I’ve just finished reading “The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 – When Major Leaguers Made Peanuts, the Umpires Wore Red, and Billy Martin Terrorized Everyone” by Mike Shropshire.

In a nutshell, this book is Shropshire’s diary of covering the Texas Rangers, as a beat writer, back in 1975. But, the book is not just about the Rangers – as Shropshire also weaves in (at times) what was going on in baseball that season. And, the book is about Shropshire’s “adventures” that season as well.

And, “The Last Real Season” is also bawdy – with a capital “B.” This is not one for the kiddies. Reading it took me back to when I first read Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud and Ball Four as a teenager.

In many ways, “The Last Real Season” is the baseball beat writer’s version of Ball Four.

Yeah – it’s that good. I truly enjoyed this book. Maybe it’s because I became a fan of baseball in the early 1970’s? Or, maybe it’s because I enjoy behind-the-scenes stories when it comes to baseball? Shoot, maybe it’s both? But, for whatever the reason, I found “The Last Real Season” to be very entertaining.

In fact, I would place “The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 – When Major Leaguers Made Peanuts, the Umpires Wore Red, and Billy Martin Terrorized Everyone” as one of the must-reads for adult baseball fans this summer. It’s a like a fun “PG-13″ trip in a baseball time-machine. But, again, be warned, if “bawdy” is not your thing…then you might want to sit this one out.