Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era That Transformed Baseball [Hardcover]

Phil Pepe (Author), Bucky Dent (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

In Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank sportswriter Phil Pepe talks to the stars of the day about their fondest memeories and their greatest highlights from an era gone by. The spirit of the day is nostalgically captured in Pepe's priceless interviews and through scores of archival photographs. This book proves to be as enjoyable as the era it so thoroughly depicts.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Former New York Daily News beat reporter Pepe considers the 1970s to be the decade that changed baseball, and he makes a strong case. In the seventies, the reserve clause was replaced by free agency (1975), leading to the first -million-dollar contract (Nolan Ryan, Houston, 1979); the designated hitter was established (Ron Blomberg, Yankees, 1973); and the first players' strike occurred (1972). These are among hundreds of examples sited in this impressive, well-illustrated compendium, which is accompanied by a DVD, Baseball Comes of Age. Chapters are called "innings," one for each year of the decade, and feature excerpts from conversations with notable sluggers, pitchers, base stealers, and managers, all held together by Pepe's own lively prose. Whether describing Reggie Jackson's amazing feat of hitting three back-to-back home runs in the 1977 World Series or recounting the poignant day when Frank Robinson became the first black manager in the majors (for the Indians in 1974), Pepe delivers an enticing piece of baseball history. A must for any sports collection. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher

"‘How would it work if you didn’t have the reserve clause? A team with the most money would be buying up all the stars, and nobody would be able to beat them. It would be terrible if some team did that.’ And I said to [Jim] Bouton, ‘You mean like the Yankees now?’" —Marvin Miller

"I made the 1971 All-Star team as an alternate. I was to replace Tony Oliva, who got hurt. I remember my [Oakland A’s] teammate, Sal Bando, telling me, ‘Don’t embarrass us and strike out...’" —Reggie Jackson

"I used to pound Clemente inside, pound him inside, pound him inside, and he liked the ball out over the plate and he’d hit the ball to right center. I threw a slider down and away and it was a damn good pitch, and he hit a line drive right down the right field line..." —Tom Seaver

"We were in a car going to get some ice cream, not far from our house in New Jersey, and the guy said over the radio, ‘Thurman Munson just died...crash...’ Audry and I just looked at each other and didn’t say a word for I don’t know how long." —Chris Chambliss

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; Har/DVD edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572438398
• ISBN-13: 978-1572438392
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,749,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent History, April 25, 2011

By 

fitzg7 "fitzg7" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Catfish, Yaz, And Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era that Transformed Baseball (Hardcover)

For anyone interested in the history of baseball or who grew up in the 1970's loving baseball this is a great book. It is a good survey of the 70's baseball at its best. It does not delve deeply into personality issues or the failings of players but keeps to the point of telling the story of the greatest game on earth.
The accompanying cd is fun to watch.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nostalgic Review of 1970's Baseball, February 25, 2007

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era That Transformed Baseball (Hardcover)

This book is an enjoyable nostalgic read from the decade of the 1970's. It is more enjoyable having been a fan of baseball since the early 1950's, and being able to appreciate those players who made up the game of baseball during the decade of the 1970's. I would like to point out a few mistakes I found. The forward by Bucky Dent lists the two owners he played for in his career namely, as he said, Bill "Vicki" and George Steinbrenner. The "Vicki" may well be a typo, since I'm sure he must have known it is Bill Veeck. The spelling wasn't even close, however. Also, on page 84 author Phil Pepe mentions that Roberto Clemente became the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame without having to wait the required five years. Lou Gehrig was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1939, the same year he retired from the game. Finally on page 167 author Pepe states that the Baby Ruth candy bar was named after former President Herbert Hoover's daughter when, in reality, it was named after former President Grover Cleveland's daughter. Like the previous reviewer it's true there was a lot of space devoted to the New York Yankees, but to be fair, the Yankees did dominate a lot of the 1970's. Considering the amount of coverage Reggie Jackson was given his name should have been included somewhere in the title of the book. The accompanying DVD was interesting in hearing of the experiences of Brooks Robinson, Catfish Hunter, and Max Lanier from the 1940's and early 1950's as they give their views of working under the reserve clause. Catfish Hunter was expecially interesting in relating anecdotes from his years with the Athletics and Yankees. I rate the book four stars and the DVD five stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, albeit Yankees-centric, July 24, 2006

By 

Tammy A. "tardy-tammy" (somewhere near San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era That Transformed Baseball (Hardcover)

Rather than break the book up into "innings," it should be arranged into "halves." The first half is "How the Players Finally Cracked the Owners' 'Reserve Clause' Wall," and the second half is "The Yankees."

I know Pepe was the Yanks' beat writer so he is more intimately familiar with their story than anyone else's, but the book purports to cover the history of baseball in the 1970s in its entirety, and many other dramas are given short shrift. There is no mention AT ALL of Padres' sinkerballer Randy Jones (except in the stats section), Brewers' phenom shortstop Robin Yount, Angels' hotshot lefty Frank Tanana, San Francisco's near-loss of the Giants to Toronto in 1976, nor the Giants' "God Squad" of 1978. A little more on Tug McGraw and Al Hrabosky would've been nice, too.

This underserved treatment of stories under the radar of the New York media just adds fuel to the fire to those who believe that MLB is simply a feeder system for the Yanks.

However, the recollections of players and others that Pepe included definitely make this book a worthwhile read.