Remembering Lyman Bostock....

[qtlaw]

Very enjoyable, emotional, read by Jeff Pearlman on someone I admired growing up:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=bostock

Hard to believe it was 30 years ago. What 3 beautiful swings on the same team, Oliva, Carew and Bostock.

 

[lantaur]

I enjoyed the story - probably because this is the era when I really started following baseball and I remember hearing the news surrounding Bostock's death.

That being said, while there are no limitations to space on the Internet, that doesn't mean stories should be *this* long. I don't think magazine-length stories like these translate as well (I wonder how many people make it through an entire article like this, or a six-pager from Salon, for example).

Also, I hate when author's put themselves in the story. I understand why Pearlman did it, but it left me not liking the way he wrapped things up.

 

[qtlaw]

Yeah, did not need to see the writer's feelings at the conclusion.

 

[93Devil]

Not about the text of the story, but that is a beautiful layout. The intermixing of the pictures, video and story is fantastic.

If newspapers are to survive through websites, there is the set bar and it's pretty high.

 

[Armchair_QB]

That's an outstanding piece.

 

[cortez]

For some reason, I'm not as big a Lyman Bostock fan as I used to be.

Can't quite put my finger on why, though.
I laughed.
Hmmmm.

 

[93Devil]

That's an outstanding piece.

Just about all of those e-tickets are outstanding.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I remember when he was shot. As someone else mentioned that was right around the time when I really paid attention to baseball as a kid. I didn't realize his killer only served a year though.

Not sure why, but the fact the killer still lives in the same building 30 years later really tugs at me for some reason. Gary's never been a garden spot but, according to the story, this guy has stayed in the same place while everything around him decayed over the last 30 years. Makes you wonder.

 

[ink-stained wretch]

I remember to well the heartbreak when he left the Twins. Damn you, Calvin. But it was nothing compared to the pain on his death.

A very moving tribute to a man who deserved it and more.

I'm still processing the story's walk off.

 

[Seahawk]

The story was good, until the end, which ruined it for me. It could have been handled without Pearlman injecting himself into the piece.

 

[Armchair_QB]

The story was good, until the end, which ruined it for me. It could have been handled without Pearlman injecting himself into the piece.

I didn't have a problem with that at all.

 

[friend of a friend]

The story was good, until the end, which ruined it for me. It could have been handled without Pearlman injecting himself into the piece.

I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Neither do I.

 

[93Devil]

The story was good, until the end, which ruined it for me. It could have been handled without Pearlman injecting himself into the piece.

I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Neither do I.

I thought it was fine.

How many of us would have knocked?

 

[Armchair_QB]

The story was good, until the end, which ruined it for me. It could have been handled without Pearlman injecting himself into the piece.

I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Neither do I.

I thought it was fine.

How many of us would have knocked?

Not me.

But I also think the way he set that last scene tells us what we need to know about the killer.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

Loved the whole thing. The use of video, the writing. Excellent. I even muted Seinfeld re-runs to read it.

Had no problem with Pearlman injecting himself at the end, because the last bit was about him. Maybe it could have been a sidebar, but, to me, that's a minor quibble.

I wouldn't have knocked, because I feel the killer deserves no opportunity to spin Bostock's death. He is not deserving of sympathy.

Great, great stuff. Wish I'd done it.

 

[Tom Petty]

Loved the whole thing. The use of video, the writing. Excellent. I even muted Seinfeld re-runs to read it.

Had no problem with Pearlman injecting himself at the end, because the last bit was about him. Maybe it could have been a sidebar, but, to me, that's a minor quibble.

I wouldn't have knocked, because I feel the killer deserves no opportunity to spin Bostock's death. He is not deserving of sympathy.

Great, great stuff. Wish I'd done it.

initially, i was kind of upset that pearlman didn't knock when i finished reading.

but after reading your post, though, i agree. smith didn't deserve the opportunity.

 

[JoelHammond]

I also liked the end.

 

[Seahawk]

The story was good, until the end, which ruined it for me. It could have been handled without Pearlman injecting himself into the piece.

I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Neither do I.

I thought it was fine.

How many of us would have knocked?

I give Pearlman credit for knocking, and trying to get the guy to talk. For the most part, it was a good read. But the final section came across to me as him showing that he had the stones to knock on the door. To me, it came off poorly.

There was plenty of scene setting and description in the final part that gave a strong glimpse of who Smith is today. I didn't mind that Pearlman included efforts to reach Smith, but I don't think he wrote that part well. No need to include that he informed Smith that he was Jeff Pearlman from ESPN.com. Who cares?

Why couldn't he just write that when Smith was asked about the death of Lyman Bostick, that his response was, "I'm not interested. Have a nice night."

The piece wasn't about Pearlman's struggle to get Smith to speak. It was about Bostick's tragic end. The quotes at the end from Turner were powerful and moving, and would have provided a strong ending on their own. Instead, the ending is about Pearlman, and his decision to drive away.

In the final section, Pearlman refers to himself in the "I" form 15 times. Before that portion of the story, he hadn't done it once. There just wasn't the need to go that route.

If it was totally necessary to put himself into the story, he could've opened the story by setting the scene with him in his car, trying to decide what to do. In that sense, the story would wrap back to the beginning, since Pearlman's presence in the story would have been established.

Instead, the story is about everyone else until the end, when it becomes about Pearlman.

 

[partain]

I had no idea who he was (was only 5 when he died), but I found the entire story pretty riveting.

As a magazine guy who gets to frequently write first-hand pieces, I had no problem with Pearlman putting himself into the story. Of course, in my newspaper days I'd never have done that except in a column.

And there's no way I'm knocking on that door!

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Pearlman may be accused of a lot of things, but not having stones will never be one of them...