Maybe I'll Pitch Forever

A Great Baseball Player Tells the Hilarious Story behind the Legend

By: LeRoy Satchel Paige, David Lipman

Narrated by: Edward Lewis

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Satchel Paige was 42 years old when he became the first Black pitcher in the American League in 1948. Although the oldest rookie around, he was already a legend. For 22 years, beginning in 1926, Paige dazzled throngs with his performance in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Then he outlasted everyone by playing professional baseball, in and out of the majors, until 1965. Struggle against early poverty and racial discrimination was part of Paige's story. So was fast living and a humorous point of view. This is his autobiography, as told to David Lipman.

Public Domain (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Lipman...has preserved the flavor and cadence of Paige's conversation and writes his story honestly, avoiding neither the tragedies nor the escapades which mark his career." (Booklist)

"Not only was Satchel Paige an amazing athlete, he was one of the great American humorists in the tradition of Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Yogi Berra. The most famous black player of his era shines through the pages of this remarkable autobiography." (John B. Holway)

Narration was the worst I've ever heard.

Narrator sounded like he wanted to get the reading over with and cash his check before the bank closed.

great history of one of baseball's greatest

bought this after visiting the negro league museum in KC. AWESOME history just wish we could have seen ol' Satch against mlb at his prime. I would bet he would be the greatest of all time

A legend

LeRoy (Satchel) Paige became a rookie in the American League at the age of 42. He was the first black pitcher and one of the first black players in the major leagues. However, he was hardly a rookie. He had been playing in the Negro Baseball Leagues since 1926 and drew such crowds that they had to start moving games to the stadiums used by the major league teams. He was born in Mobile Alabama and was coached in how to play baseball while in reform school. After getting out, he asked a local team coach to let him demonstrate his pitching skills and he immediately started moving up. 

This book is in his own words, and he was obviously as good a storyteller as he was a baseball player. Though it is told from his perspective and not an independently researched biography, that is part of its value. And, his accomplishments are not really in doubt. In the Negro Leagues, he not only played the regular season, but continued to play in road games between seasons, around the US, in Mexico, in Cuba, and elsewhere. His pitching was legendary. When asked by one catcher what kind of signs they should use, he answered that he didn’t need signs and told the catcher to just put his mit where he wanted the ball to be and he would put it there. It is a shame that he didn’t get to the majors until he was so old, so we don’t have completely accurate stats. 

It is another reminder of just how much racism has cost us and how much talent that we have been deprived of because of color. This book ends while he was still pitching, though he was no longer in the majors. I’d like to read a biography of Satchel, but I’d still highly recommend reading his own version of his story. 

One of America's greatest stories.

loved the story of the great Satchel Paige. The story was captivating from start to finish. I found it more than slightly off-putting that such a great tale of a great American was told in a voice far different than his own. The very 1930's-news-reader-style narration was distracting at times. I constantly pictured an old Southern Black Man telling me the stories of Satchel Paige in a voice and cadence he could only master. It would be nice to hear Bob Kendrick perform this narration and ad lib a little with his stories added in with a flair only be could add. Beautiful story though!

overall 👌

Good Listen. The readers voice didn't necessarily go with the story being told, but good none the less.

The Legend

A wonderful memoir! My only wish is that Satchel Paige could've read it aloud himself.

Greatest of all time.

A nicely read Biography told through the mind of Satchel himself. Very enjoyable, and like Paige, always entertaining.

Old Satch

True Legend! Learn what it's like to be the greatest pitcher that ever was. Listened start to finish without a break.

Veeck as In Wreck

Great story ruined by a repeated mispronunciation of Bill Veeck’s name. Producer/audio talent should have done a better job.

Pure Americana

The easy way of talking and telling his story helps Paige bring us back in time to taste his experiences firsthand.