On August 24, 2015, The Californian (
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"Steinbeck relative promotes Dodger book in Salinas
Glenn Cravens, gcravens@thecalifornian.com 2:56 p.m. PDT August 24, 2015
As Molly Knight read the beginning of her book Sunday afternoon, the capacity crowd at the National Steinbeck Center listened to the words flow from the author about Los Angeles Dodgers star ace Clayton Kershaw.
The trip to Salinas on Sunday wasn’t about infiltrating a land where Giants fans reside. Instead, it was about Knight getting a closer connection to John Steinbeck, a connection she knows a lot about.
Knight was in town as part of her tour to promote her book, “The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse.”
The book chronicles the Dodgers’ 2013 and 2014 seasons, which included plenty of success but also plenty of turmoil.
For Knight, being in Salinas was different than other locations she’s gone to promote her book. She is John Steinbeck’s great, great niece and the granddaughter of Mary Steinbeck.
“It’s a little more meaningful to be here,” Knight told the crowd on Sunday at the Steinbeck Center, a place she has visited in the past.
During the event, Knight read the prologue of her book, which chronicled her trip to interview pitcher Clayton Kershaw for the story. At the time of the interview, Kershaw was recovering from his 2013 season-ending defeat to the Cardinals and on the brink of agreeing to a seven-year contract extension.
Knight shared her experiences writing the book and mentioned how she got to a point where she had to travel to the Monterey Peninsula for a change of scenery, doing some writing sessions at the Del Monte Shopping Center.
It took a year to write, finishing this past April, she said. And even in the final stages, she was making changes given information she continued to receive from people within the Dodgers organization.
Some of the attendees had Dodgers-related questions. A few others asked about her Steinbeck history as well as questions about some of the great writer’s famous novels.
She recalled a time in junior high where she made a passing she’s-related-to-Steinbeck remark to a teacher, who was nearly floored to hear it.
“That’s when I realized it was different,” said Knight, whose favorite Steinbeck book is “East of Eden” and recommends that book be taught in schools.
She didn’t always have visions of being a writer. In college, her major was human biology. But she soon turned to writing and moved to New York from the West Coast to begin her career.
After freelancing for ESPN, she soon joined the staff full time. She left the sports corporation to write the book about the Dodgers.
“It was the biggest project I have ever undertaken,” Knight said.
Although it was a challenge to put it all together, she said she is excited to start her next book in a few months. The topic is still to be determined.
Knight is a Dodgers fan and grew up keeping score at games at Chavez Ravine, but she assured people it’s not a “rah-rah Dodger book” and took some time to praise the Giants for their recent championship success.
“It’s a book about extraordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations,” Knight said.
In 2013, the Dodgers were 9 1/2 games out of first place but went 53-13 in the next 66 games and left the other National League West teams in the dust. The rise occurred at nearly the same time Yasiel Puig was called up to join the team.
That season ended at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, who claimed the N.L. Pennant with a 9-0 clincher that left Kershaw the losing pitcher in the Dodgers’ final game. A season later, the Dodgers experienced front-office changes and lots of conflict to go along with another N.L. West Division championship.
Dodgers fans in attendance on Sunday not only asked about the 2013 and 2014 teams, but also this year’s team, which has been in first place since May 30 but experiencing some struggles.
“She wasn’t writing a homer book,” said Jacob Jun, of Salinas, who attended the event. “I wanted to read more about it.”
Cal State Stanislaus professor Sam Regalado made the trip from the valley to Salinas to be a part of the event and was excited to hear from the author.
“I was interested to hear her insights given her experience as a reporter,” Regalado said.
Toni Heyler, Knight’s grandmother who lives in Carmel, admitted she isn’t a sports fan but the writing drew her in.
“I kept wanting to read it,” Heyler said. “It was a great page turner.”
Heyler said she hopes Knight continues to write.
“She’s such an amazing person. Whatever she sets her mind to, she’ll do.”
The book is available in most bookstores as well as online. Last week, it was No. 3 on the New York Times’ best-seller list for sports books."