price：$8.48
Phoenix Audio
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A MUST read) 『Everyone who cares about their health should read this book. All doctors, nurses, researchers, and everyone else in medicine needs to read this book. I bought multiple copies and plan to give them out as presents for Xmas. Reading this book will open your eyes to how easy it is to prevent and cure diseases that we are so accustomed to being a death sentence. We don't have to give up!』
(A must read book for everyone) 『this book is not about going vegan or vegetarian, it's about providing facts, and that scares a lot of people. the fact that what you eat and how that food got to your plate greatly impacts you is very important. Just on the news this week they were talking about how 50% of the US population will be obese or overweight soon and how obesity overtaking smoking as the number 1 killer in America.
you don't need to stop eating meat to benefit from this book, but greatly cutting down on the amount and being very careful of where it comes from will be very beneficial.
what's great about this book is that it provides scientific data from decades of research and the study is still ongoing.
I'd also highly recommend the movie Food Inc which Martha Stewart just showcased on her show this week.』
(Reading just the first fourth of the book turned me into a vegetarian.) 『All my life I scoffed at vegetarianism, even though both my brilliant adult children have been on it for decades. Stupid of me. But THE CHINA STUDY opened my eyes. Late in life all right, I'm 85, but for about 20 years since my triple bypass I've steered clear of red meat. Ate lots of fish, fruits, veggies and nuts. My numbers were pretty good and at least I haven't had any more heart procedures, but I still noticed a sharp rise in energy within 72 hours of going vegan. As a result, I've gone off of several of my medications and continue to feel fine without pumping so many toxic pills into my body.
Unless you're part of the food or medical community, THE CHINA STUDY will blow your mind. You owe it to yourself to read it--right away.
----Warren Jamison』
(5 Stars for The China Study) 『This book has immediate eye-opening impact. I read 3 chapters the first night and the next morning I was so convinced by the research and evidence presented by Dr. Campbell that I became an instant "vegan". Granted I was already a vegetarian but I loved eating my homemade yogurt, milk kefir, and some cheeses. You may say you have heard it all before (e.g., a diet high in fruits, vegetables and grains is the healthiest way of eating) but Dr. Campbell displays his life time of scientific research and personal experience in such a factual manner that you cannot deny the truth of it and you cannot deny the detrimental effects that eating animal products (including eggs and especially dairy) has on your body. Dr. Collin's son, Thomas M. Campbell, helps display this information in a wonderfully readable and convincing manner. I was eager to read it from cover to cover (and I highly recommend you do the same to get the full impact). I originally checked the book out of the library and half way through it I knew I wanted to own it so I purchased 3 copies from Amazon so I could have loaners for friends and family.』
(Through no fault of the sender, the item never arrived) 『After waiting for a couple of weeks for my item to arrive, I checked the package tracking. The seller had taken the item to USPS immediately following my purchase of the item, and USPS stated that it was delivered to my address two days later. After checking with my apt leasing office, the local PO, and everyone in between, I was basically informed by USPS that I have no recourse to recover my money, as according to them, the package was delivered. The seller was as helpful as could be under the circumstances, and assisted me with obtaining tracking info, as well as making suggestions for contacting local POs, etc. However, I will NEVER purchase a product that is being shipped USPS again and recommend that others don't either. The USPS was unhelpful, slow, and pretty rude. I have never had these issues with UPS or FedEx, and I order online fairly regularly (although this experience makes me hesitate to continue doing so.)』 『
The China Studyoffers conclusive evidence that a change of diet can dramatically reduce the risks of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The book is based on the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, a 20-year joint project between Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. The study surveyed the eating habits of 6,500 adults from all over China and Taiwan and found a direct correlation between diet and disease. Author T. Colin Campbell, the study’s project director, provides an intelligent, well-documented analysis of the study’s results, an analysis that explodes the most common American dietary myths. In addressing the dietary sources of the most common diseases, including cancer, Campbell unleashes a no-holds-barred attack on the commercial interests that profit by selling the American public unhealthy food. He also shows how readers can use the study’s results to change their diets and improve their health.
price：$8.40
Random House Audio
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (a great addition to baseball history) 『How much fun would it be to read an account of Cy Young sitting down and talking about the pitcher/hitter battle with Ty Cobb? Or Warren Spahn with Ted Williams? We don't have any such account, but we do have Bob Gibson talking with Reggie Jackson! This book will only grow in importance over the years.
For those of us who remember Reggie's and Bob's playing career, this is a wonderfully vivid reminder. For those who do not, it will paint a detailed portrait of who they are and show why, even among vastly talented athletes, intelligence and will power decide true excellence.
The final pages on current issues is the weakest part of the book, showing that even these guys don't have much light to shed on steroids, pitch counts or the current gut of statistics. I suppose these issues had to be discussed, in the interest of full coverage.
The battle between hitter and pitcher is the ultimate baseball battle. These two warriors share with the reader how they survived the war so long and with so many victories.』
(WORTH EVERY PENNY) 『This book may be a little too technical for the casual baseball fan, but if you know and love the game, and want to learn a little more about the nuts and bolts of pitching and hitting, this is a great read. It's not great baseball literature like Roger Angell, or the best of Roger Kahn, more of an informal conversation between two hall-of-famers and World Series greats. It's a wealth of information about how the game is played, and more importantly, how it should be played.
What makes it great is that there are a lot of fascinating anecdotes from both Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson interspersed with the technical stuff. Both men talk at some length about their early years in the game, and what they had to go through coming up as young black players in the 50's (Gibson) and 60's (Jackson). I already had great respect for Gibson, but have even more after reading this book. I wasn't as enamored of Reggie Jackson, but after reading Sixty Feet, Six Inches, I have new respect for him as well. Any serious student of baseball and baseball history would thoroughly enjoy this book.』
(Excellent training or fan manual) 『I am a casual fan. I like the game, but don't care much which team is playing.
This book is an excellent training book that gives you the inside scoop on what the pitcher is trying to do and how he does it and how the batter plans his attacks against the pitcher. Understanding their plans makes watching a game much more enjoyable.
This book should be required reading for any aspiring player. The two retired players share their thoughts about specific players in occasionally brutal detail.
I don't rate it at a five level because sometimes the two guys go on and on and on. Sometimes I wished they would just take the walk instead of repeatedly fouling off their ideas.
