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.) Continue reading →