The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream

The Last Best League is one of the greatest books ever written about the National Pastime. The true story centers around the Chatham Athletics in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2002. Jim Collins provides the true heart of the Cape Cod League where dreams are made and blown.
The Cape Cod League is not well known to most baseball fans outside of the New England area but, it should be as it produces 1 out of every 6 major leaguers. The book is made to the heart of a casual fan interested in the story or the hardcore fan looking for all the details about the game.
Collins a former college player himself knows the aspirations of the players he writes about. In the book he instills all the feelings of both the players looking for the big contract and the desperate player just hoping to extend their career.
Collins mainly centers his story around the lives of Chatham's big name players Jamie D'Antona and Tim Stauffer. D'Antona, a third basemen from Wake Forest, is a likable head case. But, Collins makes you constantly hoping that the superstar will get his bat going during the season. In Stauffer the reader finds a dominant pitcher that is almost unhittable. Stauffer has now reached the majors with San Diego Padres.
Beyond the talented player there are the players struggling to continue their career and make a name for themselves. These include Princeton pitcher Tom Pauly and pint sized Blake Hanan. Pauly is a hardworking brainiac that you will root for throughout the entire season. But, Hanan is the real guy to cheer for since he has no size and lacks the ultimate skill to be a pro but, he has the heart of a champion.
The Chatham A's that Collins presents are one of the greatest band of characters for a baseball team ever. Collins makes you love the Cape Cod League and all of it's local characters. Reading this book will make you desperately want to drive to Cape Cod to see a game this summer.