Bill Giles' book

[jalbright]

Anybody else read Bill Giles' book? My take on it is it's a breeze to read, and fun, much like Bill himself. Of course, it tries to justify some of the baseball decisions made under his watch, and while those justifications may persuade the casual fan of the Phillies, they don't bear scrutiny too well IMO.

Anybody else want to add their thoughts?

Jim Albright

[Judway]

Anybody else read Bill Giles' book? My take on it is it's a breeze to read, and fun, much like Bill himself. Of course, it tries to justify some of the baseball decisions made under his watch, and while those justifications may persuade the casual fan of the Phillies, they don't bear scrutiny too well IMO.

Anybody else want to add their thoughts?

Jim Albright

Yes, I read the book and it is a must read for Phillies fans. I got a signed copy in Clearwater. Nice guy.

[Steve Jeltz]

What publishing company in their right mind would accept the idea of a Bill Giles book? Better yet, why would anyone buy it? Giles is not only the head of the worst ownership group in professional sports, but he is also an egomaniac delirious with vanity. If I saw this book in a public libary, I still wouldn't check it out. As if Giles hasn't completely wrecked a once proud franchise over 27 years under his stewardship, now he is killing trees.

[donzblock]

Yes, I read the book and it is a must read for Phillies fans. I got a signed copy in Clearwater. Nice guy.

Bill Giles' genius is legendary, and consequently I have been unable to acquire a copy of his book. Also, the booksellers on ABE, realizing the genius of the person who wrote it, have begun kiting prices, so the Giles book is already a classic. Since many of us will never be fortunate enough to acquire a copy, would you be kind enough to share with to us some of the gems penned by Giles in this, his magnum opus?

[Steve Jeltz]

Bill Giles' genius is legendary, and consequently I have been unable to acquire a copy of his book. Also, the booksellers on ABE, realizing the genius of the person who wrote it, have begun kiting prices, so the Giles book is already a classic. Since many of us will never be fortunate enough to acquire a copy, would you be kind enough to share with to us some of the gems penned by Giles in this, his magnum opus?

Can you imagine the price of an autographed copy like Judway has? I suggest that Judway or anyone who was fortunate to obtain this autobiographical masterpiece to not only share the golden nuggets penned by apologist Jason Stark, I mean the brilliant Bill Giles, but also to share with us the foreword by Ed Wade. I can't wait to read the esteemed Mr. Giles' leveling his critics with conclusive evidence as to why Philadelphia is a small market.

[donzblock]

Judway is very generous, and I am sure he will soon be dispensing some of the nuggets he has memorized from Giles' memorable book.

[FrenchyLefebvre]

Seeing 1989's "Major League" was certainly Gilesoidal-esque enough for me.
Rachael Phelps was, obviously, a knockoff of Giles.

Alas, that movie ended up being more prophetic than biagrophical, (see 1993 Phillies, life literally imitating film -- and precisely to the tee -- even had a dang Wild Thing!) Does he give any insight on any royalties revceived -- by both sides, in this unique case!? Does he, by chance, mention the film as a psychic inspiration? Getting attendance low enough to have a concrete case (pardon pun) for his precious new ballpark...
I certainly won't be reading his drivel. I can barely get through an otherwise entertaining film, no thanks to him!

Sorry, Mr. Albright, I truly detest what Giles did to that franchise. Thus, I detest him as a "baseball" person. He's not a very popular guy among most older fans who watched him omplode the thing first hand. I hope nobody buys his book.

[Steve Jeltz]

Seeing 1989's "Major League" was certainly Gilesoidal-esque enough for me.
Rachael Phelps was, obviously, a knockoff of Giles.

Alas, that movie ended up being more prophetic than biagrophical, (see 1993 Phillies, life literally imitating film -- and precisely to the tee -- even had a dang Wild Thing!) Does he give any insight on any royalties revceived -- by both sides, in this unique case!? Does he, by chance, mention the film as a psychic inspiration? Getting attendance low enough to have a concrete case (pardon pun) for his precious new ballpark...
I certainly won't be reading his drivel. I can barely get through an otherwise entertaining film, no thanks to him!

Sorry, Mr. Albright, I truly detest what Giles did to that franchise. Thus, I detest him as a "baseball" person. He's not a very popular guy among most older fans who watched him omplode the thing first hand. I hope nobody buys his book.

The similarities between the Rachael Phelps character and Giles is quite striking, Frenchy. But Phelps had more intelligence than Giles.

Bill Giles is the head of the worst ownership group in all of professional sports. Don't be fooled by Monty as now being the "leader" of this ownership group. Giles is still calling the shots with Monty, Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro Jr. as his mouthpieces. The Phils recent "success", if you consider a couple of over .500 seasons and the Mets gift of the division title last year, was done in spite of Giles. Kind of similar to the 1915 Phillies winning the pennant in spite of then owner William Baker. But Giles will soon ruin the Phils run of modest success and Howard, Utley, Rollins and Hamels will be playing elsewhere.

It makes me sick that fans continue to attend Phils games at that bandbox because it gives Giles and his cronies less incentive to sell this team. They are just putting more money into his pocket that will not be spent to improve this team. And Giles insults the fan's intelligence by stating that Philadelphia is a small market city, despite Philadelphia being the 5th largest media market in this country. Giles gets his new bandbox ballpark and says the same thing! I will never forgive Giles for destroying a first class franchise that Ruly Carpenter, Paul Owens, Dallas Green and others spent years building.

[donzblock]

The similarities between the Rachael Phelps character and Giles is quite striking, Frenchy. But Phelps had more intelligence than Giles.

Bill Giles is the head of the worst ownership group in all of professional sports. Don't be fooled by Monty as now being the "leader" of this ownership group. Giles is still calling the shots with Monty, Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro Jr. as his mouthpieces. The Phils recent "success", if you consider a couple of over .500 seasons and the Mets gift of the division title last year, was done in spite of Giles. Kind of similar to the 1915 Phillies winning the pennant in spite of then owner William Baker. But Giles will soon ruin the Phils run of modest success and Howard, Utley, Rollins and Hamels will be playing elsewhere.

It makes me sick that fans continue to attend Phils games at that bandbox because it gives Giles and his cronies less incentive to sell this team. They are just putting more money into his pocket that will not be spent to improve this team. And Giles insults the fan's intelligence by stating that Philadelphia is a small market city, despite Philadelphia being the 5th largest media market in this country. Giles gets his new bandbox ballpark and says the same thing! I will never forgive Giles for destroying a first class franchise that Ruly Carpenter, Paul Owens, Dallas Green and others spent years building.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Every word. And it needs to be repeated ad nauseam until the fans stop supporting this monster.

[jalbright]

FWIW, I didn't buy the book. My wife got it out of the local library, and I read it. I wanted to see what he had to say for himself, and, outside of the huckster moments like Kiteman, he wasn't very convincing.

[Steve Jeltz]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Every word. And it needs to be repeated ad nauseam until the fans stop supporting this monster.

Sorry donz. I just can't stand Giles and once I start ranting on him, I can't stop.

[donzblock]

Don't stop until this pathetic puppeteer is no longer associated with this team He belongs in Colorado; the Rockies deserve him, and there is enough Coors out there to keep him happy.

[Androctus]

And Giles insults the fan's intelligence by stating that Philadelphia is a small market city, despite Philadelphia being the 5th largest media market in this country.

I'll never forget Ed Wade trying to justify that sentiment by claiming we share a fan base with Pittsburg and Baltimore....