Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout (Tales)
by Kent Hrbek, Dennis Brackin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dennis Brackin, Kent HrbekEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Illustrated
Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN: 1596702931
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Sports Publishing, Inc.
Book Reviews of Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout (Tales)
Book Review: Too Conflicted To Be Taken Seriously
Summary: 2 Stars
Despite the fact that Kent Hrbek is a "hometown boy" here in Minnesota and won two World Series championships with the Twins, for some reason I never really considered him to be a fan-favorite of mine. Perhaps it was because his on-field stats (only a couple really good seasons, although I will allow that he was very impressive at the first base bag) were quite a bit nostalgia-inflated here in Minny, or maybe it was because he doesn't come across (in personal appearances or interviews) as a state ambassador like Harmon Killebrew. Either way, I never warmed to his status as "Minnesota hero".
I was given this book as a birthday present, and decided to take this approach towards it: giving Hrbek a chance to explain the sort of person he is and tell some good stories. As it turned out, while a few of the stories were interesting, this book only confirmed to me that Hrbek is just a guy who happened to be really good at baseball and, while enjoying the experience while it lasted, doesn't want to continue dwelling on it (at least, when it doesn't go against him, that is).
The main thing that bothered me about this book was how Hrbek conflicted himself on so many occasions. For example, though it is clear that he enjoyed the camaraderie of baseball and lauds the game as a team sport, which it is, he also uses his two World Series rings as a sort of "shield" to any criticism thrown his way. It was kind of like "sure I got fat at the end and maybe alienated some teammates...but I got the rings so I must have done something right". What he fails to put into perspective was that, while he was a key contributor on the '87 team, by 1991 he was already in decline both in the field (decreased mobility due to weight) and at the plate (less power).
Also, I got the feeling from reading the book that Hrbek is a very opinionated man (nothing wrong with that), but doesn't own up to anything he may have done wrong, making excuses throughout the book for different scenarios. Instead of owning up to the fact that he put on so much weight at the end of his career that it expedited his departure from the game, he tries to rationalize the situation by explaining his dislike of intense physical fitness. Again, I understood the point he was trying to make (he wasn't going to work out 24/7/365 like many guys), but that still doesn't excuse the original action. The same thing happened in his somewhat murky relationship with teammate Gary Gaetti, as they were the best of buds until Gaetti found religion and got a bit too preachy for Herbie. Hrbek was still wrong to judge Gaetti for that, and no amount of excuses will change that.
Thus, I was very disappointed with this "memoir" and cannot recommend it to even Twins fans who enjoyed Hrbek in his heyday. Though some of the stories are interesting, the meat of the book (Hrbek's thoughts about the game of baseball) is too conflicted to really be taken seriously.
Summary of Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout (Tales)
Big first baseman Kent Hrbek was one of the games true characters, a throwback whose personal tastes were every bit as Ruthian as the monstrous homers for which he is remembered. At a time when professional athletes were discovering the benefits of personal trainers and dieticians, he frequently expressed his preference for a diet of junk food and beer. He and teammates like Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, and late Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett played the game with a passion seldom seen in modern sports, and brought fun and humor into the Twins clubhouse. It was a place where a manager had to ban the cleaning of fish in the trainers room, and where practical jokes were more commonplace than scouting reports. It wasnt all fun and games, however. Hrbek and Gaetti became best friends, but had that friendship strained when Gaetti found religion and tried to push his beliefs including no beer onto Hrbek. Finally, late in his career, Hrbek battled serious shoulder injuries before retiring.Minnesota Books
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