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$250 on Amazon! :).

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Jay Johnstone's "Temporary Insanity" was that book for me. I had gotten a copy at age 12, and it was the first book I had ever read that revealed other baseball players' proclivities for pranks/partying/cussing, etc., with absolutely no censorship whatsoever. It was through that book that I learned about the tradition of rookies painting a certain anatomical part of a horse statue located near Wrigley Field. Also, how they used to lock Tommy Lasorda in his spring training barracks room by tying his doorknob (the door opened inward) to a nearby tree.

Naturally, I thought it was the greatest book ever written. I still recommend it today - it's not a large volume and it's a pretty easy read.

("Ball Four" came out eight years before I was born; it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I found a copy in a bookstore. It became an instant favorite as well.)

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