My Review of “Falling In Love with Baseball” by Chris “Mavo” Mavraedis

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1958 San Francisco Giants Photo Gallery
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My Review of: Falling In Love with Baseball by Chris Mavraedis

All of us baseball fans could tell a story of how we fell in love with this wonderful game. Usually, there was someone from our childhood – a father, a mother, a grandfather, a big brother – who introduced us to the game. It’s the loved one who always had time to play catch with us in the backyard, and never failed to show up at our Little League games.

I’d bet everyone reading this today has his or her own story to tell. Mine goes way back to the mid-1950s when I was a five year old kid sitting on my grandfather’s lap watching Cub doubleheaders on our old black-an-white TV.  Yours may be very similar.

I’m in debt to one of our readers, Rich Giandana, for recommending to me a terrific new book written by his friend, Chris “Mavo” Mavraedis. It’s called Falling in Love with Baseball.  If you’ve loved baseball since you were a kid, then this book is for you. It’s nothing less than a treasure trove of personal stories and reflections etched deeply into Chris’s memory about his live-long love affair with baseball, the San Francisco Giants, and especially about his childhood idol, Willie Mays, who Chris considers the greatest player of all time (and I agree!).

The featured photo above is from the cover of Falling in Love with Baseball, showing the 1958 Giants, one of Chris Mavraedis’s favorite teams.

Chris traces the Giants’ storied years in San Francisco beginning with the first season in Seals Stadium following the stunning move from New York; and continues the journey through the many years in windy and cold Candlestick Park, right up to today in beautiful AT&T Park. Chris has been there for it all, enduring his share of thrills and heartbreak, vividly retold in a series of e-mails to various friends and acquaintances. Much of the Giants’ rich, post-New York history can be found here, including reflections on the pennant-winning year of 1962, the on-going feuds with the hated Dodgers, and stories about the many memorable players and games Chris recalls from his youth. The stories are all told through the eyes of one of the game’s most devoted fans.

A darned good ball player in his own right, Chris also shares interesting triumphs and tribulations from his own Little League and Traveling baseball days, including one memorable clash with a real jerk of a Little League coach. All of us who played baseball in our youth will relate to this sorry tale!

Along the way, we learn of many memorable Giant games that Chris either attended or watched, including a detailed account of the historic 17-inning pitching duel on July 2, 1963 between Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn that Chris watched along with his dad on the family’s large old stereo console, “wood and all.” As most of us did back then, Chris listened to many of these games on his old transistor radio, something completely unknown to today’s generation of younger fans.

We also read of the emotional, tearful day back in 2008 when Chris actually met his idol, Willie Mays. Certainly if you’re a Giants fan, Chris’s wonderful stories about Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Cepeda, and all the other great Giant players from these early years on the West coast will touch your heart. The good news is you don’t have to be a Giants’ fan to enjoy every word. If you love baseball, that’s all that’s required. You’ll love this book.

We also read throughout the book of Chris’s courageous, on-going battle with the dreaded disease, ALS, better known to us as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” Spoken like a true fan, and, as Chris light-heartedly puts it, “even my disease has a connection to baseball.” More importantly, Chris makes clear it’s his love of baseball that has sustained him, enabling him to persevere, and giving him motivation in his fight to survive. Unfortunately, the disease has progressed to the point where Chris is wheel-chair bound, is no longer able to speak, and had to “peck out” this book one letter at a time at his keyboard.

Here’s a wonderful quote from the Foreword written by Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy:

“What a delightful read! Chris’s passion and love for the game exudes throughout. It lets us understand the correlation between this game and our life battles off the field. Chris’s on field attitude and deep passion has extended to his ALS fight. Thanks for sharing Chris, and for triggering the memories of what made each of us fall in love with baseball!”

If you’ve have a life-long love affair with baseball, do yourself a favor and read the wonderful book, Falling in Love with Baseball by Chris “Mavo” Mavraedis. At the same time you’re helping to find a cure for ALS. Chris asked me to mention that portions of the profits will be donated to the ALS Association Golden West Chapter to aid in the search for the prevention and cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search; and from Falling in Love With Baseball

Complete player identifications in 1958 Giants team photo available upon request.

Falling in Love with Baseball available on Amazon and from Mavo Books (with free shipping)