Belth, Alex 1971-

PERSONAL:

Born 1971. Education: Attended college.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bronx, NY. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER:

Has worked on various films, including Baseball (documentary), Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), production assistant, c. 1993-94; Everyone Says I Love You, apprentice editor, 1996; The Big Lebowski, assistant editor, 1998; A Walk on the Moon, apprentice editor, 1999; and Swimfan, second assistant editor, 2002. Host of and contributor to the Bronx Banter blog site, which focuses on the New York Yankees.

WRITINGS:

Stepping Up: The Story of Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights, Persea Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Alex Belth has worked as a film editor and has pursued his passion for baseball by hosting a blog devoted to the New York Yankees called Bronx Banter. He is also the author of Stepping Up: The Story of Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights. The book recounts the life of Flood, a star center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960s. Despite his prowess on the baseball field, Flood's career was essentially ruined after he challenged baseball's reserve clause, which said that a team owned a right to a player in perpetuity until the team traded the player. When the St. Louis Cardinals tried to trade Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies, he refused to report to his new team and challenged the reserve clause in court. The legal battle made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although Flood eventually lost his fight, his efforts led the way to modern-day free agency in baseball and other sports. While much of the book focuses on Flood's days as a player and his court battles, it also looks into Flood's life as a child, the racism he experienced during his career, and his semireclusive life following his decision to leave baseball and the limelight. Paul M. Kaplan, writing in Library Journal, called the book "a fine read." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the book's "final chapters capture the benefits and drawbacks of sacrificing oneself for the good of the whole." In Booklist, Wes Lukowsky referred to the biography as "an incisive portrait of an underappreciated baseball icon."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2006, Wes Lukowsky, review of Stepping Up: The Story of Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights, p. 30.

Library Journal, February 1, 2006, Paul M. Kaplan, review of Stepping Up, p. 84.

Publishers Weekly, January 16, 2006, review of Stepping Up, p. 51.

ONLINE

Baseball Analysts,http://baseballanalysts.com/ (July 9, 2006), Rich Lederer, "Bantering throughout the Bronx with Alex Belth," interview with Belth.

Bronx Banter,http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com (July 9, 2006).

International Movie Database,http://www.imdb.com/ (July 9, 2006), information on Belth's work in films.