Customer Reviews

The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Trip to Copacabana was to celebrate Berra's 32nd birthday, not 22nd (page 10).
Mickey Rivers hit .326 in his second season with the Yanks, not over his first two seasons with them (page 34).
Rivers also had 557 AB coming into the game, not 555 (to nitpick, I also wouldn't say he had "27 walks in 555 at bats", as walks don't count as an at bat - should have been 27 walks in 600 plate appearances)(page 34).
Reggie Jackson came into the game with 96 RBIs, not 90 (page 39).
From 1967 to 1975 is eight years between World Series appearances, not six (page 44).
Author quotes Ted Williams as saying the Sox lost to the Yankees on opening day in 1949 by a score of 11-10. Actually, they lost to the A's, 3-2. They lost their home opener to the Yanks 4-3, but only had a 1-0 lead early in the game. They did not lose any games by 11-10 that year (page 65).
Roy White was not "actually traded" to the Dodgers. He was assigned to the Dodger's AAA team as part of a trade involving other players. He was always property of the Yankees, and the Yankees did not have to "get him back" - they simply called him up from the minors, as they would have done with any of their other minor league players. The distinction is that he never became property of the Dodgers (page 92).
As noted elsewhere, Yaz would not have pulled the ball down the left field line. In addition, right fielder Piniella, noting that lefties were pulling Guidry, would have played closer to the right field line, not the left field line (page 99).
In the first paragraph of page 136, Jack Brohamer is described as hitting right. In the very next paragraph, he is correctly described as hitting left.
Also on page 136, it says Brohamer was signed for $100,000 a year. On page 41, it states he was signed for "about $110,000 a year."
Jim Spencer was a first baseman, not an outfielder (page 146).
The author seems to be very confused about which is right field and which is left. In addition to comments above, on page 150 he states that the Red Sox shortstop trotted "out into right field toward the third base line." The third base line marks the border of left field and foul territory.
On page 157, the author states that "Munson had never played outfield in the pros." Actually, he played one game in the outfield in 1971, two in 1975 and 11 in 1976.
On page 186, Lindy McDaniel is referred to as a starting pitcher. McDaniel played for the Yankees from 1968-1973, appearing in 265 games in relief and making three starts. The modern equivalent would be referring to Jorge Posada as a first baseman.
On page 208, Rick Cerone's name is misspelled with two "r"s.
On page 240, it states that Dwight Evans was beaned by Mike Parrot on August 29. He was actually beaned on August 28, and Mike Parrott's last name has two "t"s.

There may be more, but I leave that to other readers.

Terrific recounting of a great game and an exciting season. The one big flaw is that the author gets the date of the game wrong. It was played on October 2, not on October 4 as the dust jacket claims. How could an editor or a fact checker get something so basic so wrong? You have to wonder what else they missed!

Every time a new book comes out on the Yankee teams of the late 70s, which were the first ones I experienced as a child, I keep hoping that it will be a book with some fresh, new insights. Most of the time, the results are very disappointing. Roger Kahn, Maury Allen and Phil Pepe have weighed in with books of their own in recent years and I have found them lacking because for the most part these authors are either too much rooted in the nostalgia for 50s baseball to do justice to the subject of the late 70s (when you read Kahn and Allen you end up seeing more digressions about the 50s than about the later years for the most part!) or they just rehash stuff that was written in books that came out years ago (Pepe's new book was a letdown because there wasn't a single thing I hadn't already read in the autbios of Nettles and Reggie, not to mention the Bill Madden/Moss Klein book from 1990).

That's why Richard Bradley's book was such a breath of fresh air. *Finally* I felt like I was getting the story of 1978 told from a new angle and with some fresh insights on the players, and the race pennant race preceding the game. The alternating chapters of PBP of the game with the background details is not a new feature in baseball books (done with Game 7 of the 60 WS, and Buster Olney with Game 7 of the 01 WS), but it works magnificently here. It makes for a very entertaining and brisk read that I was sorry to see end.

My only tiny nitpick involves the fact that since Bradley did have access to the original telecasts of the game, it would have been nice if some more of the comments of the announcers had been interwoven into the narrative of the game action. And there are also some interesting stories about the broadcasts themselves too (Howard Cosell for instance, was officially part of ABC's baseball broadcast team, but deemed the playoff game taking place on a Monday insufficient reason to miss that evening's meaingless early regular season "Monday Night Football" broadcast). Also priceless was the moment where Phil Rizzuto found himself lingering in the Boston press room after finishing the 6th inning on radio, before heading back to the TV booth and letting out a burst of "Holy Cows!" when Dent homered....only to forget that he was still in the Boston press room, and telling Bill White on-air later that "I thought Frank Malzone was going to bite me on the ankle!" showing how much the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry played itself out in all corners of the ballpark that day!