But overall, I strongly reccommend it to anyone who wants to more deeply understand what they are seeing during the game.』
(How Many Ways Can You Tell This Story?) 『Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson are both world-class Hall-of-Famers that need no introduction, and anything they offer on baseball is worth paying attention to - up to a point. The problem with "Sixty Feet, Six Inches," a tale of the game between the pitcher and the hitter, is that there are only so many ways to tell this story. Hitters need strength and big hands, good hand-eye coordination, good eyesight that can even read the spin on the ball, and the ability to wait out bad pitches. Pitchers need arm speed, control, and a variety of offerings. Both Gibson and Jackson agree on the importance of constant practice, that getting ahead in the count is the most important part of being a good hitter or pitcher, that it is more important to respect each other as team players than to like each other, and that the psychological aspect of the contest between pitcher and batter, though sometimes overlooked, is also important. Nothing earth-shattering there.
Nonetheless, it was still quite interesting to read Reggie's explaining how he went about achieving a psychological advantage through dictating the timing to get the pitcher out of his rhythm and sense of control, but not mad enough to get thrown at. (Gibson denies he would ever throw at a batter for psychological harassment.) Jackson would also try to intimidate the pitcher by looking at him - this, however, he admits didn't work with the best pitchers. Gibson responded that pitchers might play the same psychological game - shaking off pitches just to annoy batters, even though he did prefer to get into a timing routine and finish the game within two hours. Gibson also wouldn't talk to opposing hitters or pitch vs. National league teams in spring training - he wanted to remain a mystery.
On steroids, Jackson says he would not have used them, Gibson says 'maybe.' Both are amazed at how useful slow-motion digital films are in analyzing oneself for improvement, though not so useful for analyzing competitors. Finally, they both also agree that pitchers aren't as good as they used to be - Gibson believes it is partly due to their not getting enough practice when young. (Too many other things to do.) Lowering the mound 5 inches didn't help either. 』 『Reggie Jackson and Bob Gibson offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand America's pastime from their unique insider perspective.
Mr. October and Hoot Gibson unfortunately never faced each other on the field. But now, inSixty Feet, Six Inches, these two legends open up in fascinating detail about the game they love and how it was, is, and should be played. Their one-of-a-kind insider stories recall a who's who of baseball nobility, including Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, Billy Martin, and Joe Torre. This is an unforgettable baseball history by two of its most influential superstars.
price：$8.84
William Morrow
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (The Big Red Machine) 『Great book, couldn't put it down! The author made his work an easy read and exhibited class in telling the story. Highly recommended! Ray』
(reds history) 『Relives the team, and the series. like all reds fans we are still in awe of the resilience of the team.』
(OK for Cincy fans; The Sixth Game is far better) 『While this book contains a lot of detail for Cincinnati fans, a far deeper and better written book about the 1975 World Series is The Sixth Game by Mark Frost. Frost does a much better job of setting the series against baseball history and what was to come after 1975, especially the impact of free agency. He is also much better than Posnanski in detailing the "warts" on the players, and especially those on management.』
(1975 Revisited) 『If you followed the players of the Big Red Machine, as well as the BRM, then you will totally enjoy Posnanski's "The Machine". A great look back at what was a remarkable team, and the events of the world as we remember 1975!』
(Consumed this compelling and well written book in one sitting . . .) 『I confess I am a Cincinnati Reds follower so I may be biased, but the in-depth analysis of players' personalities was illuminating. The bad reviews of this book likely come from sour grapes Red Sox fans.』 『
There are memorable teams in baseball—and then there are utterly unforgettable teams like the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. From 1972 to 1976, the franchise known as the Big Red Machine dominated the National League, winning four division crowns, three league pennants, and two World Series titles. But their 1975 season has become the stuff of sports legend.
InThe Machine, award-winning sports columnist Joe Posnanski captures all of the passion and tension, drama and glory of this extraordinary team considered to be one of the greatest ever to take the field. Helmed by Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, the lineup for the '75 Reds is a Who's Who of baseball stars: Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, Cesar Geronimo, and Dave Concepcion. Like a well-oiled engine, the '75 Reds ended the regular season with 108 wins and finished a whopping 20 games ahead of their closest division competitor, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But that remarkable year was not without controversy. Feuds, fights, insults, and run-ins with fans were as much a part of the season as hits, runs, steals, and strikeouts. Capturing this rollicking thrill-ride of a story, Posnanski brings to vivid life the excitement, hope, and high expectations that surrounded the players from the beginning of spring training through the long summer and into a nail-biting World Series, where, in the ninth inning of the seventh game, the Big Red Machine fulfilled its destiny, defeating the Boston Red Sox 4-3.
As enthralling and entertaining as the season and players it captures,The Machineis the story of a team unlike any other in the sport's glorious history.
price：$3.91
Co.
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (All you need is cash, or Billy Bean) 『"Moneyball" captures the world of baseball from the inside -- deep inside. But it catches the sport at a critical moment, the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the old rules for picking players were about to give way to the new. In the old days, baseball scouts would watch countless young ballplayers, in high school and in college, trying to get a feel for how well they could perform years later in the big leagues. The scouts tended to rely on pitchers with scorching fast balls, fielders with fast times on the base path, and both with Adonis-like good looks. Rich teams could afford to lure these sports gods onto their overpaid rosters, giving the poorer teams few options but to scrape the bottom of the barrel and pray.
Billy Bean, manager of the Oakland As, was one of those Adonis players that the scouts thought was a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. But his temperament got the best of him, and he could never get used to being less than perfect. Washing out of the big leagues, he became a manager, but a manager with a visceral distrust of the system that had all but ruined him. Bean turned to a newly-formed gaggle of baseball statisticians like Bill James, who began to try to quantify what it was about winning teams that made them win. Interestingly, the number crunchers realized that many talented and useful players were being ignored by the rich teams for not fitting some pre-defined profile. Kevin Youklis, later known as the God of Walks, was a fat third baseman who didn't need to hit to get on base. Walks (!) for crying out loud, when everyone knew that hitting meant winning.
In "Moneyball" Michael Lewis takes us on an insider's look at the way ballplayers are selected, and on the hidden game of poaching good players from other unsuspecting managers. It's a great book that describes the group of sabermetricians (baseball statisticians) who questioned the game's stats and gave a shot to countless great players who would never been picked on looks alone. The chapter trashing batting average and RBI are worthwhile in themselves. Thank these backroom boys and girls for inserting on-base percentage and slugging percentage and other now-common metrics into the day-to-day chatter about America's pastime.
One sad part of then book is that it does not end with the glory of the As winning a World Series, somewhat undercutting the notion that money doesn't matter. Also sad is that now even rich teams have caught onto Billy Bean's little secret. And now that the cat is out of the rosin bag, the old money game goes on. At least, that is, until another Billy Bean can exploit, even for a few years, a loophole in the standard expectations of the big boys.
Great book, even if you are not a big baseball fan.』
(Brilliant) 『This is such a great book. From an Australian's perspective I've always marvelled at the level of statistical detail and analysis that goes into American sport and this is surely the ultimate example. It is incredible how a book largely about stats and a sport I don't really understand can be so incredibly interesting.
