Hit by Pitch: Ray Chapman, Carl Mays and the Fatal Fastball

by Molly Lawless

On August 16, 1920, Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw a fastball that struck Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in the head. Chapman died the next morning. Hit by Pitch is a nonfiction graphic novel about these men, their lives and legacies, and the event that linked them forever. Born the same year (1891), both in Kentucky, they had similar beginnings but opposing personalities. This wonderfully drawn work brings the two men and their era back to life.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, History, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2011

Reviews

[Katharine Ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hit by Pitch" - written and drawn by Molly Lawless and published in 2012 by McFarland & Co, Inc. I just loved this fascinating, informative graphic novel that tells the story of the New York Yankees Carl Mays' pitch that caused the death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in 1920. "The shaken Cleveland squad had lost a key player, the very glue that held their clubhouse together." Through her great drawings and short descriptive captions, Lawless has created living, breathing characters and she doesn't shy away from delving into both sides of the story, everyone gets a fair shake. "This book contain[s] elements of the comedy, tragedy, and mystery that this true drama offers." With one "Did you know?" after another, the sad story is told and, although I was well aware of the event and have visited Chapman's grave site in Cleveland, I learned some very interesting aspects that I was unaware of. This book is a delightful way to spotlight a time in athletic history that has been left behind.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW 6 star book
the best baseball book i've read!
baseball fans will learn something new, but non sports fans will care about these people because of Lawless' writing and art.
i'll be recommending this to people.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I heard of it, 25 years ago or so, I've wanted to learn more about the only on-field death in Major League Baseball history. This book provides a fine introduction, with some caveats. Lawless is a terrific artist, and she really brings the people involved to life. She has strong biases based on circumstantial evidence - and it shows in her art - Mays looks positively evil throughout most of the book, scowling and beady eyed. There is something strange about how she draws eyes, actually - Chapman and several others look like Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange.

These are minor quibbles, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning a bit about this small, but important, incident in the history of the game. She does give a bibliography in the back of the book, which is useful. I wouldn't count on this book as the only account of this incident, and plan on reading more about it to get a more balanced view.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is a really great book for people to read if they like baseball or they are into sports. The book is about a bad accident that happened around the early 1900s. It happened to a Cleveland Indians player and a famous New York Yankees pitcher. The player from the Indians name was Ray Chapman and the player from the Yankees is Carl Mayes. It was on August 16th and they were playing against each other that day. Carl Mayes was having a great day throwing heat and striking people out like always. But when Ray Chapman came up to bat and Carl Mayes did something wrong during his pitching motion and when he threw it the ball came of wrong and hit Ray in his dead. After that happened Ray passed away the next morning in the hospital.
This book Is based off of a true story of Carl Mays, Ray Chapman and the moment they became forever linked by just one pitch. Both of the baseball players were born in the same state. They were born in Kentucky they both had the same personalities towards baseball. They pretty much grew up together playing baseball. They were the same age same grade and everything.
But anyway anyone could read this book and like it. The book is about sports and if you don’t play sports you will still like this book cause you can learn a lot about the sport baseball and how it was played back in the day. I read this book and now it it probably my favorite book so far this year I have read so far. It’s a good learning experience for people that can’t play the sport baseball. It talks about baseball player legends. That was like the best baseball players of all time back in the day. Even today they still are the best I think.
Also I recommend this book to anyone that is in high school. The book is not that hard not long at all and it’s a great book. The book is about two famous baseball players and it talks about how they grew up together and how they both loved baseball. Then they both when to the Majors about they faced each other one day during a season game. The players names were Carl Mayes and Ray Chapman. They were friends but during that game someone got really hurt during the game. Ray Chapman got hit in his head by a fastball and he died the next day. But overall this is a great book. l. This makes the story a lot better because they’ve grown up and had the same personalities. Also this book shows how dangerous baseball back in the day was. Just because they didn’t have to wear helmets and what not. That’s why it was so difficult back then to stay safe.
A.B.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molly Lawless’ graphic novel about the only ballplayer to ever die during a baseball game is an incredible, well-researched, entertaining read. It documents the lives of Ray Chapman, the loveable ball player and socialite from the Cleveland Indians, and Carl Mays, the workhorse (and occasionally cold) pitcher from the New York Yankees, and how their paths intersected on August 16th, 1920, when Mays beaned Chapman, killing him.

The work really makes you feel for both players. Chapman was so well-liked in Cleveland when he died and whereas Mays was portrayed as a head-hunter and sociopath after the fatal fastball, the work makes an honest and heart-felt attempt to try and put him in a different light; someone with a hall-of-fame pitching career who was villainized by the media and his fellow players and had to deal with the repercussions for the rest of his life.

The story is told in a fun way, too, despite the heavy subject matter. Very in-the-moment, like a newsreel in graphic form that follows the players from their childhood through their deaths. A great story about how one pitch can change the course of history told on a very personal level.

And I LOVE Molly’s portrayal of Babe Ruth. Worth it for that alone…

Highly recommended.

[M. Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable, given the tragic subject. Holly Lawless uses her art to tell the tale of the only fatal pitch in professional baseball, the one Carl Mays threw at Ray Chapman. The book has the feel of the historical comic books I used to read as a kid and it's certainly age-appropriate for young baseball fans. Lawless fills the book with broad outlines and interesting tidbits concerning the fatal pitch itself, the two men involved, the aftermath, plus American culture and the culture of baseball. Lawless's illustrations are quite good and it's a quick read. Definitely worth a look if you interested in baseball history.

[Sean]

This is a comic book style retelling of the true story of when Ray Chapman died from being hit by a pitch from Carl Mays in 1920. This is no spoiler since it's told in the first page, though I had not heard the story before. The book focuses on the major similarities and differences of the two men, how they came together on that fateful day and the aftermath. The comic format was well used and made for a quick and interesting read.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawless makes you care about both Mays and Chapman as human beings. The drawings are outstanding. Loved this book. Read it in one sitting.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining way to read a baseball story.

[Sean Condon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best graphic novel of 2012 - deserved far more accolades and still deserves a much wider audience. Completely great!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps it oversells the "tragedy" of it all and maybe it tries to do a little too much in general (there's a lot of "odds and ends" in the last 50 pages), but this was pretty enjoyable.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review at http://idrottsforum.org/macmal_lawles...

[John]

A very well-crafted story.

[Andrew Kubasek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really good. The introduction made the whole book worth reading. A few parts were a little clunky, but added to the sense of shock and confusion at the heart of the book.