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Book

Why we love baseball : a history in 50 moments

Call Number

  • 796.357 P8558.1 (CEN, OSH)

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Publication Information

[New York] : Dutton, [2023]

Physical Description

xxii, 377 pages ; 24 cm

Summary

"Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays's catch, Babe Ruth's called shot, and Kirk Gibson's limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters. But these are also moments raw with the humanity of the game, the unheralded heroes, the mesmerizing mistakes drenched in pine tar, and every story, from the immortal to the obscure, is told from a unique perspective. Whether of a real fan who witnessed it, or the pitcher who gave up the home run, the umpire, the coach, the opposing player--these are fresh takes on moments so powerful they almost feel like myth"--

Notes

Includes index.

Contents

  • Introduction
  • Five unlikely homers
  • No. 50: The real Duane Kuiper
  • No. 49: Kerry and the bleacher bums
  • No. 48: A knuckleball story
  • No. 47: The double
  • No. 46: Pedro: "As unhittable as you can be"
  • Five trick plays
  • No. 45: The grand illusion
  • No. 44: Here comes Bream!
  • No. 43: Two Clemente throws
  • No. 42: The embrace
  • No. 41: Ponderous Joe goes deep
  • Five meltdowns
  • No. 40: The pine tar homer
  • No. 39: Striking out Sadaharu Oh
  • No. 38: "No way I was coming out"
  • No. 37: The Bo throw
  • No. 36: Nolan and the table leg
  • Five loud home runs
  • No. 35: The bat flip
  • No. 34: Shohei
  • No. 33: Jackie and Yogi
  • No. 32: Perfection
  • No. 31: Harvey Haddix loses
  • Five barehanded plays
  • No. 30: Ozzie becomes the wizard
  • No. 29: Touch 'em all, Joe
  • No. 28: Jackie Mitchell whiffs the Babe
  • Five pitching oddities
  • No. 27: Ron Necciai strikes out
  • No. 26: Alexander strikes out Lazzeri
  • Five funny things
  • No. 25: Ball conks off Canseco's head
  • No. 24: Mr. October
  • No. 23: Mr. November
  • No. 22: David Freese lives his best life
  • No. 21: Dottie drops the ball
  • Five heartstrings
  • No. 20: John McDonald homers on Father's Day
  • No. 19: Joe goes shoeless
  • No. 18: Pete Rose catches Cobb
  • No. 17: "Waving at the ball like a madman"
  • No. 16: The shot heard round the world
  • No. 15: The Babe hits
  • No. 14: Ted Williams hits
  • Five blunders
  • No. 13: Buckner
  • No. 12: DiMaggio's streak almost ends
  • No. 11: Don Larsen's perfect game
  • Five duels
  • No. 10: Satch vs. Josh
  • No. 9: Mazeroski
  • No. 8: Cal Ripken passes Gehrig
  • No. 7: Roberts steals second (and others)
  • No. 6: Babe's called shot(s)
  • Five catches
  • No. 5: The catch
  • No. 4: "I don't believe what I just saw!"
  • No. 3: The rain delay speech
  • No. 2: Jackie and Larry and...
  • A moment for every team
  • No. 1: A new home run champion of all time
  • Epilogue.

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