Not sure how they'll make a move about it though!』
(Great Book, but failed philosoophy) 『All the recent reviews state that they are not baseball fans. The book is well written and has a great mini-story on Bill James. One problem: The philosophy of Billy Beane hasn't come to fruition. In fact, in retrospect, it was excellent pitching that made the Oakland As contenders year after year. During Billy Beane's years as GM, correct me if I'm wrong, but they've won 1 playoff series.』
(Riveting stuff...) 『This book is a must-read for baseball fans and non-baseball fans alike. Riveting stuff. An inside look at the sports world that will change the way you look at baseball and sports generally.』
(Great for people who like statistics or baseball, in particular) 『A well written book that shows how statistic is revolutionizing the age old game of baseball. I enjoyed reading it, as it suggests other broader changes happening as more and more data becomes easily available.
For baseball fans in particular, they will enjoy reading about this fascinating change in the way the game is strategically played. Less of a baseball fan than a geek about how statistics can be deceiving, I greatly enjoyed this book as well.
What was also very interesting was the manner in which statistics, very hard to argue, was not well received. The struggle for change was against the grain. The same is true of so many things that statistics is changing.
I would mention that if you are neither into statistics or baseball, you may not greatly enjoy this book.』 『"One of the best baseball—and management—books out....Deserves a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame."—Forbes
Moneyballis a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Following the low-budget Oakland Athletics, their larger-than-life general manger, Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts, Michael Lewis has written not only "the single most influential baseball book ever" (Rob Neyer,Slate) but also what "may be the best book ever written on business" (Weekly Standard).
I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The story concerned a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it—before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games?
With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, sinceLiar's Poker. Moneyballis a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines all these possibilities—his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are alone worth the price of admission—but the real jackpot is a cache of numbers—numbers!—collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors.
What these geek numbers show—no, prove—is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base-on-balls. This information has been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind.And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.
Billy paid attention to those numbers—with the second lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal hehadto—and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted.Moneyballis a roller coaster ride: before the 2002 season opens, Oakland must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players, is written off by just about everyone, and then comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins.
In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win...how can we not cheer for David?』
『Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis'sMoneyball, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans.
Lewis was in the room with the A's top management as they spent the summer of 2002 adding and subtracting players and he provides outstanding play-by-play. In the June player draft, Beane acquired nearly every prospect he coveted (few of whom were coveted by other teams) and at the July trading deadline he engaged in a tense battle of nerves to acquire a lefty reliever. Besides being one of the most insider accounts ever written about baseball,Moneyballis populated with fascinating characters. We meet Jeremy Brown, an overweight college catcher who most teams project to be a 15th round draft pick (Beane takes him in the first). Sidearm pitcher Chad Bradford is plucked from the White Sox triple-A club to be a key set-up man and catcher Scott Hatteberg is rebuilt as a first baseman. But the most interesting character is Beane himself. A speedy athletic can't-miss prospect who somehow missed, Beane reinvents himself as a front-office guru, relying on players completely unlike, say, Billy Beane. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era (Liar's Poker,The New New Thing), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makesMoneyballan appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike.--John Moe』
price：$9.16
Doubleday
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (I knew I was going to like the book from the beginning when Torre tells of how he got into the record books.) 『Heard THE YANKEE YEARS by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci, the account of the New York Yankees from 1996-2007 . . . this was a stretch when the team made it into the playoffs twelve straight times, captured six American league pennants and four World Series titles.
I knew I was going to like the book from the beginning when Torre tells of how he got into the record books . . . when playing for the New York Mets, he grounded into a record four double plays . . . for that effort, he thanked Felix Milan (the player batting ahead of him) for making it possible because he was the one who got on base.
Yet there's very little else about Torre's earlier career, so this should not be considered a memoir . . . rather, it is a season-by-season account of what it took for Torre to lead the Yankees to the success they had over that era.
I liked hearing about inside stuff about the many players that I followed, including Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, David Cone and Marianno Rivera . . . in addition, I was impressed how the authors shared this information without slinging a lot of the dirt that had been hinted at by excerpts before the book was published.
The story of what happened after Torre's last season was particularly gripping . . . I was saddened to learn more about how he was forced out of his job by George Steinbrenner and the rest of his executive team.
By listening to THE YANKEE YEARS on CD, I received an added bonus--an interview that Verducci conducted with Torre after the book was completed.
』
(Reliving the games....but that is about it) 『As a Yankee fan it was fun reliving all those games that I remember watching. I actaully had the ability to remember my feelings of anticipation or angst or joy with each pitch. But, honestly, that is about all I got out of this book.
I may have been expecting too much with Joe Torre's name sitting atop Tom Verducci's but it is pretty obvious that this book is a rehash of the sports pages from the local newspaper with a little (very little) bit of the behind the scenes stuff thrown in. This isn't written from Joe's point of view but for a few places. If you have been a fan and followed tha yankees then there really isn't anything new here.
I gave the book three stars based partially on my love of the team and the feelings from reliving the excitement. I would enjoy almost any book on the yankees and therefore am biased (an fully admit it). But I just expected more from this one.』
(Sports And Leadership) 『I will start this review off by saying that I am not a big sports fan, or Yankees fan for that matter. I was vaguely familiar with Joe Torre prior to reading this book, however that has changed upon finishing. This is a great book for baseball fans, especially Yankee fans. I really enjoyed the discussions on leadership and how Joe Torre handled difficult situations that arose with both the team and his superiors. He basically exposed the good, bad, and ugly of managing the team and just put it all out there. Definitely worth a read.』
(A Nice Flashback!) 『I would say that this book is great for any Yankees/Baseball fans out there who really followed the Joe Torre Yankees during those years. It's funny how reading some of the poignant moments in this book, I remembered them vividly like they were just yesterday. It gives great insight on the Steinbrenner Torre relationship and how it began to resemble the Bill Martin days in the end. Winning is really everything in NY and Joe and Tom really make that the ultimate understanding in this read. There is also alot of insightful information on the steroid era and other players during those years that you may not have known about. Definitely worth reading and adding to a great collection of baseball books!』
(The End Of A Dynasty Chronicled By Its Leader) 『A few years ago, I was enthralled by Buster Olney's book "The Last Night of The Yankee Dynasty" for its ability to get to the heart of those 1996-2001 New York Yankee teams and understand both what made them tick, and eventually what caused their decline. "The Yankee Years" embarks on a similar task and actually eclipses that earlier effort due to the combination of Joe Torre's inside insight and Tom Verducci's captivating writing.
Basically, this book picks up on the day that Torre is introduced (to boos, of course) as manager of the New York Yankees before the 1996 season and continues until his dismissal following the 2007 season (in which he led the Yankees to a first-place finish). Over that span of time, Torre describes in detail each of those seasons, including what went right, what went wrong, and how he handled both of those issues.
