By Corianne Egan
Baseball is full of characters. It was only a matter of time until the off-field antics of the modern day ball player would be turned into a movie or novel. Frank DeFord took the firs step in writing “The Entitled”.
DeFord’s book is a baseball drama concentrating on the relationship between a baseball manager and his biggest star. He digs into an intimate baseball world that only distinguished writers like himself are privy to, detailing a manager’s struggle to get (and more importantly, keep) a job in the majors.
While “The Entitled” is completely fictional, parts of the novel closely resemble a certain major league star in real life. After reading Selena Robert’s exposé of Alex Rodriguez, DeFord’s superstar, Jay Alcazar, looks, acts, and feels a little less make believe. Alcazar goes as far as to have the same mannerisms (a Latin identity crisis, a fake media persona… do I need to continue?). It makes you wonder if DeFord knew something we all didn’t years before anyone could even wonder.
DeFord’s book is refreshing in that it talks about baseball and controversies but steers clear of the ultimate controversy – steroids. It’s nice to talk about problems that do not involve cheating or the integrity of the sport. “The Entitled” is a display of (yet again, a reoccurring theme) what happens when unlimited money combines with a large ego.
The relationship between manager and player is one of the most speculated about, but most private, relationships in baseball. The struggle between old time baseball and new order moneyball is also an underlying struggle. DeFord puts both into “The Entitled”, making it one of the most timeless fictional novels on the shelves.
“The Entitled” is a new view into the baseball world and how things really word. It’s the only fictional work on the Summer Reading list so far, but after a full read through, there’s no doubt it could be true. It’s dynamic, powerful, and gripping… because there’s always that thought – the voice in the back of a sports fan’s head – saying that there’s a possibility it could really happen.
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