Hard to resist a baseball book this time of year. If Spring means pitchers and catchers reporting to you, then check out It Happened in Wisconsin, by Ken Moraff.

The book will take you back to the world of minor league baseball in the 1930’s. Millions were out of work, food was hard to come by, and a few folks were ready for a revolution. Now imagine a baseball team wanting to have nothing to do with the economic system that made the fat capitalists rich on the backs of the working man, and you have the context for It Happened in Wisconsin.

But that’s just the context. The book reads like a memoir of the star pitcher, who is now old and in an assisted living center. His memories of life, love, idealism and hope all weave together as he reflects on his life. It’s hard to say more because I don’t want to give away the story. Just take my word for it — the writing is crisp and often funny, while the story is insightful with just a touch of melancholy.

A few quotes from the book:

“The catcher’s fat mitt is the center of everything.”

“I like people — but when you’re on the pitching mound, the path of the ball is up to you. Most of it anyway. Maybe a gust of wind comes up, and blows your curveball … But 90% of the control is in your hands. It’s different with people — there’s a LOT of wind.”

Reflecting on young love he writes, “After all these years, that’s the part I miss the most about that time — the way it felt to imagine what love might be like, before anything had happened. When it was all just an idea.”

“When I looked at Nancy, it was like opening a menu in a restaurant, and finding that every single dish had been chosen from my personal list of favorites.”

Get the idea? This is a fun book to read because each chapter presents a simple idea in a clever way. The story flows by so effortlessly that you find yourself asking how the end came so fast.

Not just for baseball lovers, this is a book about the challenging course of pursuing our ideals and how it has lasting impact on all aspects of our life. And the results are seldom what we expect, and often not what we want. Or are they?