What is easily the most interesting part of the book, though, are Torre's musings about how the Yankees changed after the 2001 season. Whereas the Yankees of the late 90s and early 2000s were built on home-grown talent (Jeter, Rivera, Posada) and ego-less players (Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, David Cone) who would do anything for a victory, that Luis Gonzalez blooper in the '01 World Series seemed to change everything, as Boss George Steinbrenner embarked on a spending spree the likes of which had never before been seen in baseball history. Each offseason, the Yankees would go out and buy the best player available, putting together an All-Star team of sorts that, on paper, looked pretty much unbeatable. Yet, as Torre points out time and time again within the text, that approach ultimately lead to the demise of one of the great dynasties in professional baseball. Sure, the Yankees bought enough talent to keep themselves in contention and make the playoffs, but by ignoring the "little things" like deep pitching, solid defense, and team unity, the Yankees have never been able to duplicate the success of that 1996-2001 run.
Of course, when a person (like Torre does) expresses an opinion that a failure has occurred, there are always going to be people to "blame". Being the gentleman that he is, however, Torre does not turn the book into a tell-all rag or a figure-pointing memoir. Does he have some harsh words for Steinbrenner, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, and the entire Yankee organization? At times, yes. However, he does not take pot-shots at them and backs up his claims with personal stories. It seems as if he was just "telling it like it was", and sometimes the truth can be very uncomfortable for those involved.
Thus, I think that perhaps the real success of "The Yankee Years" is its ability to de-bunk the notion that the Yankees have always been just an Evil Empire. Though I hated the Yanks with a passion back in their "glory years" a century ago, and railed against the big-market strategy they stood for, I have now come to realize that, at least those teams, were built on the fundamentals of winning baseball and really cannot be criticized. Only in more recent years, when the Yankees started buying up the rest of the league's talent, did the real trouble begin, and it took the inside knowledge of Joe Torre to shed light on that fact.』 『
Twelve straight playoff appearances. Six American League pennants. Four World Series titles. This is the definitive story of a dynasty: the Yankee years
When Joe Torre took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996, the most storied franchise in sports had not won a World Series title in eighteen years. The famously tough and mercurial owner, George Steinbrenner, had fired seventeen managers during that span. Torre’s appointment was greeted with Bronx cheers from the notoriously brutal New York media, who cited his record as the player and manager who had been in the most Major League games without appearing in a World Series
Twelve tumultuous and triumphant years later, Torre left the team as the most beloved and successful manager in the game. In an era of multimillionaire free agents, fractured clubhouses, revenue-sharing, and off-the-field scandals, Torre forged a team ethos that united his players and made the Yankees, once again, the greatest team in sports. He won over the media with his honesty and class, and was beloved by the fans.
But it wasn’t easy.
Here, for the first time, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci take us inside the dugout, the clubhouse, and the front office in a revelatory narrative that shows what it really took to keep the Yankees on top of the baseball world. The high-priced ace who broke down in tears and refused to go back to the mound in the middle of a game. Constant meddling from Yankee executives, many of whom were jealous of Torre’s popularity. The tension that developed between the old guard and the free agents brought in by management. The impact of revenue-sharing and new scouting techniques, which allowed other teams to challenge the Yankees’ dominance. The players who couldn’t resist the after-hours temptations ofthe Big Apple. The joys of managing Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and the challenges of managing Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. Torre’s last year, when constant ultimatums from the front office, devastating injuries, and a freak cloud of bugs on a warm September night in Cleveland forced himfrom a job he loved.
Through it all, Torre kept his calm, kept his players’ respect, and kept winning.
And, of course,The Yankee Yearschronicles the amazing stories on the diamond. The stirring comeback in the 1996 World Series against the heavily favored Braves. The wonder of 1998, when Torre led the Yanks to the most wins in Major League history. The draining and emotional drama of the 2001 World Series. The incredible twists and turns of the epic Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox, in which two teams who truly despised each other battled pitch by pitch until the stunning extra-inning home run.
Here is a sweeping narrative of Major League Baseball in the Yankee era, a book both grand in its scope and fascinating in its details.
price：$6.75
Hyperion
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Quite disappointing) 『Subtitle this one "Mark Jumps the Shark." Frost, the author of a couple of outstanding books on golf history -- one of which was made into a not-so-bad Disney feature film -- trades in his clubs and tees for a Louisville Slugger and promptly waves and misses at what should have been an eminently hittable pitch. In telling the story of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series between Cincinnati and Boston, Frost piles the background details high, but he makes an unfortunate mistake by interweaving much of this material around a pitch-by-pitch recounting of the classic game. The result is a cluttered, half-gaited narrative that only occasionally excites real interest. The long coda detailing the fates of the Reds and Red Sox provides an opportunity for Frost to air his views on what's become of the national pastime since Carlton Fisk's famous homer clanged off the Fenway Park foul pole, and the going gets tedious fairly quickly. Peter Gammons' BEYOND THE SIXTH GAME, though much less ambitious, is a much better read.』
(Six stars!!!) 『This is a fine description of the wonderful 1975 series, but it is far more. It places the series in the context of baseball and series history, and also shows how baseball changed after 1975 with the advent of free agency and bonehead actions by management (and some players). A great read and very profound, compared to the usual sports writing to which we are subjected.』
(GAME 6 - HISTORICAL REVIEW) 『Book arrive ahead of promised date. this is a great review of the events leading up to the game that many describe the best ever played in baseball and the greatest world series ever played. A must read for every baseball fan.』
(A great overview of one of baseball's finest moments!) 『Game Six of the 1975 World Series has joined the elite of sports history like "The Ice Bowl" and the 5th down. It is just one of those events where when you hear about it, you know right away what the subject is. Mark Frost does a tremendous job of describing the event and most of all, framing it in the context of not only baseball history, but the social changes happening in America at the time. He does a great job of balancing baseball with history without losing sight on the fact he's writing about baseball.
Most importantly, he keeps the focus on those who were playing the game and we learn the background of each player from the famous, Bench, Morgan, Yaz and Perez, to the colorful, Tiant&Lee to the obscure, Geronimo&Doyle to the now infamous, with Pete Rose. He retells the well told story of both game 6 and the 1975 Series, yet does a great job of making it all seem fresh. Most importantly he tells the story of what happened to both teams and players after the game and how so many great players missed out on the riches of free agency, which came to pass a few days after the end of the series. All in all this is a very good book and I recommend it to all baseball fans. But fans of the Red Sox and Reds will enjoy it the most. Lets be honest!』
(Good narrative) 『One of the first things that stood out in "Game Six" for this reader was the final sentence in an early chapter where the author mentions an increase in the number of people who claimed to be in attendance by twenty times. Having been a college senior who actually WAS at the game, this doesn't surprise me at all. What is good about Mark Frost's book is that he builds the tension nicely and in the meantime reminds those of us who are old enough to remember, the key players on both rosters. One great memory for me after that game was the hundreds of Bostonians singing "Roll Out the Barrel" as people poured from Fenway Park.