Thanks again to Mr. Bradley for enriching the baseball literature on the Yankees-Red Sox of the late 70s by taking things to a new level. It gets my vote for what I know will be the best baseball book of the year for me.

This is a very enjoyable book which all baseball fans will find gripping and thrilling, much the way the 1978 race shaped up. The book does a very good job at shaping the cultures and idiosyncrasies of both the Red Sox and Yankees and how that helped to shape a tumultuous pennant race. The author does a great deal of painting baseball's changing landscape and how this was impacting both teams as well as the game at large. Also, the book does a great job of shaping the final game around these events as the Red Sox /Yankees playoff game was as dramatic and exciting as the season, coming down to the final batter.

Obviously Red Sox & Yankees fans will find this book more interesting then other fans but regardless the book is worth the read for the moments of excitement and the feelings of nostalgia it is bound to bring up for a simpler time in the national pastime.

Thanks very much for that nice review, G. Haneke. You also give me a chance to mention that something did indeed go awry with that flap copy! So chalk that up to a production error, and the good folks at the Free Press will correct it ASAP.

Never fear--the facts are right in the book itself.

And thanks again for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed The Greatest Game.

As several reviewers have noted, Bradley's book is full of irritating errors. The bottom line is that he's not a true baseball aficionado, like Roger Kahn, who has written the definitive book about the great 1978 season in "October Men."

It's not so much the irritating errors but a failure to grasp some of the great subtleties of the game. For example, Bradley minimizes Yaz as no Ted Williams by comparing his .285 lifetime average with Williams' .344 average. This is completely unfair to Yaz, who played most of his career in an era dominated by pitchers, including his famous .301 average to capture the AL batting title in 1968. This is a power hitter who won the batting title 3 times. That's 2 more times than Ruth or Mantle. Of course, he was not Ted Williams, but who is? He was a terrific player, and it's silly to suggest that his career and career numbers were somehow a disappointment, or that he somehow failed to live up to his promise.

The lack of appreciation also comes through in his description of Piniella's famous play in the sun field in the 8th inning. Bradley does a nice job of describing Piniella's decoy and his athletic stab at the ball to save the game. But, he does not mention how Piniella, like the true gamer he was, made his own luck by setting up in a kind of hockey stance to better be able to block the ball.

On the other hand, Bradley has done some terrific research and offers real insight on such baseball fine points as Piniella's decision to play Lynn to pull given Guidry's lack of his normal speed (another decision that helped win the game) and Gossage's ability to relax on the last pitch of the game to give his fastball such terrific movement as to make the great Yaz pop up meekly to third base. Bucky Dent's story is well told, as are the stories of lesser known players like Roy White. Also, Bradley does an excellent job with the difficult, but ultimately endearing, character of Thurman Munson.

Bradley tries to do the same with Boston players, but perhaps he did not get the same level of cooperation. I don't think he can fairly be accused of bias. This is particularly so given that the one player who emerges as the most admirable is Yaz. Yaz was a great competitor and teammate and, like Reggie, embraced the role of hitting in the clutch. The portrait of Fisk was also well done.

Bradley is also right on the money to stress the mental toughness of the Boston team and the unfairness of the "choke" label. This is a team that pulled itself off the mat after the Boston Massacre and won game after game after game in September. They were as tenacious as the Yankees. Also impressive was the ability to come back from 5-2 in the playoff game to make a game of it. It's fitting the game came down to just one run. When Reggie hit the home run to put them up 5-2 I thought it was over. Coming back against Gossage was pretty impressive.

Bradley tends to side with Zimmer critics, who fault some of his tactical decisions down the stretch (particularly going with young pitchers over Lee, whom Zimmer hated personally) and pinch hitting decisions in the playoff game. I'm partial to Zimmer, and think the Boston fans have been unfair to their managers over the years.

The book is well researched and adds enough to the lore of the great game to be worth the time. It is also well written and absorbing. And for Yankees fans, it's a nice respite from the present day.

It's difficult for me to take a book or author too seriously when it's apparent from the number of errors that he / she really didn't take the time to do their homework and get their facts straight. As was pointed out by another reviewer, how seriously can you possibly take this book / author when the dust jacket states that the game took place on October 4th (instead of October 2nd). It's hard to believe that he / she couldn't even get the date of of the game described as "the greatest playoff" game in the history of MLB right.

It would be akin to writing a book about D-Day and making a reference to the beachhead landings on the shores of Italy (instead of France).

