In my defense, I don't write the little blurbs at the top of Page 1A, and was thus not the originator of the four words at the top of Sunday's newspaper: "BATESOLE EXPOSED, Matt James, Sports." OK, that's five words. Either way, I didn't write it. It's not entirely wrong, just a little over the top. It seems like the letters to the editor and angry emails have focused on the "Batesole exposed" phrase, and so I'll start by saying that wasn't part of the column.
As for the column itself, if I had to summarize in less than six words, I'd say the point was this: There was no Bulldog mutiny. We are of course talking about the new book about the 2008 Fresno State baseball championship, "Bulldog Mutiny," the "untold story of one of the greatest upsets of all time." It was written by Dan Taylor, the former TV sports anchor here in Fresno. The book is being presented as the behind-the-scenes look at the Fresno State historic run, the not-so-pretty stuff that has never been printed. I'd like to think I'd already printed a bit of it. In fact, Ch. 23 of Taylor's book was about my column that ran on June 6, about the disagreements between Fresno State baseball coach Mike Batesole and his then-pitching coach Mike Mayne.
In fairness, I still haven't finished the book. It won't be released for another six weeks, but I have a complete manuscript. You'll notice the cover looks strikingly similar to the other book, "Underdogs to Wonderdogs," written by the voice of the Bulldogs, Paul Loeffler. A Fresno State official has already contacted Taylor's publisher to try to get them to change the cover before "Mutiny" is released, because they look so similar. They both use the same picture of the dogpile, with second baseman Erik Wetzel pointing up at the sky. It is the best photo.
Fresno State officials are quick to point out that Taylor wasn't actually in attendance for any of the Bulldogs run. It is ironic that the author who didn't have access to the behind-the-scenes is the one that wrote the behind-the-scenes book. But Loeffler had just one month to write his book, and even though he says he was given no rules about he could and couldn't write about, he's in a tough spot. His book is university sponsored. He's the radio voice of the team. If he had written Taylor's book (and that's assuming Taylor's book is accurate and that Fresno State would have allowed him to write it), Loeffler's working environment this season would be ... let's say ... difficult. Uncomfortable at best. And beyond that, if you've ever spent time around Loeffler, you know he's the kind of person who sees the best in people. He's positive. He was writing about a magical championship and didn't dwell on the perceived behind-the-scenes negatives. He did touch on Batesole's personality quirks, but not into major specifics.
The one real "exposed" aspect of Taylor's book was the altercation with freshman Trent Soares at a Super Regional batting practice session, for which Batesole has now voiced remorse. The rest of the "mutiny" mostly involves scenarios where he and pitchers disagree. One scene where Taylor describes Batesole physically pulling pitcher Clayton Allison off the mound during a game, has supposedly been refuted by a videotape evidence. I have no idea. I do know that on the Harper Collins publishing promotional web page, there is the following "Critical Praise for The Bulldog Mutiny" ...
"..might be the greatest achievement in Division I sports history."
-- Augie Garrido, Head Baseball Coach, University of Texas, Omaha World Herald
"What they will always know, at least, is that they were a part of the greatest upset ride in the history of the College World Series. Because the story of the Wonderdogs will live on, in Omaha, forever."
-- Sports Illustrated
"...one of the most memorable title runs in college sports history, maybe even in all of sports history."
-- Tim Griffin, ESPN.com
"..the biggest underdog story ever."
-- Washington Times
"..the greatest upset ride in the history of the college world series."
-- Luke Winn, SportsIllustrated.com
Wonderful praise there by some fine people. Augie Garrido is a legendary coach. Luke Winn is a fantastic writer and a really nice guy. He was in Omaha. Only problem is, none of that "critical praise" is for Taylor's book. It's all for the team and the accomplishment, and has nothing to do with "The Bulldog Mutiny." That would seem to be a fairly important distinction, and whether it's an honest mistake by a web person, or an intentional attempt to misrepresent those quotes, it doesn't look good.
I do wish Taylor's book was sourced more clearly. He did a lot of interviews. That's obvious. He had to since he wasn't there. It's just not entirely clear who he did and didn't interview. When you're describing baseball scenes, it's not a big deal, but when you're bringing accusations to light, it's important to the integrity of the stories, and the book as a whole, that you say who is making these claims. Who described these scenes? Taylor doesn't do that. He writes about the thoughts of Bulldogs players and coaches, making the reader assume he interviewed them, but it's not always clear. It is not sourced in the way a newspaper article would have to be. Then again, it's not a newspaper article, it's a book. And we'll see if people are interested in digesting another story, or have already filled up on the feel-good version.
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