"Game Six" begins with a look at George "Sparky" Anderson, the indefatigable Reds' manager... and indeed, Anderson becomes the focal point of the book. But the side stories are appropriate to revisit. The whole episode of Luis Tiant's mother and father coming from Cuba, the alcohol problems of Bernie Carbo and his manager, Darrell Johnson, the effervescence of Pete Rose and the heroics of Carlton Fisk, all serve as a walk down memory lane. Frost spends time discussing the reserve clause and its importance to baseball in 1975, which is a necessary addition, excellently explained.
Finishing up, the author has a lengthy "afterward" regarding the players and staff of each team. This is a terrific way to wrap up a crisp and poignant book about "Game Six" of the 1975 World Series. I highly recommend it.』 『Boston, Tuesday, October 21, 1975. The Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds have endured an excruciating three-day rain delay. Tonight, at last, they will play Game Six of the World Series. Leading three games to two, Cincinnati hopes to win it all; Boston is desperate to stay alive. But for all the anticipation, nobody could have predicted what a classic it would turn out to be: an extra-innings thriller, created by one of the Big Red Machine's patented comebacks and the Red Sox's improbable late-inning rally; clutch hitting, heart-stopping defensive plays, and more twists and turns than a Grand Prix circuit, climaxed by one of the most famous home runs in baseball history that ended it in the twelfth.
Here are all the inside stories of some of that era's biggest names in sports: Johnny Bench, Luis Tiant, Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski-eight Hall of Famers in all-as well as sportscasters and network execs, cameramen, umpires, groundskeepers, politicians, and fans who gathered in Fenway that extraordinary night.
Game Sixis an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at what is considered by many to be the greatest baseball game ever played--remarkable also because it was about so much more than just balls and strikes. This World Series marked the end of an era; baseball's reserve clause was about to be struck down, giving way to the birth of free agency, a watershed moment that changed American sports forever. In bestselling author Mark Frost's talented hands, the historical significance of Game Six becomes every bit as engrossing as its compelling human drama.
Praise forThe Match
"Mark Frost, author of one of the sport's all-time great books, The Greatest Game Ever Played, produces another wonderful telling of a true tale . . . in The Match." --Chicago Tribune
"Frost captures an elusive magic in this improbable matchup and what it meant for those who played and witnessed it." --Publishers Weekly
"It's difficult to beat a good golf book, be it a good yarn or a picture book . . . The golf is spectacular, the course more so, the descriptions luminous." --USA Today』
price：$7.66
ACTA Publications
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Best stats on the market) 『 This book is filled with statistics of every MLB player as well as analysis of what those stats really mean and stats are often severely misunderstood by fans and baseball managers as well as General Managers. Some of the stats covered are; Career data for every 2009 major leaguer (and a few bonus players) in more statistical categories than any other book Exclusive! Fielding Bible Awards, Manufactured Runs Analysis, Player Win Shares, Updated Park Indices (including the New Yankee Stadium and Citi Field), Pinch Hitting Analysis Instant Replay History, Manager's Records, Base running Analysis, Young Talent Inventory, Hitter Projections, Pitcher Projections, and Team Efficiency Summary
Patrick Lagreid, a reviewer here, gives an excellent review and analysis of the goals and intent of the Statistician Bill James. I love stats and no one creates more applicable stats than BJ. To quote Patrick Lagreid, "...and the result is a smarter and more educated fan," but those of us who love stats and logic, know that it is not the fans, but the managers and GM's, which, unfortunately appear, and fairly often, in the realm of the unenlightened. There is nothing more frustrating than a MGR whose knowledge and application of stats is incredibly naïve'. Moreover it is incredibly annoying to hear radio and TV, "Color-Men" spouting ideas that are primitive and incredibly stupid. Bill James puts them where they belong, out in far right field, far out of the ballpark.
It was probably Bill James math and theoretical team building stats and their hiring of him, which brought the Boston Red Sox out of their 86-year prehistoric cave and into reality.
George William, "Bill" James has been credited by the Boston Red Sox organization with assisted bringing them to their to the team's first World Series championship in 86 years, including the trade for ex-Cub, Mark Bellhorn and the signing of free agent David Ortiz, and the team's focus on on-base percentage. Bill James has received two World Series rings for the team's 2004 and 2007 victories. If you love baseball, are a logical open-minded person with a good head on your shoulders and love unusual but highly applicable stats, this is the book for you. 』
(Bill James - Baseball Handbook) 『Very nice. All the information that you want on every player. Nicely organized, information is easy to find. My only complaint is that the print is a little small and I have to get my reading glasses to read it. 』
(Good, but alas, not The Baseball Register) 『I was heart broken when The Sporting News discontinued their brilliant annual release of The Baseball Register. Purchasing it had become a right of spring, a signal that winter would soon be over. The Bill James Handbook fills the same purpose. This is a book you keep by your chair as you watch baseball. When you see a player you want to know more about, the book is within arms reach to tell you everything you want to know. The only thing lacking in the Handbook is the minor league careers of the players. It was always cool to see how they had come up through the minors, and that information will be missed. Otherwise, this book serves it's purpose well. I would highly recommend it for those missing their Baseball Register.』
(Solid, comprehensive statistical analysis) 『Typical Bill James...solid, statistical analysis of baseball, its players and the critical factors that make the difference between winning and losing ...if you are the least bit quantitative and have an interest in baseball, this is a must buy! ...very comprehensive.』
(Good for statheads) 『This is a good reference for stat heads or anyone who likes to have stats at hand.』 『Every year, thousands of avid baseball fans eagerly awaitThe Bill James Handbookthe best and most complete annual baseball guide available. Full of exclusive stats, this book is the most comprehensive resource of every hit, pitch and catch in Major League Baseball's 2009 season.
