Title/Author:   The Matheny Manifesto:  A Young Manager’s Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life

Rating:  4 bases out of 4 (Outta the park!)

Review:

Hey, Mike Matheny wrote a baseball book! Who? Mike Matheny, the former Major League Baseball catcher who played for thirteen seasons. Who is that? Mike Matheny, the current St Louis Cardinals manager who is trying to bring character and class back into sports. Oh! Exactly.

The Matheny Manifesto, written by Matheny with Jerry B. Jenkins, is an excellent read.  The book starts off with “The Matheny Manifesto”, a five page letter Matheny wrote to the parents of the little league team he coached after his playing career ended because of concussion issues.  The letter is a direct, impassioned appeal to the parents- Sports should be all about the kids!

Matheny’s book is part-coach primer, part-self help book, and part biography.  Matheny writes about his coaching philosophy which is based on UCLA basketball coach John Wooden’s approach – Team First, Character Counts.  Matheny then offers a few tips along the way for succeeding in life and on the field.  In his basic style, Matheny intersperses stories from his playing career, youth league coaching experience, and pro coaching career.

The first section of the book talks about what is wrong with youth league sports:  know-it-all parents and misguided coaches.  In the next section, Matheny details his ideas for improving youth leagues which include:  allowing all players to try every position and having each player volunteer in the community.  Lastly, Matheny discusses his keys to success.  One of the keys is “Nothing Worth Doing Right Is Easy”, where Matheny details his battle with concussion symptoms which ultimately ended his career.

The Matheny Manifesto is not only a book, but also a movement.  Matheny is a proponent of servant leadership and serving the community.  In addition, he is a proponent of protecting athlete’s heads and assisted with the implementation of the block home plate rule which protects runners and catchers.  Matheny has written a noble book which will entertain and hopefully inspire coaches and others to become leaders with character.

Style:  The book is under 250 pages and has a very no-nonsense, but entertaining style.

URL to find Book: 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Matheny-Manifesto-Managers-Old-School/dp/055344669X