Received: Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella

You, reader, are probably already aware that NotGraphs has entered what is often colloquially referred to as “the big time.”

As if we had to prove it any further, witness this: our very first advance proof, Neil Lanctot’s forthcoming Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella.

The book goes on sale March 8th, and we’ll provide a review of some sort before that date.

In the meantime, some notes and first impressions:

• So long as the back of this book isn’t lying, Roy Campanella, who joined the Dodgers a year after Jackie Robinson, didn’t particularly get along with him (i.e. Robinson).

• Campenella’s playing career was cut short by an automobile accident, in early 1958, that left him a quadriplegic.

• There’s a chance — a chance — that this book willn’t be “full of jokes.”

• Campanella was MVP three times — 1951, 1953, and 1955 — tying him with Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt for second on the all-time list.

• Embiggen this image (all players, 1948-1957):