The Book of Joe

Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life

By: Joe Maddon, Tom Verducci

Narrated by: Will Collyer

Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Lessons in baseball enlightenment from three-time MLB Manager of the Year Joe Maddon.

No one sees baseball like Joe Maddon. He sees it through his trademark glasses and irrepressible wit. Raised in the “shot and beer” town of Hazleton, PA, and forged by 15 years in the minors, Maddon over 19 seasons in Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Anaheim has become one of the most successful, most colorful, and most quoted managers in Major League Baseball. He is a workplace culture expert, having engineered two of the most stunning turnarounds in the past quarter century: taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball one year to the World Series the next and leading the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.

Like his teams, Maddon defies convention. He is part strategist, part philosopher, part sports psychologist, and part motivational coach. In THE BOOK OF JOE, Maddon gives listeners unique insights into the game, including the tension between art and data, the changing role of managers as front offices gain power, why the honeymoon with the Cubs did not last, and what it’s like to manage the modern player, including stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Yu Darvish, and Kris Bryant.

But you expect even more from a manager who meditates daily, admires Twain, and has only one rule when it comes to a team dress code: “If you think you look hot, wear it!” And Maddon delivers. Built on-old school values and new-school methods, his wisdom applies beyond the dugout. His mantras about leadership, mentorship, team building, and communication are meditations on life, not just baseball. Among those mantras are:

“Do simple better.”
“Try not to suck.”
“Don’t ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure.”
“See it with first-time eyes.”
“Tell me what you think, not what you’ve heard.”

THE BOOK OF JOE is Maddon at his uniquely holistic best. It is a memoir of a fascinating baseball journey, an insider’s look at a changing game, and a guidebook on leadership and life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci (P)2022 Twelve

Good book, but not great as Joe.

As a Chicago cub and Tampa Bay rays fan, I really respect Joe and his approach to baseball. The book was very good, but I wish Joe read the audio. Also more of his in-game philosophy and less stories of managers in the past would have been better. All in all, a great read

Enjoyable listen of a baseball life lifer

Will always appreciate Joe for what he did with the Cubs. And I learned some things about leadership during that run and from the book.

I do think that the game changed and sometimes managers are limited by those changes, but I also think sometimes Joe failed to see a need for him to change. The style was perfect for a young Cubs team as he deflected lazy questions about past failures, but the group seemed to become entitled and overly confident in 2018. That wouldn’t have necessarily required a philosophy overhaul, but it needed adjusting.

The book is a good insight into his perspective. And he’ll be in the Hall of Fame, deservedly.

Interesting listen

I learned a lot about Maddon in the book. I found his story to be quite compelling. My only issue was some of the tangents made certain parts of the story hard to follow.

Theo - YOU Suck

Great insight on so many levels. Baseball acumen has now doubled. Men and their egos, for shame - especially you Theo. Obtain exit interviews just to support your agenda. What a crap business. You get to go on with prestige. I knew it. I could feel it and I was right about you. I speak as a fan, not for JM. How do you ignore his 2nd half winning pct? You’re supposed to an analytical guy??
Many interesting tidbits here about significant events.

Excellent

This book does a great job of giving a fair and balanced take on not just the state of professional baseball, but the different angles coaches can take when coaching up their people/players.

Great book

Great insight into Joes back story and insight into managing a baseball team and how analytics can drive out tried and true baseball people.

A classic baseball persons book

Very good book that gives a deep dive into the life and Coaching Career of Joe Maddon. It’s interesting how Joe was an early adopter and pioneer of analytics and technology and how their evolution would later govern the game. Am a Joe Maddon fan and wish him the best. Baseball needs his voice and intuition.

Enlightening

An insightful and easy reading book. A story on the move of managing a baseball team from the field to excessive oversight from upper management overly focused on analytics.

Analytics vs old school coaching

Overall good book.. if you’re an old school coach, the frustration of analytics is too much and ruing the game.. sorry I’m old school.

A great listen

Great insight into Maddon’s personal life, coaching career, and insights. I will be listening again. Really, really good. Lots of nuggets that pertain to life. Go Cubs!