Spring is here, which means baseball and books about baseball.  It's one of the few times I read anything for pleasure, and while I'm not a great baseball fan, nor avid reader, I enjoy a good baseball story.  Gehrig's is one of the greatest baseball stories, and also one of the saddest, but even knowing the outcome, I still went out of my way to read Luckiest Man by Jonathan Eig.

I'm aware of this book having seen it recommended by Curt Schilling, who's blog is a great read in itself.  The recommendation is worthwhile; Luckiest Man is a well researched documentary of the life and career of Lou Gehrig.  Predictable as it may be for its emotional impact, Eig's writing and attention to detail lead you through both the up and down of Gehrig's story as if it were new.

Eig's narrative however, if there is any shortcoming, even if a necessary one, is as burdened with the shadow of Babe Ruth as Gehrig's career.  Gehrig played all his years constantly compared to Ruth, they were the premier hitters of the time, but somehow managed to etch his own identity on the game.  It wouldn't be possible for Eig to tell the story without mentioning Ruth, but on a rare occasion or two I wondered if I wasn't reading a book about the Babe.

Acknowledging the closeness of Gehrig's story to Ruth's, even if the men share no personality traits, Eig succeeds in finding fact and accuracy, correcting some known myths with unknown (to me at least) facts, such as the myth of Wally Pipp's headache.  Legend has it Yankee starting first baseman Wally Pipp complained to the manager of a headache and was replaced by Gehrig, who played every game, without exception, for the next fourteen years.  The longest streak of consecutive games played until broken by Cal Ripken Jr.

In truth, Pipp's headache did not get him replaced, the manager had already made a change in a prior game, starting Gehrig and a number of other young players to spark a slumping team.  Such is an example of what I like most about baseball stories: that peek behind the curtain of legend.  And often times, the real stories are just as good as the legends themselves.

In the end, this baseball story is ultimately about character, and Gehrig's life, illness, and outlook.  If you're not familiar with his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium or how he considered himself the luckiest man alive, or even if you are, Eig's book is a great way to visit, or revisit one of baseball's classic tales.