Books | Sports

November 5, 2007

Like Father, Like Son

Rick Wolff went from Harvard to the wilds of minor-league baseball. Thirty years later, his son John followed in his footsteps, and wrote a book about his attempt to make the big leagues.

Carl Bialik

When John Wolff watches the White Sox play, he can anticipate their signs. Those kinds of smarts can't be taught at Harvard, where John studied and played ball for three and a half years before leaving a semester shy of graduation to pursue his dream of playing in the majors. Most of his peers in White Sox spring training and the team's farm system weren't Ivy Leaguers, and he further stood out for spending hours each day on his laptop recording his impressions. John, now 24, was just as much a fish out of water when he returned to Harvard to finish up his studies. But at least one man could identify with his dual existence: His father, Rick, age 56, who also went from Harvard to the minors, 30 years earlier.







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Article by Carl Bialik

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