Key features include:
Exclusive!Fielding Bible Awards
NewInstant Replay History
NewPinch Hitting Analysis
UpdatedPark Indices (including the New Yankee Stadium and Citi Field)
Manufactured Runs Analysis
Young Talent Inventory
Manager's Record
Baserunning Analysis
Career data for every 2009 major leaguer (and a few bonus players) with more statistical categories than any other book
price：$8.48
NAL Hardcover
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (GREAT READ) 『THIS IS BY NO DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST SPORT BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. EACH CHAPTER IS A MINI-BIOGRAPHY OF ONE OF THE PLAYERS ON THE BROOKLYN DODGERS OR NEW YORK YANKEES IN THE 1955 WORLD SERIES, MANY OF WHOM ARE NOW ENSHRINED IN THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. THE WAY THAT EVERY AT BAT IS DESCRIBED AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER ALMOST ADDED SUSPENSE EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW THAT NONE OF THE DODGERS REACHED FIRST BASE. I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED THE EPILOGUE WHERE THE AUTHOR TELLS YOU WHERE EACH PLAYER IS NOW AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE SINCE THE GAME. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO PEOPLE OF MY AGE WHO REMEMBER THE GAME AND TO YOUNG SPORTS FANS WHO CAN APPRECIATE WHAT DON LARSEN ACCOMPLISHED.』
(Best Baseball book of 2009: Writing + Research) 『I know this is a beautifully researched book -- I'm in the middle of producing a bio of one of players around whom Lew Paper's built his lovely "Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen", so I know how deep he's gone into his subject and how well he's selected from the available record.
His meticulous research brings to the surface a flotilla of interesting stories about the actors on the stage of this once-in-a-century event. His writing is even better.
I planned on reading this book to extract specific information, but I've ended up reading it cover the cover pretty much non-stop. It's a treat to read, and a book I'll keep for my zero-sum baseball library.
"Perfect" is easily the best baseball book of the year.』
(Absolute 'MUST READ' for any avid sports fan.) 『Lew Paper takes us on a truly memorable journey through one of the golden eras of baseball. He briefly opens a lens into the lives many baseball legends such as Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra just to name a few. Unless you have read biographies on each of these 18 men you are bound to learn some interesting things you didn't know. Paper's prologue of each player's life prior to the game, the player's contribution (or lack thereof) in the game itself and finally, their life after the Pefect Game makes this book special.
We forget how starkly different professional sports were in the middle of the last century. Many of these players came from backgrounds that were beyond humble. Some worked second jobs to support their baseball habit. And to a man, they loved the game.
You don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book. You'll recognize many of the names, you'll empathize with their lives and you should be thoroughly entertained.』
(Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game And The Men Who Made It Happen) 『I have to confess that, when I first glanced at a copy of Lew Paper's "Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen," my first reaction was "I'm not sure if I'm going to like this...after all...what haven't we heard about this game already?" But, I decided to read the book, nonetheless. And, now, I can share that I was very happy to make that call to give it a try.
"Perfect" is a wonderful book. It's more than just a recap of Larsen's perfecto - it's the life stories of 19 New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers players who took part in that contest. And, Lew Paper did an excellent job at telling these stories - they are well sourced, informative, and entertaining.
Whether you're someone who remembers that era of baseball or one of the two generations of baseball fans who have come along since, you will enjoy this book. It's a great read for any baseball fan and a must read for the "New York" baseball fan.
If Don Larsen's World Series perfect game were a box of Cracker Jack, then the players who appeared in it would be the molasses-covered popcorn treats inside and Lew Paper's new book is now the special prize that comes along with it. I highly recommend Lew Paper's "Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen." 』
(Unique look at the best game ever) 『Even after 54 years, Don Larsen's perfecto is the greatest game ever pitched. It was the first perfect game in the majors in 34 years and was done in a full Yankee Stadium against the Boys of Summer Brooklyn Dodgers, with a national TV audience. Pressure?
Lew Paper has given us a special take on this magical sports moment. He's broken down the game by bringing forth the 19 players who appeared in the box score - the most historic game any of them were ever in. They were all just passing through on their way to the Baseball Encyclopedia (some to the Hall of Fame), but on this day, they were part of baseball lore. And now, baseball literature.
Beautifully presented, this is a wonderful look at some superstars and some journeymen who all converged together to witness history. We know a lot about Yogi and Jackie, Campy and Mickey, but the supporting cast represent some of the most interesting baseball lives of their era.
Lew interviewed the living players or family members of the deceased ones and has given us a book that offers a new way to tell the story of a single game. Like Dan Okrent's classic "Nine Innings," this book will take its place as baseball literature. A terrific read!
』 『On October 8, 1956, New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen took the mound for Game 5 of the World Series against the rival Brooklyn Dodgers. In an improbable performance that the New York Times called the greatest moment in the history of the Fall Classic, Larsen, an otherwise mediocre journeyman pitcher, retired twenty-seven straight Dodger batters to clinch a perfect game and, to date, the only post-season no-hitter ever witnessed in major league baseball.
Here, Lew Paper delivers a masterful pitch-by-pitch account of that fateful day and the extraordinary lives of the players on the field-seven of whom would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Meticulously researched and relying on dozens of interviews, Paper's gripping narrative recreates Larsen's feat in a pitching duel that featured legendary figures like Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra, and Roy Campanella.
More than just the story of a single game,Perfectis a window into baseball-s glorious past.』 『
Product Description
Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers remains the only no-hit game in World Series history and was described byThe New York Timesas "the greatest moment" in World Series history.
Drawing upon oral histories, contemporaneous articles, and dozens of interviews with commentators and players (including all of the surviving players for the Dodgers and Yankees), Lew Paper brings that extraordinary event to life with a pitch-by-pitch narrative that incorporates profiles of the 19 players who were on the field that day, including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, and Roy Campanella. You will understand their backgrounds, their hopes, and their heartaches - and, most important, share the incredible tension they experienced on that unforgettable day in Yankee Stadium.
More than just a story about a single game,Perfectis a window into baseball's glorious past.
Amazon Exclusive: Lew Paper on Don Larsen's Perfect World Series Game (and Why It Will Never Be Repeated)
October 8 represented another anniversary of Don Larsen's perfect game in the fifth game of the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers– to date the only no-hit game (let alone perfect game) in more than one hundred years of the Fall Classic. There is of course a possibility that another pitcher will hurl a no-hit game – and perhaps even a perfect game – in the World Series. But it will never duplicate the dramaof Larsen's feat.
Yankee first baseman Joe Collins– who had ten seasons with the club – told his son afterwards that it "was the most intense game he ever played in." Yankee right-fielder Hank Bauer – an 8-year veteran and an ex-marine who had survived Okinawa and other World War II battles in the Pacific theater – shared Collins' perspective and, when Dodger outfielder Carl Furillo stepped into the batter's box in the top of the ninth inning, kept saying to himself, "Don't hit the ball to me. Whatever you do, don't hit it to me." Even the great Mickey Mantle was a captive of the moment. "I played in more than 2,400 games in the major leagues," Mantle later said, "but I never was as nervous as I was in the ninth inning of that game, afraid that I would do something to mess up Larsen's perfect game."
