik Arnold, and the rest of the fantasy world’s experts.

So without any more of this unnessary jibba-jabba, I present to you a most appropriate first book review,

Sam Walker’s Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball’s Lunatic Fringe.

I read this book in the summer of 2006, a little late in the calendar year for it to truly effect me (I read it again in spring of 2007 and enjoyed it even more). I was drawn in by the captivating front and back cover at Chapters one day and, after reading a quick blurb, decided it was good for a buy. I was not disappointed.

It took me about a week to hammer through the 368 pages of fantasy world plunder. The general story is this: Sam Walker is a baseball expert who had never tried his hand at the fantasy side of the sport. For one season he was convinced to join an expert league, and he took his preparation and team management to the extreme, basically going into exhile from the real world. The book chronicles his preparation, scouting, and success/failure in the league of expert fantasy ballers.

Not only is the book an entertaining read (it is written at an ODC level and includes a lot of short stories for those of you with short attention spans), but it’s also very funny, whether it be through Walker’s impecable storytelling or the people involved themselves. He visits training camps, interviews actual players, hires a staff, and completely obsesses for an entire nine month period.

Sound familiar yet?

If so, you’ll appreciate the best part about the book: it is incredibly true to life. Walker does a great job capturing exactly what it’s like to be a highly-involved fantasy sports team owner, explaining the ups and downs, successes and failures, and stresses and excitements all with supreme legitimacy. This book does not read like something a sports ‘expert’ would write, it reads like something one of us would write, though we’d never admit to this level of compulsion.

The book received rave reviews from nearly every source, and with good reason. I’ve never related to a book or character so well, and Sam shows non-addicts exactly what it’s like to care more about your fantasy baseball team than the friendships you have with your opponents. I’m not even a part of this ‘elite’ fantasy group, and I’m not what you’d call an obsessive fantasy player, either, but Walker’s tale will get anyone excited for baseball (read: fantasy baseball) season.

With that glowing review, I am obviously recommending this book to anyone who is either a baseball fan or a fantasy sports fan. Especially if you can get a read in between now and your fantasy draft.

You can find this book at most retail outlets still, at the website, or on Amazon.com. Additionally, if you know me you can holler and I’ll gladly lend it to you to get you pumped for the coming season.

And for those of you who have played in my fantasy baseball leagues in the past or wish to in the future, the answer to your question is yes, this is a sign that I’ll be getting that up and running soon.