But putting all of that stuff aside, as a long time Red Sox fan from the mid 60's, I can remember that day /game as if it was yesterday. I can still remember how tough it was to get to sleep the night before thinking about the prospect of the Red Sox losing. I can remember how I felt in the weeks leading up to the game as the 14 game lead that the Red Sox enjoyed in mid / late July slowly began to evaporate to the point where the Red Sox had to scramble and win games in the final few days to actually catch the Yankees and force the one game playoff.

The book brings back some great memories of players who I really liked and admired back then. It all starts with Yaz, who I glommed onto as my favorite player in the mid 60's i.e. 1965 / 1966 and who I worshipped the groudn he walked on in the 1967 "Impossible Dream" year. Or Jim Rice, who took over from Yaz in left field and had one of the greatest seasons in the history of the game. Or "Louisiana Lightning" himself - Ron Guidry - who also enjoyed one of the greatest seasons pitching in history going something like 25-3 with a ridiculous 1.75% ERA. The guy was unhittable that year.

I remember the wind blowing in from left field as Dent came to bat and he fouled a ball off his foot that necessitated a delay of about 8 to 10 minutes with the count 1-1. In that short span of time, when Dent resumed his place in the batter's box, the wind had changed in Fenway (as was the habit in that park) and now was blowing out to left field. Had the same ball been hit 10 minutes earlier, it would have been little more than a long fly ball out caught by Rice or a single /double depending on how well Rice played the bounce off the wall and Dent would barely be remembered

Instead, a guy who hit something like 20 home runs in total over a 10 or 12 year career becomes a historic figure in the history of MLB.

It could ONLY have happened to the Red Sox???!!!

The Greatest Game - I don't think so. The unique distinction could ONLY be reserved for Game 6 of the 1975 WS with the Cincinnati Reds when Bernie Carbo hit a HR in the late innings and then Carlton Fisk hit that memorable shot to left field in extra innings. It's so memorable because the game started on Tuesday, October 21st and ran for 4:01 hours concluding on Wednesday, October 22nd - my birthday..!!

Advice to Richard Bradly - an accurate depiction of the facts would give you alot more credibility as a writer.

The Greatest Game may well be just that, a fine look at the great 1978 New York Yankees Boston Red Sox playoff game and season stitched together. With a purist's appreciation for the game of baseball, both Red Sox and Yankees fans alike will enjoy Richard Bradley's even-keeled book. Its steady cadence, which if listened to closely, reveals itself to be a growing applause for the National Pasttime. The heart of the book is the intertwining of the one game playoff and the whole of the season, with some great new quotes and anecdotes from the players and officials who helped to orchestrate this special season. Whether you are a fan of Bucky or Yaz, Brohamer or Beattie, the author shows how every cog came together in 1978 to form the greatness of each team. With the rare gem of game 163 distilling the season to a fine Boston Emerald, fans will enjoy the book and remember that season always. Great job, Richard.

Paul Keck
The Greatest Comeback Ever: A fan's diary of the 1978 New York Yankees championship season

I was a 22 year old African American Yankee fan (attending college in Vermont) when this game was played. This book captures both the drama of that season, and the deep, abiding love New England had ( and still has) for The Red Sox. I've yet to see that degree of affection/devotion elsewhere, and it has been a long time since I have read a book this fine.

There are many careless errors in this book, so much so that I start questioning its content. The glaring errors that I've noticed: (1) on page 99 he states that Yaz pulled a HR off of Guidry, which is factually correct. He states that Yaz pulled a line drive "sharply down the left field line." Yaz is a left-handed hitter. He would--and did--pull the HR around the Pesky pole in right field. (2) On page 78 he stated that Gullett's right arm hurt so much that he received his second cortisone shot of the season. Gullett throws left-handed. (3) On page 1 he incorrectly recorded the Yankees' decisive win against the Dodgers in the 1977 WS by the score of 8-3 (it was 8-4). (4) He describes how Guidry learned his slider, and states how Lyle taught him the slider. He writes how Guidry "snapped his wrist" at the end of throwing the slider. I'm a pitcher, and a slider is thrown with a straight wrist--the forearm and wrist as one. You actually snap your elbow, not your wrist, that's why the Dodger Organization didn't teach the slider to younger pitchers--they were concerned about pichers developing bad elbows.

I'm sure there are much more errors to come since I'm only on page 99! But while the book is enjoyable, it's also frustrating how someone writing a baseball book about two fanatical franchises could make such glaring errors. He could have gotten away with these errors if he was writing about Arizona and Tampa Bay, but not the Yankees and the Red Sox.