Can I read Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus (Writing Baseball) on EtoBox?

Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus (Writing Baseball) by John Theodore; Ira Berkow is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus (Writing Baseball) about?

Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus is John Theodore's true account of the slick-fielding first baseman who played for the Cubs and Phillies in the 1940s and became an immortalized figure in baseball lore as the inspiration for Roy Hobbs in Bernard Malamud's The Natural. The son of Lithuanian immigrants, Edward Stephen Waitkus (1919–1972) grew up in Boston and served in the Pacific during World War II. His army service in some of the war's bloodiest combat earned him four Bronze Stars. Following the war, Waitkus became one of the most popular players of his era. As a rookie he led the Cubs in hitting in 1946 and quickly established himself as one of the best first basemen in the National League. To the disappointment of fans, the Cubs traded Waitkus to the Phillies in December of 1948. When he returned to Chicago in a Philadelphia uniform in June of the following year, he was hitting.306 and seemed destined for the All Star team. On the night of June 14 at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, Waitkus's bright career took an infamously tragic turn. He received a cryptic note summoning him to meet a young fan, Ruth Steinhagen. When Waitkus entered her hotel room, she proclaimed, “I

Who reads Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus (Writing Baseball)?

Author

John Theodore; Ira Berkow

Publisher

Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press

Published

2002

Language

EN

ISBN

9780809324507

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Memoir, Sports, Anthropology

Rating

3.67 / 5 (18 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14