Full Description

Entitled

“In men like Traveler and Alcazar we find the beating heart and struggling soul of baseball…”
—Jeff MacGregor, Sports Illustrated; author of Sunday Money

Howie Traveler never made it as a player—his one major league hit and .091 batting average attest to that. He was
cursed with that worst of professional maladies, the ill fortune of almost.

Now after years of struggling up the coaching ladder, Howie’s finally been given his shot: as manager of the Cleveland Indians. But America’s pastime has changed. Whether Howie can spot a small flaw in a batter’s swing won’t matter if he can’t manage his superstar outfielder Jay Alcazar, a slugger with enormous talent (and an ego to match).

No crisis on the field fazes Jay and no woman off the field ever rejects him. But one night at the hotel Howie sees something at Jay’s door he wishes he hadn’t…and it leaves Howie with an impossible choice.

From six-time National Sportswriter of the Year and NPR commentator Frank Deford comes a richly detailed, page-turning tale that takes you deep into America’s game. From the dugouts to the tabloid scandals, from the lights of the field to the glare of the media, The Entitled is the great novel of baseball’s modern era.

“The Entitled is a baseball masterpiece, like The Natural and Field of Dreams; the difference is the plot and the characters depict the true inside world of baseball. Frank Deford writes like he played in the majors for ten years. If you have a passion for baseball, this is a must read.”
—Mike Schmidt, Baseball Hall of Fame

“Frank Deford is not just an immensely talented sportswriter, he’s an immensely talented American writer. The Entitledis his wise and pleasurable portrait of a Willy Loman-like baseball manager finally getting his chance in the Bigs late in his career.”
—David Halberstam

“Engrossing…Readers are exposed to a richly textured understanding of baseball and, no less, of estrangement, ambition, mendacity and the search for one’s destiny—notwithstanding the cost in human or financial terms.”
—Library Journal

“I loved The Entitled and could not put it down. It was a great read from start to finish with characters that reminded me of the many people I’ve known and played with—pure baseball.”
––Lou Piniella, Manager, Chicago Cubs

“ The Entitled contains all of the keen insider knowledge one expects of America’s premier sports journalist. It also displays Frank Deford’s gifts for dialogue and intricate plotting and his poignant grasp of character. It proves once again that Deford can play at the highest level in any league.”
—Michael Mewshaw, author of Year of the Gun

“Deford scores another hit with this novel of athletes behaving badly…tackles timely and provocative issues without flinching.”
—Publishers Weekly

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Excerpt

Excerpt

So, for Howie, it was, at last: neither resignation on the one hand, nor anger on the other. No, it was simply awful, horrible disappointment that tore at him. That it all must end this way. No, not this way. Anyway it ended would be a calamity, because despair would follow, and Howie understood himself well enough to know that he didn’t possess the creative resources to really ever overcome that despair.

This is the way he put it, over the phone, to Lindsay: “I’m a dead man, sweetie. I know I won’t get outta Baltimore alive.”

Howie was, after all, a practical man. Whenever one of his regulars would go onto the disabled list, all the writers would flutter around him, asking how the team could possibly manage until the wounded star returned.

“I don’t deal with the dead,” Howie would reply. That concluded the discussion. Ask me about the ones who could suit up. You play with what you had. And now it was he who was the dead man, because he was positive that he was going to be fired in Baltimore, and that would mean the end of his life in baseball, which was the only existence he had ever known.

Reviews

Reviews

Sports Illustrated Jeff MacGregor
"The Entitled sets for itself no less a task than limning the conscience of our age. In men like Traveler and Alcazar we find the beating heart and struggling soul of baseball; and in their story we rediscover the redemptive power of the game’s simple magic and moral order. Intimately bound by their circumstance, by mutual need and grudging respect—and finally by their love—they are at once the past, the present and the future of our national pastime. Another great American read by America’s greatest living sports writer. “

Library Journal Gilles Renaud
John Henry Wigmore, the late dean of Northwestern University School of Law, once wrote: "The lawyer must know human nature. He must deal understandingly with its types and motives....For this learning he must go to fiction, which is the gallery of life’s portraits." In this engrossing, well-written novel, celebrated sportswriter Deford (Alex: The Life of a Child) gives effect to Wigmore’s erudite view, showing us that fiction is often the fulcrum for the fullest understanding of a person’s deeply held beliefs, motivations, fears, and longings. Here, the lives of star baseball player Jay Alcazar and his seemingly unprepossessing manager, Howie Traveler, intersect not only on the playing field but just outside a hotel room, the site of an alleged sexual assault. In the process, readers are exposed to a richly textured understanding of baseball and, no less, of estrangement, ambition, mendacity, and the search for one’s destiny-notwithstanding the cost in human or financial terms. The outcomes of the many subplots will generate surprise, delight, and disappointment and will sharply divide the members of any reading club-as one would expect with a story that is so true to life. Recommended for all libraries, not just for sports-minded readers.-Gilles Renaud, Cornwall, Ont.

Publishers Weekly
Sportswriter, screenwriter and author Deford (Alex: The Life of a Child ;Everybody’s All-American ) scores another hit with this novel of athletes behaving badly. After a career spent knocking around in the minor leagues as a player and manager, Howie Traveler has finally made it to the majors as manager of the Cleveland Indians. The team, however, is struggling, and Howie’s job is in jeopardy when the team’s star player, Jay Alcazar, is accused of rape. Though Howie’s playing career stalled out in Triple A, his big league management career depends on how well he can handle Alcazar, heralded as "the best player in the game." Alcazar insists he’s innocent-perhaps even believes it-but Howie suspects otherwise, having witnessed a troubling scene involving accused and accuser the night of the alleged rape. Now, Howie has to choose between his conscience and his dream job. The resolution won’t please everyone, but Deford tackles timely and provocative issues without flinching.(May)

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Specs / Support

Trade Paper Specfications

• Length: 7.75 in
• Width: 5.00 in
• Height: 5.00 in
• Weight: 5.00 oz
• Page Count: 336 pages