The Book of Joe, co-written by Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci, presents a compelling and insightful reflection on Joe Maddon's life and his unique approach to baseball. The book provides an in-depth exploration of Maddon's coaching philosophy, emphasizing the importance of resilience, creativity, and adaptability both on and off the field. Through anecdotes and personal experiences, Maddon and Verducci offer valuable lessons on leadership, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. The narrative not only delves into the intricacies of baseball but also serves as a source of inspiration for individuals striving to overcome challenges in various aspects of life.

Part memoir, part guide to unconventional leadership, “The Book of Joe” is filled with humor, wit, and a profound understanding of the sport to which Joe Maddon dedicated his career.

It’s impossible to not link Joe Maddon with one of the most iconic moments in sports history: Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. By the end of that night, rain delays and all, a 108 year long drought would end for the Chicago Cubs and their manager would earn a lifetime place in the Cubs fan’s heart. However, a man’s life and career isn’t defined by the night, or season, of his greatest professional achievement.

Tom Verducci’s excellent book “The Cubs Way” gave readers a taste of Maddon’s managerial style in that 2016 season. However, that book is not meant to function as a story about one man specifically.

Maddon would be the first person to point out that he is part of a team and always has been, from his days slogging away in the minor league trenches to a World Series Championship.

“The Book of Joe” doesn’t fall into the common sports memoir trap of only offering a shallow highlight reel. Instead, Maddon and Verducci delve into one man’s journey through the world of baseball, offering valuable insights into the changing dynamics of the sport, the relationship between instinct and analytics, and the challenges of managing modern players.

Maddon's tale is an inspiring testament to the power of perseverance and innovation. “The Book of Joe” is a welcome addition to the sports literature pantheon and is a gem of a read for baseball fans.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Twelve Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date Oct 11th, 2022.

Joe Madden gives a look back at his career as a manager and how he got started, with the Angels working as a minor league instructor and then manager until many years later he was working with the big club and was with them when they won their only championship. He gives you stories and insights along the way, his leaving the Angels for Tampa his success there, and then onto the Cubs and of course winning the championship in Chicago. Many stories some funny some not so funny but still a good book and entertaining and worth the read.

I am big fan of Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci and this book didn't disappoint. It is certainly serves as biography/autobiography/memoir on Maddon, but it is also a book that really delves into the current state of baseball and baseball managing, and the battle between instincts and analytics currently raging in that space. Maddon has an interesting place in that debate, as a manager who had previously been notable for embracing analytics and working in analytics-driven organization, but has found the current state of data-driven front office meddling too much even for him. This topic is interspersed through the stories of Maddon's life and career in the book and make for an interesting narrative structure. That said, while I liked this part of the narrative structure I didn't enjoy as much that the stories from Maddon's life did not follow a chronological order and sometimes seemed in an odd order even from a narrative perspective. This is the only thing that kept this from being a five star book for me, but I would still definitely recommend it.

This book fits perfectly with its subject, Joe Maddon, because it’s hard to classify what type of book this is, just as it is difficult to classify what type of baseball manager Maddon is. He spent 19 years as a major league coach or manager of the Los Angeles Angels (a coach from 2002-2005, then as manager from 2019-2022), Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs. It was with the latter two teams where he made his mark on the game, first by taking the Rays from the worst record in baseball in 2007 to the American League pennant in 2008, then ending the Cubs’ 108-year championship drought by bringing a World Series championship to Wrigley Field in 2016.

The reason it is hard to classify this book is that it doesn’t have a nice even flow – at times it reads like a memoir, especially when he is talking about his days as a minor league scout and manager. Other times, he sounds like a philosopher when he is talking to his players, especially when he or the player comes up with a phrase or slogan that is used for motivation. A great example is in the subtitle of this book – “Try not to suck.” Then still other times this reads like a baseball history book when explaining the various eras of managerial styles, from dictatorships to being “yes” men to front office personnel making decision by analytics.

The book does illustrate Maddon as a complex person, whether talking about his managerial style, his road to get to the major leagues or even when trying to fit him into one of these categories. He speaks out frequently against having too much data inside one’s head, whether that is his own head when making game decisions or giving too much to a player that may cause him to overthink and lose sight of what he actually needs to do on the field. But before saying that Maddon is an “old-school” type of manager, there are passages that talk about his embracing of data, including carrying clunky computers while traveling before the use of this type of data was common in baseball.

This isn’t to say that the book doesn’t have its positive qualities. Many of the stories Maddon shares are funny and entertaining and it’s clear that while he may have some “old school” thoughts, he certainly is aware of today’s game and players. Verducci is a well-respected baseball journalist and it is clear that he contributed to the history portions. This included portraits of past owners and managers such as Gene Mauch and Billy Martin. They are all interesting and good reads – but thrown together in the manner that they are done so in this book just makes it one that doesn’t seem to be complete. When finished, I felt that something was missing and that I couldn’t get exactly what message was being sent to me, the reader. But if one is a fan of Maddon or likes to just read about baseball, this book is for that person.

