Baseball Book Review – Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone, Baseball Poems of New York by Matthew Johnson

Before social media posts typed with love, humor, or even hatred filled rants existed, there was poetry. Before instant, direct, or electronic messaging existed, there was poetry. Before the internet, before personal computers and smartphones, folks took to pen and paper to write down their thoughts, their struggles, their admiration for someone. And shaped a world of words and emotions into poetry. Despite the omnipresence of social media, direct messaging, the internet, and smartphones in this modern world we live in, poetry remains a beautiful, traditional reminder of how original thoughts and feelings were once communicated to a single person or a large audience. To say it mildly, I love poetry and respect those who can craft a stanza or two that move me on an emotional level.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Matthew Johnson, an accomplished author and poet, who has a wonderful book of poetry due out in September of this year (2026). The book, “Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone, Baseball Poems of New York.” In the email, Matthew summarized the book, “My forthcoming poetry collection explores New York baseball across generations through the lenses of community, memory, and cultural identity. The collection traces a wide arc of the sport’s history in New York state, from the boroughs to Cooperstown and upstate, and features poems on figures such as Moses Fleetwood Walker, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, the Negro Leagues, and Jackie Robinson, among many others, as well as my own history with New York baseball, having grown up in Westchester and Fairfield Counties.” I enthusiastically responded that I was interested and received a digital copy of “Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone” for review. Before I get into my thoughts on the book, here is some literary peer praise for Johnson’s work and a snippet about the author.

Baseball stories can be purely factual, like the score of a game or the pitchers on the mound or where each team is based. Baseball stories can be opinionated, like a pitcher scrutinized for throwing a fastball when he should have thrown a changeup or a missed play in the field by “so and so” cost the home team a playoff shot. Baseball stories can be personal, like a first hand account of life in the minor leagues by a player or the plight of a player who should be somewhere but isn’t because of race, religion, or social situation. Baseball stories can be sad, like when your grandfather’s favorite team leaves New York for the West Coast. Baseball stories can be controversial, like describing the disgusting and racially driven events of Henry Aaron’s run to become MLB’s all-time Home Run King or how steroid use over a decade in professional baseball tarnished the careers of so many. And it takes a writer like Matthew Johnson to be able to take factual and historical data, mix in a personal touch, and navigate through the happiness, the sadness and the controversial subjects to make and create a beautiful, understandable, and relatable piece of writing. Baseball’s history is not all good but that doesn’t mean we cannot write about it, talk about it, and educate others about it. Matthew Johnson’s poetry starts the conversation wonderfully and it is up to us as baseball fans to continue those conversations to get better as human beings, and baseball fans.

First off, I loved reading all of the poems in “Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone.” However, a few resonated with me on a different level. “Black Fans with the Barnstorming Babe” is excellent and really speaks to the tenor of the times and touches on one of my favorite subjects, greatness. “Black Baseball Blues in Pittsburgh” is another one that really hit home for me because I am such a huge historic fan of Josh Gibson, a player whom I would have driven 10 states over to see play baseball. My father was a huge fan of Ernest Hemingway and gave me a guidebook for writing when he handed me “The Old Man in the Sea” as a teenager. So, when I read Johnson’s “The Old Man on the Sea Meets the Boys of Summer,” it was personal and I loved the story of Papa and Hugh Casey. Anytime I can learn more about the great Satchel Paige, I am interesting and Johnson’s “Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever” is such a wonderful tribute to that mountain of man. The 1986 New York Mets broke the hearts of so many Boston Red Sox fans, myself included, in that fateful World Series, I could barely get through “Here Comes Night,” but again Johnson was spot on with his writing. From Roger Maris to Yogi Berra, from Claire Smith to Billy Martin, from Cool Papa Bell to Lou Gehrig, this book is filled with tons of New York baseball history. Baseball history fans, you will love these poems!

The book, “Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone, Baseball Poems of New York,” by Matthew Johnson is currently on presale, and its release date is September 15. I enthusiastically recommend this book of baseball poems and really enjoyed reading Johnson’s baseball poems, a few several times now. The subjects in this book of New York baseball poems have something for every baseball fan to embrace, to learn about, to smile about, to converse with another baseball fan about. And my hope is that you read something that moves you emotionally and you take the time to research the subject and get better educated on the subject and become a more informed baseball fan because of it. If it is an uncomfortable or controversial subject, seek out a community leader or local historian or perhaps a local baseball resource who can help you get through your uncomfortableness. Bring the poem, read it to aloud, and let the conversation begin.