Audiobook · read by volunteers
Shortstop
Zane Grey (1872–1939)
Read by Rowdy Delaney · 16 chapters · 5 h 16
About the book
Baseball is the heart of this lively novel by Zane Grey, better known for his westerns. Shortstop follows a young player's path from the quiet beginnings of home life into the demanding world of professional ball, where talent has to be matched by nerve, patience and a willingness to learn. The story moves from persuading a doubtful family to riding away from home, then on through fame and its uncertainties, and the chapter titles themselves hint at the ups and downs of a sporting career. Grey wrote with real enthusiasm for the game, and the matches are described with energy and a lover's eye for detail, while rivalries, friendships and moments of self-doubt give the action its human side. Sixteen chapters read by a single narrator fill more than five hours. It is a warm, old-fashioned sports story, ideal for baseball fans and for anyone who enjoys a classic tale of youthful ambition.
Introduction
Zane Grey (1872-1939) was born in Zanesville, Ohio, and became one of the best-selling American authors of the early twentieth century. He is remembered above all for his westerns, among them Riders of the Purple Sage, which has been adapted for the screen several times. Less widely known is his love of baseball. Grey attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship, qualified as a dentist, and played in the minor leagues before giving himself over to writing.
Shortstop, published in 1909, draws on that background. It belongs to the early wave of baseball fiction that appeared as the game was establishing itself as a national passion and professional leagues were growing rapidly. Grey's interest here is in the sport as a way of telling a story about character: the young player who must prove himself, the people who doubt him, the opponents who push him, and the family he leaves behind. The games themselves are described with the confidence of someone who knew the field from the inside.
This LibriVox recording is read by Rowdy Delaney, runs for about five hours and twenty minutes, and is divided into sixteen chapters. The opening chapters, with titles such as Persuading Mother, Riding Away, Fame and Vicissitude, give a good sense of the tone: earnest, energetic and good-humoured. For modern listeners the book is both an entertaining sports tale and a glimpse of the early days of professional baseball, written by a man who was about to make his name with stories of the American West and who, in this book, wrote about a game he had played himself.
Public domain
Zane Grey died in 1939: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text