The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America

"What was your best day in baseball?"

When ninety-three-year-old Negro Leagues legend Buck O'Neil asked his friend this question, Kansas City sports columnist Joe Posnanski found that he did not have a clear answer. Posnanski could not help but think about steroids and large egos and so many of the negative things that had begun to identify big-money baseball. But O'Neil insisted that he look deeper, and Posnanski then remembered the warm summer evenings of his childhood and playing catch with his father until they had to throw the ball high to see it against the dying light.

"Hang on to your day," Buck O'Neil said. "If you hang on to your day, you will stay young."

With that, O'Neil led Posnanski on a cross-country journey to discover the soul of baseball—and a few secrets of life along the way. O'Neil had lived and played baseball during a time when African Americans were not welcome in the Major Leagues. But he held no bitterness. Instead, he remembered nights filled with hot jazz and sunny afternoons of playing baseball with brilliant players such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Turkey Stearnes. "I lived, man," O'Neil said.

In The Soul of Baseball, Posnanski revives the game through the eyes of Buck O'Neil, baseball's greatest ambassador. They traveled from New York to San Diego, Atlanta to Chicago. They crossed paths with Hall of Famers like Willie Mays, Roger Clemens, and Monte Irvin. They watched kids play on a small diamond on the Kansas prairies and millionaires play at Major League parks. O'Neil's stories form the heart of this book—the day he hit for the cycle and also met his beloved wife, Ora; the time he saved Billy Williams's career; and how he kept a promise to Hilton Smith to get him into the Hall of Fame. O'Neil also shared the wisdom and joy of his years—with Buck anything could lead to a life lesson, even something as simple as a baseball tossed into the stands or a woman wearing a bright red dress.