Baseball's 2007 media: Part I

As part of the process of reviewing what's new in baseball media for this season, we'll take a tour of the local bookstores and video outlets for a sampling of what's worth the price of a DodgerDog and what should be left behind like a bad batch of nachos:
The book: "Dropping the Ball: Baseball's Troubles and How We Can and Must Solve Them," by Dave Winfield (with Michael Levin, Scribner, 224 pages, $25).

The windup: The Hall of Fame outfielder feels compelled to tackle some of the game's issues: Steroids, labor, the decline of African-American players, marketing and its future. "I want to share my observations about the current state of baseball, while the game appears by most standards to be in robust health but is in fact subtly declining in importance to Americans, especially African-Americans, and share my ideas for turning the trend around," he writes in the introduction. "If I don't say or do something soon, I'm afraid it will evolve into a sport and a business that I will not recognize, like, or even respect." The last seven pages are dedicated to his "Baseball United Plan," which includes: Offer rewards to local organizationsthat bring baseball to lower-income communities; Ownership should stop using the media as a tool for bashing the players prior to and during contract negotiations; Parents should commit to "cleaning up their act" in every aspect of youth sports and set a better example for their children; and kids should spend more time practicing their skills and less time playing computer games. "Start with a wall, a ball and your glove."

The pitch: Read the words of Winfield and listen if he's not channeling Bob Costas. Oh, wait. Costas gives it an endorsement on the back jacket: "Dave Winfield's genuine concern for the game he played so well and loves so much is evident on every page. Along the way he makes telling points and offers valuable suggestions for baseball's future." From Winfield, maybe the words cut deeper than if Costas was delivering these ideas (again). Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who in 1990 was banned from baseball by Commissioner Fay Vincent for paying $40,000 to a gambler named Howie Spira for derogatory information about Winfield, even endorses the book.

A comment: From someone named "Music Mogul" on Amazon.com: "I thought this was going to be another baseball bashing book focusing on the hot-button steroid issue. I was pleasantly surprised that Winfield discusses all the issues that we fans bring up on the various sports radio shows. It's nice to know someone on the 'inside' is listening. But the kicker is... he offers solutions -- from the grass-roots little league level to upper management. I was shocked to see George Steinbrenner's most flattering endorsement right on the cover. If these two can make peace, I suppose anything is possible."