Baseball is all about families.  It brings them together as fans of a team, it can also tear them apart as fans of opposite teams.  Regardless of those facts it is still about family.  Baseball is also known for the families within the game.  The Boone’s, the Bragan’s, the DiMaggio’s and the Griffey’s are just a few of the families that have played the game.  One of the games more prominent families has been the Boyer’s.  Most people think of just three brothers that were a part of the game.  But in reality that is just scratching the surface and today’s book takes a look at the entire talented family.

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times.  I am a sucker for a good Lew Freedman book.  I enjoy his writing style and think he has a knack for writing about under-appreciated subjects. The Boyer’s are no different.  For the amount of skill that came out of one family they are not covered as much as one might think.  Most coverage is of the most successful player of the bunch Ken, but their family story has a lot to offer.

In reality the Boyer’s offered the world seven baseball players.   Each one possessed skill sets to varying degrees but due to injuries, some careers may have been cut short.  How many of us even knew about Lynn or Ron Boyer being related to the famous Boyer brothers.  I know I sure didn’t so this book was a real eye opener for me.

Lew Freedman walks the reader through the Boyer’s western Missouri upbringing and how they functioned as a family unit.  You see each of the brothers nurture their craft and become successful in their chosen game.  While some baseball careers may not have worked out as expected, you still get to see how they helped each other grow and in their own ways pushed each other to be better.  Its interesting to see how the brothers enriched each others lives and inadvertently made each other better players.

Freedman has another winner in a sometimes overlooked subject.  The Boyer story is an interesting and important part of what makes the game of baseball so great.  All fans should check this out, it is a really nice story that shows how intertwined both baseball and the family unit actually are.

You can get this book from the nice folks at McFarland

The Boyer Brothers of Baseball

Happy Reading

Gregg