TOW # 8 - The Catcher Was a Spy (Pt. 2)

      During the first half of the biography of the extraordinary Moe Berg, I noticed the trend being that Moe was more than just your average baseball player. Throughout the second half of the book The Catcher Was a Spy, that trend seemingly continued as it was a focal point for author Nicholas Dawidoff. The majority of the second half of the book was an interesting combination of baseball, personal life, and war stories. One of the main things that stood out to me was the section of the book that strictly discussed the issue of Moe moving in with different people, whether it be a teammate, a reporter, or someone he met at a local bar. Considering that Dawidoff's purpose was to bring new light to the life of Moe Berg, these anecdotes certainly helped solidify this idea. All-time great Yankee, Joe DiMaggio was one of the people that was on the giving end of a place to reside.  "They walked through the snow together to DiMaggio’s suite at the Madison Hotel. Berg stayed for six weeks." (Location 4436). However, he would then move on to another home. "A pair of bachelors— Milton Richman, who covered the Mets for UPI, and his brother, Arthur, a baseball reporter for the Daily Mirror— also liked hosting Berg..." (Location 4436). Usually, baseball players were looked up upon in society. They were the ones with the fame and the fortune. However, the use of the anecdotes by Dawidoff proves that Berg wasn't just your everyday successful baseball player.
      Relating back to my first post, another way that Dawidoff achieves his purpose is by using intellectual jargon whenever he could get the chance. His brother, who was a successful man, would always speak highly of Moe. "Dr. Sam saw that Berg could talk about anything from physics to geology to semantics, or he could hold forth on the origin, development, and essential characteristics of Siamese cats." (Location 4520). Continuing with the trend of the first half of the book, Dawidoff reiterates how once again, Moe was something more than just an athlete. He was a rarely intelligent man, who could speak many languages, and was brilliant in many subjects. Through the use of unique anecdotes from people close to Moe, and intellectual diction, Dawidoff effectively illustrates his purpose, which is that Moe was more than just a star baseball player from New Jersey.