Edelman: Catchers, spies, and Moe Berg
From SABR member Rob Edelman at WAMC Radio on September 10, 2018:
This year, six legends were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. None was Moe Berg. For the record, they were Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman. However, during Induction Weekend, I could not help but think of Moe Berg. One reason was that the Hall continuously– and justifiably, I might add– celebrates the military careers and wartime service of its members, from Grover Alexander to Ted Williams. But to my knowledge, none of the new inductees– or for that matter any baseball Hall of Famer– accomplished what Berg did once upon a time. It was a remarkable achievement; it has nothing to do with singles, doubles, and triples; and his story is told in a new screen biography, titled The Catcher Was a Spy, with Paul Rudd starring as Moe Berg.
The Catcher Was a Spy is based on a best-selling book, written by Nicholas Dawidoff, with a longer and far more revealing title: The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg. Now admittedly, the film is strictly run-of-the-mill, but it is well-worth citing simply because it charts the life of a singular and fascinating individual.
Read the full article here: http://www.wamc.org/post/rob-edelman-catchers-spies-and-moe-berg
Originally published: September 10, 2018. Last Updated: September 10, 2018.