I wish to thank Twelve Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book written by Joe Madden and Tom Verducci is more than just a biography of sorts about Madden- it’s really a history of baseball, the managers and people who helped crew are the sport that we have today.

Although I went in to reading this expecting a typical, chronological biography from Joe’s perspective, it’s written in the third person with Joe being interviewed. It was interesting learning about his experience in the sport and being involved in it for so long.

The book is not polished and meanders from topic to topic. For example I learned about the worst aviation disaster in history that took place in March 1977; never thought that would happen in a baseball book about Madden, but there you go.

This book was recently published and I would have liked more reflection from Madden about where he is currently in life. Overall though I will recommend this to any baseball fan!

Time has a funny way of changing the perspective on a book. 

Case in point: "The Book of Joe."

We start with the names on the book. Joe Maddon certainly ranks as one of the most interesting people to be involved in the sport in the past few years. After playing briefly in the minor leagues, Maddon became something of a baseball lifer. He managed in the minor leagues and became something of a roving coach and administrator. Joe always was picking up knowledge about the game along the way. If he ever got the chance, he was going to do things his way - which was a little different from the conventional wisdom in such matters. 

Maddon took a job with the lowly Tampa Bay Rays, who never knew what it was like to win in their history. Soon, under Maddon, they won. In fact, they won often, even if their payroll was just a small fraction of the big-market teams that sometimes tend to dominate the baseball standings. No, they didn't win the World Series during Maddon's time there, but they reached it once - which was a tremendous achievement under the circumstances.

Then Maddon moved on to the Chicago Cubs as a manager, and that was a team that knew something about not winning the World Series. It had been more than a century since the Cubs won a title, but Maddon helped push them across the finish line in the fabled 2016 season. For that, Joe certainly won't have to buy an adult beverage for the rest of his life. 

That proved to be a hard act to follow, and by 2019 Maddon and the Cubs management weren't seeing eye to eye all the time. Sometimes you're only as good as last week's game. The two sides went their separate ways at the end of the season, which felt a little sad for all concerned. 

That brings us back to "The Book of Joe." He teamed up with Tom Verducci, the baseball writer for Sports Illustrated who is about as good as it gets in that business. Verducci had written a fine book on the end of the Cubs' curse after the 2016 season. Having the two of them work together is a pretty good start to a baseball book, and the finished product works out reasonably well. There is a catch in all of this, but we'll get to that in a minute. 

We go through a variety of areas for discussion here in no particularly order. For starters, it's not a typical autobiography. Yes, Maddon goes over his life in baseball - but it's more of a review of some of the lessons he learned than anything else. It's a good chance for him to credit some of the mentors and role models that he had along the way. As you might expect, that leads into some discussions about leadership techniques. While that's sometimes a tough subject for Joe and Jill Fan to understand, Maddon at least is willing to explain what went into his personal techniques in that area.

Other areas are covered too. There are some fascinating facts about the game itself. For example, at one point, Joe goes over some of the little "tells" about some the great Yankee teams in the late 1990s - how manager Joe Torre made a certain gesture when he wanted a play run, for example. Maybe that's partly why the Angels (Maddon's employers at the time) played New York so tough in that era. Maddon even reviews all of the cars he's owned over the years, and how he came to obtain them. OK, his book.  

There also is plenty of comment about how managing has changed since he took his first full-time job in 2006. Managers had a lot more autonomy back then, and he could press all sorts of buttons without complaint from the front office ... as long as the team did well of course. By the end of his run with the Cubs, the dynamic had changed. The analytics revolution had empowered other staff members to "suggest" that the game be played in a certain way. Maddon probably was out of the "if ain't broke, don't fix it" school in such matters. In fact, you probably could argue that this subject is covered a bit redundantly in the book. But by the end of 2019, Joe was sick of fighting the Cubs on such matters and moved on. 

That's where the story ends, and that's fine. The odd part is that Maddon went back to the Angels and became their manager starting with the 2020 season. His tenure there was an odd one, marked by Covid-19 and a lot of losing. Even Maddon could get the pieces to work together for long. After a great start in 2022, the Angels went on a 12-game losing streak, and Maddon paid the price when he was fired.  

After reading this book, it's easy to wonder what Maddon's opinions on that entire episode might be. Is he so disgusted that he wants to get out of the business? Would he taken another job under the way baseball is managed? 

We'll have to guess about such things, maybe until another book is written. In the meantime, "The Book of Joe" has plenty of information about an original thinker in baseball circles. This is not a book for baseball begineers. But those who like the idea of having a long dinner with Maddon will find plenty to chew on here.