"Cy" Williams Baseball's Most Unique Star Slugger

By: Gary Williams

Narrated by: Ward Paxton

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

This is a baseball book. It is for the common fan and aficionados. It has a central figure, a unique player, and record-setting slugger named Fred “Cy” Williams.

From Notre Dame University and with a professional degree in architecture, we follow Cy’s path to the “Big Leagues”, 19 years with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. This book explains how Major League Baseball (MLB) is different today compared to the 1910s and 1920s, two of the most exciting and “gold-gilded” decades of baseball. It is about the biggest change ever created in the game...not a rule change...when in 1920 MLB went from using a dead ball to a live ball in games. It was a manufacturing change. The new ball traveled faster and farther. Early on it was called the “rabbit ball”.

Cy’s long career from 1912 to 1930 owned a unique balance of years in each era, with only one other position player nearing his years and balance. You will see how MLB changed through Cy’s statistics as well as through other players of the day.

To suggest that Cy Williams is the most unique slugger in MLB history may seem like a strange claim. After listening to the book, you will have a better understanding of why the claim has validity. It is based on the combination of how many years he played in both eras, on what he accomplished in setting MLB and National League (NL) home run records and other unique records, on his speed in the outfield, on how he got into the game, on the handicap he faced, and on what he gave to the game regarding ethics and dedication. Some things centerfielder Cy accomplished back then are remarkable even today.

©2023 Gary Williams (P)2023 Ward Paxton

Historical Baseball Great

This book is about Cy Williams, an American professional baseball player from 1915-1927. This book highlights his career, and the game of baseball, and outlines his successes and failures in an accurate and informative style.

The author, Gary Williams, provides an in-depth look into the life and times of Fred “Cy” Williams in a clear and concise manner. He blends the growth of baseball into the story of Cy smoothly and flawlessly.

The narrator, Ward Paxton brings the life and struggles of Cy Williams to life in his narration. He maintains a consistent and fluid rhythm in his delivery. Also, Paxton maintains a seamless and steady tone that enhances the story as it promotes a realistic atmosphere.

For a historical novel on baseball, this was very well written and performed. Something anyone would enjoy!

There were no issues with the production or quality of this audiobook.

Looking back at an underrated deadball era hitter

Was Cy Williams one of the greatest hitters nobody ever heard of? This is just one of many questions examined by author Gary Williams, including, should Williams be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Unquestionably, Williams was a rarity from the Golden age of baseball, having studied architecture at Notre Dame. Williams would complete his degree at a time when few major league players could make the same claim.

While at Notre Dame, Williams competed in four sports. He excelled at track and baseball, but also played basketball and football. While at Notre Dame, he became friends with Knute Rockne. Rockne encouraged Williams to continue to play football, but he only played one season to focus on his preferred sports, and even passed up an Olympic opportunity. Williams agreed to join the Chicago Cubs, but while still at Notre Dame, Cy managed the university's baseballs squad.

The author does a solid job establishing how the game of baseball has changed since Cy Williams rounded the bases. For example, Williams earned his first home run crown in 1916 with just 12 home runs. Williams would go on to capture four home run crowns, earning his last at age 39, which is still a record today. Williams retired at age 42, having played for a record 14 different managers.

I found it hard to believe that Williams played on 16 straight losing seasons, playing on one of the worst teams of the era - the Philadelphia Phillies. Williams played a majority of his career for one of the most notorious tightwad owners - William Baker. Baker would seasonally traded off or sell the contract of his best players. The author describes the ballpark Baker named after himself, and addresses the criticism Williams receives due to the stadiums dimensions.

An interesting question posed by the author, would Williams be better remembered had he played for the New York Yankees? The prominent team of the era. Since Williams played for losing teams, he never had the opportunity to compete for the world series. Gary Williams also does a superb job comparing Cy's body of work against hall of famers, such as Rogers Hornsby, a star hitter from his era. I agree with the author's conclusion that Cy Williams would bring honor to the hall of fame in Cooperstownm New York.

The author certainly did his homework and research on Cy Williams. He shares many interesting stories packed with stats. Hats off to Ward Paxton, who hits a home run with his narration. If you are a baseball fan, you will definitely enjoy this book!

Could have been good, but it wasn’t.

Attracted by the premise but this was simply a worshipful piece by Cy’s grandson. Cy seemed like a wonderful man, but I had little sense of who he was by the end of the book. There were endless stats to attempt elevating Cy amongst the all-timers and endless reading of complete newspaper articles.

The performance was painfully slow so I listened to it on 1.5 which I’ve never done with any other book. On 1.0 it felt as though the book was being read to kindergartners.