Most American males gain an understanding of baseball ("the national pastime") when they are young children. They usually become fans and amateur—or even professional—players.

That did not happen with Michael N. Marcus.

Despite spending his first six years just a few miles from Yankee Stadium, Marcus had a fatal misunderstanding, ignorance and lack of interest in the game that excited millions of others. He went to a double-header when he was five years old and hated every long minute of it. He never joined the Little League or played "catch" with his busy father.

In school ballgames his favorite position was to be "left out."

When he was 55 years old, after being begged by beloved nieces and a nephew, he returned to the dreaded Yankee Stadium for an anticipated afternoon of boredom. But, because he accidentally tuned his radio to a station that was broadcasting the game in front of him, he gained a belated understanding of the game.

As a child, Marcus always thought that  it was the hitters who were the heroes. People like Mickey Mantle hit the balls that drove up the scores that won games and the World Series. But what he learned from the radio that day was that it was the pitchers and catchers—not the hitters—who were really in control. Balls―not bats―made the big difference.

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​Throwing was more important than hitting, and it was the silent, stealthy, sneaky catchers squatting behind home plate who signaled instructions to pitchers who caused hitters to strike out. ​Because of good pitchers, even good hitters seldom got good hits. And, if they did, the balls were usually caught by good fielders. ​Marcus actually enjoyed baseball that day.

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​​The parallel premise of God & Baseball is that Marcus’s concept of God was based on inadequate information plus childhood images of an old guy with a long beard up on a cloud. Marcus says, “​I outgrew religion when I was 12 years old and could not get a good explanation for why the mighty Supreme Being who smote the enemies of the ancient Jewish people did not stop Atilla the Hun, the Great Plague, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust and the KKK. ​ I wondered if the allegedly omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent King of the Universe was absent, distracted, no longer cared, or never actually existed. ​I could accept the notion of a creative force (which I label The Prime Catalyst) but I could not make a transition from a Big Bang to a Supreme Being that should be feared and prayed to. ​I recognize that I don’t know everything, but the possibility of there being a super-entity is so remote that I am willing to live my life as if it does not exist.”

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​Marcus’s late understanding of baseball made him appreciate the sport, but it came too late to make him a fan. ​Similarly, he had his first coffee on his 70th birthday. He liked it, but never became a fan. In researching this book Marcus hoped to arrive at an ‘adult’ understanding of God.

 

Would a better understanding make him a believer in God, or maybe even a fan? He spent decades pondering and then months doing research and interviews with clergy people. He learned a lot about religions, but did he become a believer? The answer is in the book. God & Baseball is a spiritual and sporting journey—available as a paperback and ebook with many photographs. It quickly became a bestseller on Amazon.com.

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​Michael N. Marcus is a journalist, editor, bestselling author of more than 40 books, award-winning advertising copywriter, publisher and mostly successful amateur attorney. He lives in Connecticut, a state with no baseball teams and fans split between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

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NOTE TO READERS: you don’t need an e-reader to read an ebook like this one. You can use a PC, Mac, iPad or other tablet, smart phone, etc.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Review copies are available.

Please email SilverSandsBooks123@gmail.com

Contact author: 203.878.8383 or SilverSandsBooks123@gmail.com

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Book Info
 

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9988835-9-5

Length: 372 pages

Paperback price: $15.95

 

Kindle ebook ASIN: B07Z54XWK4

Length: 443 pages
Kindle ebook price: $9.99

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