Joe DiMaggio

– The Promise – Book Review Essay, Research Paper

?Joe DiMaggio – The Promise?

By Joe Carrieri

The cover definitely grabs you. Joe DiMaggio who has such a “mystique” look to him. I never knew how complicated a man DiMaggio was. DiMaggio was a complex person, shy, conservative and yet he married Marilyn Monroe – he was a man with magic who captured the eye of Americans when America needed a hero. His 56 game hitting streak will never be broke. I saw DiMaggio in a new light. This book shows a human side to DiMaggio with a story that should become as legendary as the rest of what you’ve heard about the Yankee Clipper. Mr. Carrieri’s book showed me that there was more to DiMaggio than his stats and Marilyn. DiMaggio was a man of few words but carried a big bat. His charisma carried his team to 10 World Series. He had a heart that only few people saw. This was a very inspirational book. I figured that this would be just another lame attempt at a possible good book about baseball, but it really opened my eyes.

I have, in my lifetime, been given many different tips on various investments that never seem to come to an end result. However, a sure tip that you can take to the bank is the following: If you want to feel what it would be like to have a dream come true and then to be so grateful for that gift of life that you needed to tell the whole world…and now have done exactly that… Joe Carrieri was not just a Yankee Batboy. He was a boy with a dream. He made a promise to his Grammar School principal who allowed him to take the job conditioned that he learn the secret of greatness and then write about his experiences. Well, Mr. Principal, because you bent the rules and allowed Joe Carrieri to leave school early and take the bat boy position for the New York Yankees? millions of people, both young and old, male and female can now read and feel what it was like to be surrounded by some of the world’s greatest heroes. This book was not written just for baseball fans but written for the world as a “Promise” to a friend and judging some of the other chapters by content one would have to conclude that this writer has a great deal of wonderful life experiences that will hold you to this book until the last page is read. In this book DiMaggio is portrayed as an unselfish team player. He knew what it took to win and with his bat, glove and magnetic spirit drove his team into 10 World Series Championships. Joe Carrieri stood at home plate congratulating baseball greats like Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitney Ford and Joe DiMaggio who knew Joe to be much more than a batboy. They all took time to teach and help any way they could. The way this book is written, the reader can hear the cheering of the fans, feel the excitement as the Yankees win five consecutive World Series and then understand that The Promise is really about living life to the fullest and sharing your special gifts with the world. I left this book knowing that “LEGENDS NEVER DIE” but also knowing that the author was sending all of us a message…something very important…. how to overcome our fears, how to make your own decisions with confidence and most of all to always believe in yourself.

This book by Joe Carrieri is a must read not only for Joe DiMaggio fans, but also for those people who enjoy reading about real life experiences. It offers an insight to the “other side” of a great baseball legend-Joe DiMaggio. The book explores a bond between one of the most remarkable players ever to have played the game and a teenage batboy who idolized and forged a special relationship with him. Carrieri writes about his loving hero as if he were a god. The “Promise” made to each other, by Joe DiMaggio and the author Joe Carreri, is revealed skillfully by the author.

Joe Carrieri takes you into the locker room. More importantly, he takes you into a young boy’s heart and shows the reader how an unapproachable, at times, superstar can leave a lifelong impression on that heart. The author’s approach keeps the reader on seat’s edge, so that it is difficult to leave the next chapter for another day. It was about DiMaggio, but so much more. It is about batboys Joe an Ralph an their family growing up in the south Bronx. It is about brother Columbo who guided young Joe. The promises speak of an era when your word was your bond. DiMaggio kept his promise to young Joe and that meant everything to him. DiMaggio did not disappoint his batboy. Joe DiMaggio promised Joe Carrieri a game bat in 1949 and kept his promise and gave young Joe a game bat. Fifty years later Joe Carrieri kept his promise to Joe DiMaggio and did not write about DiMaggio?s personal life. Joe D liked his privacy and Carrieri honored that wish of DiMaggio. This was an excellent book I had a great time reading it the only time I didn?t like was when it was over. Joe Carrieri is a great author and tells you about one of the greatest baseball players alive.

I originally got the book ?The Curious Case of Sidd Finch? by George Plimpton, but I saw this book in the library and wanted to skim it, instead I read the whole book. It was so exciting. This book hits a home run in every category. My grandfather always talks about Joe DiMaggio and when I read the book now I know why DiMaggio was so great. DiMaggio was a lonely man who never realized how good he was–he was truly an American Hero. This book should be required reading in all American schools.