Last week, I visited Bayside Library here in my hometown of Virginia Beach, VA. I was in the library for another purpose but decided to take advantage of the time to peruse through their Sports section for baseball books. In the Sports section, I found a number of interested books to “check out” and settled on this beauty, “Baseball’s Great Expectations,” by Patrick Montgomery.

What struck me initially about the book was remembering something my grandfather used to say to me. “Beware of the word, potential. It can mean two things so don’t get caught up in it if someone says you have potential,” referring to my baseball life as a teenager. “You have the potential to go pro,” or “you will play D1 baseball for sure,” or “you’re going get some looks around Draft Day,” are the kinds of comments a teenage baseball player wants to hear. “Whoa, whatever happened to him, he had so much potential,” or “I figured he would make it higher than that,” or “all that time and effort to amount to not even a cup of coffee in the Major Leagues,” are the kinds of comments a ballplayer would definitely not want to hear.

By no means is “Baseball’s Great Expectations” a slam or a dig on any of the players mentioned in the book. Quite the opposite. “Baseball’s Great Expectations” details and chronicles several baseball players who were “can’t miss” prospects who did in fact have successful baseball careers. Just that successful is a subjective term in this case. Each player in the book was a star in high school, some in college, all were drafted or signed by Major League clubs, and some played significant time in the Major Leagues. To me, that defines a successful baseball story in one way or another. Because the players in the book are not in Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame or can be considered all-time greats at their position, others would argue that they didn’t reach their full potential, so they weren’t successful in their baseball endeavors. To each his own.

Author Patrick Montgomery takes a pragmatic approach to the player’s history and details how the player got to where a fan might ask, “whatever happened to Brien Taylor?” Montgomery starts early in their baseball and athletic careers. He chronicles high school achievements, maybe some college or summer baseball or USA Baseball time, then how the player gets drafted, signed and assigned in his professional baseball journey. From what I read, it is straight up facts and its typically validated by quotes from the actual player he is writing about. What happened along the way to derail a sure fire Hall of Fame career? What injury or event or situation caused a player’s upward trajectory into stardom to detour them seemingly out of professional baseball. What would they, meaning the player, have done differently? All is revealed in “Baseball’s Great Expectations.”

Did I feel sorry in some way for these players? Sure. Did some of these players put themselves in a bad situation out of naiveté? Absolutely. Did these players get to fulfill a dream that most of us had growing up? 100% yes. Did potential get in the way of making smart decisions, whether it was a contract negotiation or playing hurt? 1000% right on. Patrick Montgomery’s “Baseball’s Great Expectations” tells the story of several can’t miss, high potential baseball talents that got to where most would only dream about, the Major Leagues of Baseball. However, their potential was not fully realized according to many fans, media members, and organizations they called home. If it weren’t for this event or that injury or this other situation, the players in the book may be listed in another book entitled, “The Greatest Baseball Players of the 20th Century.” But the events and injuries and “stuff” that happens is just life being unpredictable at times and thus you find the players detailed in this book, “Baseball’s Great Expectations.”

Great read, easy to follow along, and if you are a baseball fan, you will definitely remember some of these talented ballplayers. Check out your local library, bookstore, or online book retailer for “Baseball’s Great Expectations,” by Patrick Montgomery.