• Satchel

  • The Life and Times of an American Legend
  • By: Larry Tye
  • Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
  • Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (141 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Satchel  By  cover art

Satchel

By: Larry Tye
Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

New York Times Best Seller • The superbly researched, spellbindingly told story of athlete, showman, philosopher, and boundary breaker Leroy “Satchel” Paige

“Among the rare biographies of an athlete that transcend sports . . . gives us the man as well as the myth.” (The Boston Globe)

Few reliable records or news reports survive about players in the Negro Leagues. Through dogged detective work, award-winning author and journalist Larry Tye has tracked down the truth about this majestic and enigmatic pitcher, interviewing more than 200 Negro Leaguers and Major Leaguers, talking to family and friends who had never told their stories before, and retracing Paige’s steps across the continent. Here is the stirring account of the child born to an Alabama washerwoman with 12 young mouths to feed, the boy who earned the nickname “Satchel” from his enterprising work as a railroad porter, the young man who took up baseball on the streets and in reform school, inventing his trademark hesitation pitch while throwing bricks at rival gang members.

Tye shows Paige barnstorming across America and growing into the superstar hurler of the Negro Leagues, a marvel who set records so eye-popping they seemed like misprints, spent as much money as he made, and left tickets for “Mrs. Paige” that were picked up by a different woman at each game. In unprecedented detail, Tye reveals how Paige, hurt and angry when Jackie Robinson beat him to the Majors, emerged at the age of 42 to help propel the Cleveland Indians to the World Series. He threw his last pitch from a big-league mound at an improbable 59. (“Age is a case of mind over matter,” he said. “If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”)

More than a fascinating account of a baseball odyssey, Satchel rewrites our history of the integration of the sport, with Satchel Paige in a starring role. This is a powerful portrait of an American hero who employed a shuffling stereotype to disarm critics and racists, floated comical legends about himself - including about his own age - to deflect inquiry and remain elusive, and in the process methodically built his own myth. “Don’t look back”, he famously said. “Something might be gaining on you.” Separating the truth from the legend, Satchel is a remarkable accomplishment, as large as this larger-than-life man.

©2009 Larry Tye (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"Having known Satchel when I was a young ballplayer, I'm reminded of the man who took over the game with both his superior pitching and his dynamic personality. This book is a must-read that captures the essence of one of the greatest legends in baseball history, Satchel Paige. (Dusty Baker, Manager, Cincinnati Reds)

What listeners say about Satchel

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    87
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    72
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    84
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story about a baseball icon.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this title to a friend. I found it very insightful into the life of a great baseball player.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I would have loved to listen to this in one sitting, but I just don't have that kind of time.

Any additional comments?

There were a few places where some of the audio was missing, the editing was bad, and there were a few repeated lines. It looks like this book has been out for a few years and I was surprised that they haven't corrected these issues yet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

free lance / free man / free agent

? what'd you do with outrageous talent as a black 20 year old in 1926
? how'd you respond to scouts who'd say "...boy, if only you were white..."
? what'd you say if you had to wait until you were 42 to get your chance

born in 1906, leroy robert "satchel" paige faced all these questions and more
blessed with a perfect right arm and cursed with a " jim crow " childhood
he ranked easily among the 20 best baseball players of all time

his life had every sad and varied element of 20th century african-american life
it's no surprise it is so relentlessly hard, paradoxical and counterintuitive
he seemed forever balanced between cold blooded competitor and playful clown

all the showmanship and exaggeration kept the writers and fans amused
and it kept the light focused on satchel and the world at a reliable arms length
the introverted performer treasured the mound as his personal safe stage

so many aspects of his professional behavior pre-date free agency
he never apologized for offering his fantastic talents to the highest bidder
his matter-of-fact mercenary approach would fit in perfectly with today's game

the book helped me see beyond the playful quotes and clowning to the man inside
he sadly burned for the opportunity to just show the world what he could do
he felt sorry, not for himself but for those that never got to see him play



Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Grieved by what we missed out on!

Such a great story! I knew so little about Satchel before I listened to this book. I came to love and appreciate him so much as a result. I’ve read so much about Jackie, but I didn’t appreciate all that Paige did to blaze his trail. Ultimately, I’m just grieved by what we missed out on as baseball fans because of racism and segregation prior to 1947.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A thorough and enjoyable study of Satchel Paige

Satchel is a well written and detailed account of the life of Satchel Paige. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball and in particular, to those who love the history of our American past time I learned a great deal from this book, and enjoyed myself greatly while doing so. The narrator was excellent, and I looked forward to my time listening to this marvelous book about such and interesting and talented man.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story of one of the greatest of all time

Author did a good job a piecing together a history of fables, legends, and facts. Puts truth to the anecdotes of Satchel Paige better than the others. Satchel Paige is one of my all time favorite baseball players. If you like history, baseball, or stories of overcoming adversity, this story is for you.

**Note to the publisher*** The recording is okay…there’s a spot where the editor didn’t delete a part where the narrator repeated a sentence a couple times trying to achieve a suitable tone or pronunciation was more funny than annoying. I hope they fix it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

It was a very entertaining and enlightening book. Easy to listen too while telling a sometimes difficult story. Highly recommend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Detail

Good listen. Alot of details, both baseball and personal life. Learned a lot and enjoyed the balance between Paige’s exaggerations and the “truth”.

My major criticism is that the reader calls Bill Veeck, pronounced Ve-ck, Ve-ek.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best book I’ve read in years

The story of Satchel was mesmerizing. The author obviously did extensive research. The life of this amazing athlete is so intriguing and legendary that without extensive research it would be almost impossible to believe. Greatest book I’ve read (listened to) in decades. I can’t just recommend this book, I have to say if you don’t read this book you’re missing out.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very Good, a little shy of Great

It feels like a pretty complete biography of Satchel, and it does a decent job of parsing through that which is probable fact and probable exaggeration. However depending the point of origin for your interest in this legend (baseball fan, civil rights, etc) I think you'll likely be disappointed slightly. It is a book about a baseball legend that never let's you enjoy the game, and also a book about racism that is centered around baseball from the 20s to the 80s. The feats of greatness on the field are there along with homespun stories, but so also are the examples and stories of racism Satchel endured. The author doesn't cover racism in one or two chapters like many other books of black athletes, and then move on to center the rest of the story on their achievements, heartbreaks, and personal lives. Instead this author never seems to let the reader enjoy Satchel's greatness and marvel at it, because as soon as you lose yourself in the moment, the author brings forth another shameful example of racism Satchel had to endure. You end up feeling broken-down after a good listen and just want a break the cruelty. But, perhaps this was the author's intent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Veek or Veck

It was painful to hear Bill Veek’s name mispronounced over and over again. 😣 Who researches these productions???

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!