But far more was at stake for the Yankees than Larsen's individual success. "We were thinking about winning the damn game," remembered third baseman Andy Carey. And for good reason. This was not just any World Series. The Yankees and Dodgers were locked in a long-time rivalry (with the teams confronting each other in six series over the course of ten years) that has no counterpart in today's baseball. And so the Yankees were especially eager– if not desperate – to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Dodgers in the 1955 series. A victory with Larsen would give them a 3-2 edge in games when the teams returned to Ebbets Field for the sixth and, if necessary, seventh games – where the Dodgers would enjoy the home field advantage.
Neither team could make any assumptions about the outcome of that fifth game– not even when the Dodgers were down to their last out in the ninth inning. The Dodgers were only losing by a score of 2-0, and, as they circulated in the dugout, they kept telling themselves, we can beat this guy. All we have to do is get someone on base. After all, in the post-World War II era, they had been the victims of only one no-hitter, and they could not believe it would happen to them again in a World Series. Dale Mitchell – pinch-hitting for Dodger pitcher Sal Maglie in the bottom of the ninth – shared that view. "We were so close," he later said, "that we really felt we were going to win it."
None of the Yankees could discount the Dodgers' likelihood of success at that point. They all knew about former Yankee pitcher Bill Bevens. He had taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a 1947 series game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Still, the Yankees only had a 2-1 lead (because Bevens had walked ten batters, and one of them had scored). Bevens was able to get two outs in the ninth inning and needed only one more out to walk off the mound in glory. But Cookie Lavagetto, the Dodger pinch-hitter, slammed a double against the right field wall to drive in two men on base (the beneficiaries of walks) and turned a near-miraculous pitching performance into a tragic defeat.
Yogi Berra was the catcher in that 1947 game, and the experience loomed large in his mind when Dale Mitchell came to bat with two outs in the top of the ninth inning of the fifth game of the 1956 World Series. The Dodgers may have had only one out left, but Berra remembered thinking, "Anything can happen." And so Yogi too was more focused on winning the game than preserving Larsen's place in baseball history. "I wanted to win the game," he later said. "That's what I wanted to do."
Victory, however, was not a goal in and of itself. The money mattered as well. Some of the players (like Mantle and Berra) had substantial salaries. But in those days, most of the players had little if no bargaining power, and for them, the World Series check represented a substantial portion of their annual compensation. The players' share of the series earnings has grown substantially over the years ($351,504 for the winning Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 versus $8715 for the 1956 victors), but, in this era of free agency, the extra money means far less to the players today than it did in 1956. Indeed, the need– and expectation – of those extra dollars was a vehicle for the veterans to exhort better performances from the rookies. ("Don't mess with my money," Bauer would invariably tell them.)
Pitching a no-hitter in any World Series game would be a monumental achievement, but Don Larsen had to confront all of these additional pressures– and he did so without any advance notice of his pitching assignment. He had faltered in his start of the second game of the World Series by giving up a hit and four walks before the second inning had concluded. Yankee manager Casey Stengel had sent Larsen to the showers after thefourth walk, and Larsen assumed (like his teammates) that he would not be getting another starting assignment in the 1956 series.
He found out otherwise when he walked into the clubhouse on the morning of the fifth game. Under a Yankee tradition, third base coach Frank Crosetti would place a ball in the shoe of the starting pitcher, and Larsen saw the ball in his shoe when he sauntered over to his locker– thinking that he would be spending the game on the bench or in the bullpen. Pitcher Bob Turley, whose locker adjoined Larsen's, saw his teammate stare at the ball and gulp.
He may have been surprised, but, as time would show, Larsen was not intimidated. And so, when Dale Mitchell was called out on strikes for the last out, the Yankee pitcher could retreat to the security of the Yankee clubhouse and an immortal place in baseball history– although it escaped the grasp of at least one sportswriter at the scene, who, amidst the boisterous celebration, confronted Stengel with an important question: "Is that the best game he ever pitched?" We all know the answer to that one.
price：$9.16
Doubleday
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (First Fall Classic) 『Pretty good capture of the Series that year and of the time itself. Note that I am a Red Sox fan for all my life (50 years plus)』
(I Felt Like I was Brought Back In Time to the Year 1912) 『Baseball has a fascinating history and author Mike Vaccaro brings the reader of his book back to what he calls "The First Fall Classic." The title meaning that this World Series (upper case) was the first one to really be considered a classic. In addition to bringing us a game-by-game description of the eight games (one was a tie) we are told about other important events taking place in the country at the time the games were taking place, namely the trial of officer Charles Becker for his arranged hit on Herman Rosenthal by a trio of gangsters with colorful monikers and the assassination attempt of Bull Moose candidate for president Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Author Vaccaro does a wonderful job in capturing the personalities of the participants of the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants. What a cast of characters! Names such as Christy Mathewson, Rube Marquard, Chief Meyers, Buck Herzog, Fred Merkle, Jeff Tesreau, Fred Snodgrass, Tris Speaker, Smokey Joe Wood, Harry Hooper, Duffy Lewis, and managers John McGraw and Jake Stahl. The Royal Rooters led by John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and Michael "Nuf Ced" McGreevy serenade the fans and players with rousing renditions of "Tessie."
John McGraw is well known for his abrasive personality on the ball field, and for his intolerance for mental errors. However, not only was McGraw forgiving of the Merkle incident of 1908 and the Snodgrass "muff" in 1912, he raised their salary for the following year. Snodgrass took his dropped fly ball very hard, but you win as a team and you lose as a team. In addition to making a tremendous catch on the next batter, a dropped pop fly along the first base line that Merkle could have caught, but pitcher Mathewson called for catcher Meyers to catch. The ball would have been an easier play for Matty to catch than Meyers.
Dissension among the Red Sox takes place as Bosox owner James McAleer pressures manager Stahl to pitch a nondescript hurler in game six in New York presumably to coax a game seven in Fenway Park to add to his coffers. All is forgiven with the outcome of the Series favorable to Boston. I have to wonder if the reaction among the Red Sox would have been the same had the Giants prevailed instead.
I did find what I believe to be an error on page 123 the author may want to check up on. The sixth line from the top has Josh Devore being quoted describing a fantastic catch he made and the name of the umpire "Evans" is used instead following the quote.
I find baseball history to be fascinating to read about, and this book gave me a feeling of "You Are There" just like the old television show.
』
(Despite some errors of fact, a very good read) 『Vaccaro, a columnist for the NEW YORK POST, has written a real gem of an historical baseball tome here -- a gem not without hairline cracks, certainly, but one that entertainingly and (for the most part) accurately portrays the events surrounding the 1912 World Series, which was indeed, as the title claims, the first truly great Fall Classic. Up until 1912, there had been relatively few truly memorable World Series and only one (that of 1909) that had gone the limit of seven games. The match between the New York Giants and the Boston Red Sox "maxed out" and then some, with one tied game being called due to darkness and the eighth and final contest extending into extra innings. If that weren't enough, the eighth game featured a "strike" of sorts by a segment of Red Sox fans -- which, even then, were notoriously loyal -- and the final decision turned upon several of the most famous "boners" in World Series history.
