I didn't expect to see a Gary Deeb quote in a baseball book!

Last week, I finished reading David Krell's 1978: Baseball and America in the Disco Era, and I enjoyed it, but it's a bit quirky. For a season in which all 4 division races were close and one (Red Sox/Yankees) ended in a memorable playoff, there is a lot of "America" in the text and not as much "Baseball" as I expected.

Krell does cover the events in MLB, even happenings like the Hall of Fame inductees as he takes a month-by-month approach. However, he also goes on tangents about Garry Marshall's ABC sitcoms, American Hot Wax, and the release of Herman Wouk's novel War and Remembrance.

At one point, Krell writes about the debut of CBS' WKRP in Cincinnati, and one of the critics he quotes is our old friend Gary Deeb from the Donahue episode of the podcast:

Under the loving care of producer (Hugh) Wilson, WKRP seems pointed toward the same literate, occasionally elegant comedy that characterizes MASH, Barney Miller, and the old MTM show. Rather than glorify stupidity and antisocial conduct, WKRP gently spoofs the human condition.

Yep, that sounds like Deeb, all right!

There is also an extensive passage on The White Shadow, which I enjoyed seeing because that series doesn't get a lot of attention. I don't know Deeb's thoughts on that one, though.