I recently sat down with painter/artist Mark Chiarello for a question and answer interview. He is the man behind the paintings for “Baseball 100,” A fully illustrated book celebrating the 100 greatest baseball players of all-time. Mark also did the illustrations for “Heroes of the Negro Leagues.” We talked about his career, the creation of the book, why baseball fans fall in love with the sport, his passion for pinstripes, and more!
ML: This book is incredible and your work is amazing. It must have taken a lot of time and effort. How did the book come about?
MC: Like so many baseball fans, I’ve always loved having that discussion/argument about who the best player of all-time was. Who’s the best hitter? The best pitcher? As a lifelong artist, I’ve always enjoyed drawing all of those heroes from the past. With “BASEBALL 100,” I figured out a way to combine my two loves: art and baseball. ML: Do you enjoy painting certain players over others?
MC: I really love drawing and painting old-time players from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. It’s those baggy uniforms! All of those wrinkles and folds are a fun challenge, unlike the smooth, form-fitting unis of today, which I find kinda boring. Look at an old photograph of Satchel Paige standing there in his dirty, baggy uniform and you can imagine all sorts of tall tales about him!
ML: What is it about baseball that makes us fall in love?
MC: I have no clue! It catches on to us at an early age, and it sticks with us for the rest of our lives. I don’t mean to be corny, but it’s a love that’s always there for us, never goes away. Rooting for “our” team, checking the box scores, having a hot dog at Yankee Stadium… what could be better?
ML: You have had an interesting and amazing career so far as an artist. Take my readers through it.
MC: I’ve been really lucky in that a kid from New Jersey who sat home all day drawing his heroes was able to eventually grow-up and do the same thing for a living. I was the Art Director at DC Comics for a long time, as well as being an illustrator for Disney, The Baseball Hall of Fame, LucasFilm, and the Topps Card Company. The highlight of my art career (so far!) is the 2007 book from Abrams Publishing, “HEROES OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES.”
ML: I know you are a huge New York Yankees fan. How did you become a fan of the pinstripes?
MC: My Dad loved (Joe) DiMaggio, so naturally, my brother Paul became a big Mantle and Maris fan. By the time my brother Robbie and I came of age (and even though the Yankees were pretty dismal during those Horace Clarke and Danny Cater years), we had it in our blood. My guys became the ‘other’ M&M Boys: Bobby Murcer and Thurman Munson.
ML: Do you find it difficult to ranking position players and pitchers because there is such a difference between the two?
MC: Very difficult. An argument could be made that Walter Johnson was as great and valuable as any player ever, including Ruth and Cobb. Pitching is the nuclear center of the sport. You can’t overstate how absolutely primary players like Sandy Koufax and Tom Seaver were to the success of their teams.
ML: As previously mentioned, you also were a part of “Heroes of the Negro Leagues,” a book with 60 of the great black baseball players. What should people know about the Negro Leagues and its impact on baseball through the years and today?
MC: Growing-up as baseball fans, we heard and read about the exploits of the great players of the past, Ruth, Gehrig, Ted Williams, Stan Musial… but before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, some black players were every bit as good as their white counterparts. I’m go gratified that we’re finally getting to know of their excellence and contribution to the sport we love. Players like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell are true American heroes.
ML: What do you hope people say about “Baseball 100” when they get done with it?
MC: I hope baseball fans get a little bit of the feeling they had when they were kids, when baseball was just a lot of fun, without the headaches of steroids and sign-stealing, and ridiculous salaries. It’s the sport we’ve loved all of our lives, and that should be celebrated. Buy Baseball 100 and support the release here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baseball100/baseball-100?ref=user_menu.