Home of the Game: The Story of Camden Yards

"If you consider baseball to be sports theater, a drama played out in green cathedrals," suggests Loverro in this spirited exploration of how one ballpark changed the essential experience of the fans and a city's image of itself, "then Camden Yards has become the stage for the game." Indeed it has, and the model for things to come as well. In the first half of his Camden yarn, Loverro reconstructs the complex thinking and planning that went into creating the archetype of new-wave retro ballparks. As he examines the confluence of events (including the remarkable collaboration between baseball and Baltimore) required to raise a mecca for the game and a renaissance for a city in decline, he also offers a smartly concise history of stadium evolution and shows the influence Camden Yards has had on every park built since. The book's second half is devoted to memorable moments on the field itself--none, of course, more dramatic and inspirational than the thrilling 1995 series against the Angels in which Cal Ripkin tied and then broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive-game streak. It was an event that first stirred baseball from its poststrike doldrums, a high drama played out on a stage that seemed custom-built for its very occasion. --Jeff Silverman