In his HISTORICAL BASEBALL ABSTRACT, Bill James notes that the major-league teams of the 1910s were as diverse a collection of individuals (excepting skin color, of course) as have ever played big-league ball. Teams were potpourris of the educated and illiterate, the gentlemanly and the borderline-criminal, and sometimes the mixture curdled into something ugly. The Red Sox were split between Irish Catholics and Protestant/Masons, while the Giants, led by manager John McGraw, the most notorious of hard-ass skippers, had on their roster Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson, a college graduate and famously straight arrow, and a couple of guys who hated McGraw's guts but wouldn't have wanted to play for any other manager. The Giants, despite not having won a championship in seven years prior to 1912, were every bit as arrogant as any modern New York team, while the speedy Red Sox gloried in the exploits of hard-throwing young pitcher Smoky Joe Wood and the antics of "The Royal Rooters," a pack of peripatetic, well-organized fans led by Boston Mayor John Fitzgerald, JFK's grandfather. Throw in the natural rivalry between New York and Boston -- not to mention hard feelings stemming from the Giants' refusal to play the Red Sox in a postseason series in 1904, the year before the "true" World Series began -- and you have a match-up that dwarfed even a dramatic Presidential race and a sensational trial involving corrupt NYC policeman Charles Becker in the popular press.
I won't give away specifics about the Series, but I will say that, despite several misspellings and errors of fact, Vaccaro gets the background details right. Ordinary citizens who couldn't get to the ball park followed the games in "virtual" fashion by means of scoreboards such as the one above. Vaccaro gives authentic voice to them, as well as to the players and other principals. He is especially good at detailing the sinister inroads that dishonesty had begun to make into the game by this time. Aside from describing the pervasive gambling in and around the ballparks, Vaccaro posits a conversation between Red Sox manager Jake Stahl and team owner James McAleer in which the latter "suggests" that the former refrain from using Wood, the Sox' best pitcher, in one game in New York with the Sox holding a "safe" 3-1 Series lead. The unspoken reason: to have a better chance of filling the stands for one final game in brand-new Fenway Park. I've never heard this story told anywhere else. I am, however, familiar with the "fan walkout" occasioned by the Sox management's foolish decision to sell the Royal Rooters' tickets out from under them, a gaffe which led to the deciding game drawing only a fraction of capacity.
Anyone interested in baseball history should enjoy this book. Among the books I've read regarding this era in baseball, only THE UNFORGETTABLE SEASON, G.H. Fleming's clippings book about the 1908 NL race, clearly surpasses it.
』 『Acclaimed author Mike Vaccaro presents a riveting, must-read account of what remains, nearly a century later, the greatest World Series ever played.
In October of 1912, seven years before gambling nearly destroyed the sport, the world of baseball got lucky. It would get two teams-the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants, winners of a combined 208 games during the regular season-who may well have been the two finest ball clubs ever assembled to that point. Most importantly, during the course of eight games spanning nine days in that marvelous baseball autumn, they would elevate the World Series from a regional October novelty to a national obsession. The games would fight for space on the front pages of the nation's newspapers, battling both an assassin's bullet and the most sensational trial of the young century, with the Series often carrying the day and earning the“wood.”
InThe First Fall Classic, veteran sports journalist and author Mike Vaccaro brings to life a bygone era in cinematic and intimate detail-and gives fans a wonderful page-turner that re-creates the magic and suspense of the world's firstgreatseries.』
price：$5.12
Ballantine Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Awesome) 『As a Red Sox, this book was everything that I needed looking forward to next season. Bill Simmons has a great insight and experience dealing with Boston sports and that was apparent in his book.』
(You'll laugh out loud) 『If you aren't acquainted with Bill Simmons get ready for a treat. This book is an excellent read about the intersection of sports, pop culture, die-hard fandom, and how to embrace said fandom even if your team routinely rips your heart out.
I guarantee you will laugh out loud repeatedly and find yourself in tears (from laughing) at least a couple of times.』
(great read) 『I have always enjoyed the writing of Bill Simmons. He is witty, intelligent, and very readable. This book was very delightful to read. I finished it in three days...and I'm not even a Red Sox or Yankee fan. It is a good read for any baseball fan....』
(Boston Red Sox Love Fest) 『I am a big Boston Sports Guy (BSG)fan. I've loved the book even though I'm a die hard Yankees and Dolphins fan (two of BSG's most hated teams). The book came in great condition and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another book or anything else from Amazon.』
(Following the Bible's Format) 『Following the 2004 season, The Sports Guy wrote the best of the many books about the Red Sox championship run. In preparation for opening day of 2009, he has revised it to include 100 pages of updated columns.
Simmons starts the new section with an analysis of how Sox fans confronted a new and uncursed existence. He asks "What happens when your identity gets stripped away, when you get the chance to start from scratch?" He follows this with: a comparison of Larry Bird and Big Papi, coverage of the Dice-K acquisition, the 2007 championship, the Rocket and the Roids, a defense of Manny being Manny and the 2008 loss to the Rays. Through it all, Simmons writing is more about what it is to be a fan than it is about the team or the game.
If you strip away the occassionally on target pop culture references and the more accurately directed humor, this book is the story of the love affair of Simmons, his family and his city for a team. (Part of that sentence is stolen from Ken Coleman's 1967 Impossible Dream narration.) The Sports Guy proudly wears his passion on his sleeve: "I think like a fan, write like a fan and try like hell to keep it that way." It is a lifelong relationship: "You love sports most when you are 16, then you love it a little less every year."
Reading these columns, another diehard instinctively feels an affinity for Simmons and appreciates his commitment, knowledge and intermittant suffering. This is made easier because the author often recognizes when he has stepped across the line that separates the healthfully obsessed from the not quite well (One of his footnotes points out, "This paragraph made me sound like an a**hole.") He doesn't always know when he is wandering on the borderline of the geek but that lack of concern and authenticity is part of his charm. He is, above all else, one of us.
In The Natural, Robert Redford's Roy Hobbs character asks the sportswriter played by Robert Duvall if he ever played the game. The answer: "No. But I made it more fun to watch." So does Simmons. (This is my attempt at pop culture relevance.) In the 70s and 80s, I didn't consider a Sox season over until I had read what Roger Angell and Peter Gammons wrote about it. That mantle has passed to Simmons. And, apparently, he is not going to disappoint. His plan is to "re-release this book with more chapters every few years, kinda like what God did with the bible."
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