The Last Best League by Jim Collins
The book follows the exploits of the Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2002.
But the book is about more than just that summer of baseball. It gives you a look at the kids that are playing college baseball and their dreams of playing pro ball. It shows them warts and all, their maturity (or lack of it), their work habits (or lack of them), and their strengths and weaknesses on and off the field.
It also explains some of the intricacies of the MLB draft, gives you an idea of how much money is offered to draft picks, and the hierarchy of the college system.
It also has some Reds connections….2003 #2 draft pick, Thomas Pauly is one of the players featured in the book. Ex-Red farmhand, Ben Himes is also mentioned a couple of times.
It’s a couple hundred pages, but it’s a very quick read. I found it enjoyable and learned some things I didn’t know about how the system works.