Something to Prove, by Rob Skead, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

In 1936, two of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game faced off in an exhibition baseball game.  Baseball was different then, in many ways.  It would be more than a decade until Jackie Robinson would be the first black player in the major leagues, but people who followed baseball knew that Satchel Paige was the greatest pitcher around.  So when scouts wanted to see how good the hot prospect Joe DiMaggio was, they arranged a meeting between the two.

In Rob Skead's new book Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio, beautifully illustrated by Floyd Cooper, the game comes alive with an inning by inning account of this great showdown.  Both men had something to prove, Paige, that he was good enough to pitch to major leaguers, and DiMaggio, that he was good enough to hit against a great pitcher (he went 1 for 4, barely!).

This game is probably a familiar bit of history to baseball buffs, but it was new to me.  Your budding baseball fan will enjoy this great story from a not-so-great era of a great game.  It brings to mind the what-ifs of baseball--What if blacks and whites had played together from the start?  What if Paige had spent his early career pitching against the great white major league batters rather than pitching in the Negro Leagues?  DiMaggio attested that Paige would have done well; he said Paige was "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced."

The major leaguers had trouble hitting Paige's "bat dodger," "trouble ball," and "whipsey dipsey do"

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!