I was intrigued about this man’s story, and this book was the one available at the local library under “young adult biographies.” The book was short, easy to read, and welcome compared to the complex and lengthy books I’ve recently reviewed. It is a well-written book describing the life of a fascinating person. The inside flap begins, “Espionage agent. Wartime hero who refused the Medal of Freedom. Major league catcher who practiced law in the off-season. Eccentric, intellectual, athletic Moe Berg…” Berg’s father was an industrious Jewish immigrant from Kippinya Ukraine who is described as neither practicing his religion nor trying to hide it. Morris, immediately nicknamed Moe, was the third child of Bernard and Rose Berg. Moe became passionate about baseball very young. He achieved his first baseball headline while playing on a Methodist team under the name “Runt Wolfe.”

Moe’s father disapproved of baseball as a waste of time and never changed his opinion even as Moe played baseball for Princeton and then began making a living at it in the major leagues. Moe signed with the Brooklyn Robins (later Dodgers) in 1923. He was given a three month contract that paid him $5,000 to play shortstop. He was described by one scout as “Good field, no hit.” He attracted the attention because he was an avid reader and enjoyed learning new languages. He was teased that he “…could speak many languages but couldn’t hit in any of them.” Fellow White Sox catcher Frank “Buck” Crouse told him, “I don’t care how many of them degrees you got. They ain’t learned you to hit a curve ball no better than me.” He had a career hitting average of .243 and was also described as a very slow runner (something that struck me as odd for a shortstop.)

Moe was with the White Sox when the manager found no catcher healthy enough to suit up for a game. Moe told the manager that he had “…a big league catcher sitting right here.” He was referring to the backup first baseman who had been a catcher in the minor leagues. The manager misunderstood and said, “All right, Berg, get in there.” Berg had never played catcher. He told someone, “If the worst happens, kindly deliver the body to Newark.” He played well enough to become a backup catcher and bounced from team to team for several years, had a wonderful time, and made many friends. He broke the American League record for playing error-free in 117 straight games with the Washington Senators. He became good friends with manager Joe Cronin who valued him for his baseball knowledge and his work as a bullpen coach. Each of the few times he was called in to catch he would ask whether each batter was still allowed three strikes.

Moe finished his law degree in 1930 and he suffered a knee injury that made him an even slower runner. He only played in 20 games that year and the White Sox dropped him from their roster. He practiced law with a prestigious firm during the winter. The Cleveland Indians picked him up, but he played very little. He developed a reputation for his eccentricities. He always dressed in a dark grey suit, white shirt, and black tie and shoes. He carried an extra suitcase on road games to hold his large collection of newspapers.

A group of players including Berg traveled to Japan to teach baseball clinics. He studied Japanese while on the ocean liner and was able to try it out on native speakers by the time they arrived. He was immensely popular because he was working to speak the language. He also impressed the Japanese with his knowledge of baseball and teaching skills. He was soon gathering and reading all the Japanese newspapers. He travelled extensively after the stint in Japan. He went to China, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and various countries of Europe.

Moe was selected to be on an all-star team including Babe Ruth during the 1934-35 off season  to play exhibition games in Japan. The trip resulted in one famous Moe Berg story. He carried a movie camera everywhere. He was absent from one of the games as he dressed in traditional Japanese garb, went to the top of a hospital overlooking Tokyo, and filmed the city. Berg and others would later claim the film  was used to plot bombing raids of Tokyo during World War II. The author doubts that is true, since the pictures would have been a bit outdated by the time bombing raids were being planned.

Moe gained recognition for his apparently unlimited command of trivia. He made an appearance on the popular radio show “Information Please.” He correctly answered several obscure trivia questions and began receiving boxes of letters from fans. He was on the show two more times.

Berg left baseball as World War II spread and joined the Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA). The mission was to encourage better relations between the U.S. and other countries. He made a propaganda radio speech in Japanese. He said that the fact Japan had attacked the U.S. while the ambassadors were carrying out diplomatic conversations and caused the country to lose face and “…are committing national seppuku (ritual suicide).”

Berg was eventually sent to South America where he assured officials that his contact with them was unofficial and off the record. However, he filed official reports of everything he learned. He “…by his own design, had in effect become a spy.” He resigned from the OIAA to join the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). His wide knowledge of languages, his intelligence, and his personality made him the perfect spy.

Berg’s assignment with the OSS was to investigate whether the Germans led by Werner Heisenberg were making progress in making a nuclear weapon. The project was first called the “Alsos mission” and later “Azusa.”He educated himself about nuclear physics through technical documents and visits with scientists. He traveled to Italy and probed various scientists for their knowledge about what the Germans might be up to. He spent time in London mostly enjoying himself collecting books and attending dinner parties. He was sent to Zurich to attend a speech by Heisenberg. He told others later that he was told to shoot Heisenberg if he heard anything that indicated the Germans were near to having a nuclear weapon.

“Wild Bill” Donovan, the head of the OSS, liked to surround himself with interesting people and Moe Berg was with him when he traveled to Paris. He also traveled to Germany to continue the recruiting of scientists to keep them away from the Soviets who were kidnapping any they failed to recruit.  Berg began to get in trouble with the amounts of money he was spending and the lack of any kind of formal report on the expenses. He was ordered to explain $21,439.14 of expenditures. It was at this time he was awarded the Medal of Freedom. He turned down the award either because he was told he wouldn’t be able to explain the award or he was irked about the demands of the accountants.

Berg was hired by the CIA and sent to Europe to investigate who might be helping the Soviet Union. He traveled in luxury, failed to report any kind of useful information, and his contract was terminated. The last part of his life was not glamorous. He seldom had any money and drifted around the country living off the generosity of friends and family. His habit of accumulating huge stacks of newspapers and books made him a difficult houseguest. He fell out of bed at the age of 70 and was well on his way to bleeding to death of an abdominal aortic aneurism  by the time he sought medical attention. He asked a nurse, “How are the Mets doing today?” He died before she could answer.  A friend described him as “…making up for all the bores of the world. And he did it softly, stepping on no one.”