Reviewing The Brew Reviews A Milwaukee Brewers Book

Jun 10, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers television commentator Bill Schroeder (L) talks with manager Craig Counsell (R) at the batting cage before the Brewers play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers television commentator Bill Schroeder (L) talks with manager Craig Counsell (R) at the batting cage before the Brewers play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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A Milwaukee Brewers Book Came Out Recently. How Good Was It? Should You Read It?

Mar 29, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Alex Presley (7) makes the running catch against the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth inning during a spring training game at Maryvale Baseball Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Alex Presley (7) makes the running catch against the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth inning during a spring training game at Maryvale Baseball Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

A website with the name Reviewing the Brew would not be doing its job if it didn’t give fans a “review” of the latest Milwaukee Brewers book out on the market. TV Broadcaster Bill Schroeder recently released a unique book which chronicles some great Milwaukee Brewer moments. He collaborated on the book with Drew Olson, who was a former Milwaukee Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

After reading the book, I was able to put together some thoughts as to how “well done” it was. The title is “If These Walls Could Talk,” but to me the book read more like “Random Observations from the Exploits of Bill Schroeder.” At one point, the section which chronicles information on the broadcast booth has ten pages of Bill Schroeder talking about his high school and college baseball playing days before it gets to anything about the broadcast booth.

I knew that this book would not be a “tell all” or “insider information” book when I randomly opened it up, and I saw at least five pages on the topic of the only Milwaukee Brewers no-hitter thrown in 1987. Any fan of the Milwaukee Brewers who knows anything about the team is already aware of this spot in history. Nothing was said in the book that was “revealing” or “insightful” about this event. Everything written is just common knowledge that someone could look up or find out on Baseball Reference or Wikipedia. When I read it, I was hoping Bill would tell me something I did not know already! If you fast forward to parts about the 2008 and 2011 Playoffs, you will see a similar trend. These chronicles are not”If These Walls Could Talk.”  Instead, it seems more like “Just Write About It To Fill Pages.”

For example, if “inside info” was offered about the 2008 and 2011 playoffs, such as why the manager picked the lineup he did or other “behind the scenes” items about what happened with the players or anything else about those playoff runs, the book could have not only been improved, but it would have actually lived up to its title.

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