Customer Reviews

Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Author Jayson Stark, a lifelong Philadelphian, chronicles the Philadelphia Phillies 2008 season, which saw them win their first World Series since 1980.

Stark writes about the five moments that defined the Phillies season, the playoff games and the World Series. He injects color, flair and statistical oddities into the accounts. Most of this material was originally published by ESPN.

The five key moments were:
1. Manager Charlie Manuel benching shortstop Jimmy Rollins twice, once for not hustling to first base and then for being late to the ballpark.
2. Opening Day starting pitcher Brett Myers being sent to the minors for a brief stint after a horrible start where he won just one of 13 starts.
3. The Phillies four-game sweep of the Dodgers, Aug 22-25.
4. The Phillies winning 13 of the final 16 games after trailing the Mets by 3.5 games.
5. The National League East clincher on Sept. 28, 2008, as reliever Brad Lidge records his 41st save in 41 opportunities.

Even though die-hard Phillies fans undoubtedly remember the playoff and World Series games, reading about them again is still extremely satisfying. Stark captures the magic of those unforgettable games. This is a book Phillies fans will want to keep on their bookshelves and turn to periodically to relive some of their fondest memories.

Jason Stark is one of my favorite columnists. As a book author he is somewhat lacking. I was hoping for some "behind the scenes" info. Instead, the book was just a compilation of his columns written during the season.

Jayson Stark is a Philly resident, so he understands the ups and downs that comes with being a Philly Sport fan. So it was fitting that Jayson Stark wrote a book that chronicles the Phillies 2008 Championship Season.

The book is done cleverly by taking his newspaper articles through the season and creating a book that takes you through the season until that last awe-inspiring Brad Lidge strike out of Erik Hinske!

He adds more thoughts to some of this and adds statistics and odd facts that make you feel you were at each game.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think everyone who picks it up will also.

I'm sorry to give this book a poor review. I've been reading articles by Jason Stark on ESPN for 2 years or more. I think he's one of the best writers ESPN has, so I was excited to read his book.

However, I didn't enjoy the book nearly as much as his online articles. My main complaint is that it was too redundant, and a little overboard. There was too much "not in this town", or "only in Philadelphia". Every game reviewed was the most crazy game ever. It was too much, and for me it got worn out. Quotes from players were just short comments from a press report. I just wanted to go deeper. I wanted to know more about how the players handled circumstances without embellishment. There were also too many statistics. I like a few stats, but I don't need to know when the last time this or that happened, over and over. The majority of the book also covered the postseason with a chapter on each game. I'd like better coverage of the entire season.

In truth, I was disappointed. Maybe I should keep to Stark's short articles, which I like. Perhaps the book was just to much over and over, and too much "wow, this is amazing, you can't script this stuff"! All that said, I hope the Phillies do it again soon.

Stark is a great writer & this is a nice recap of the 2008 championship season. Fun to look back at it all.

This book as good behind the scenes info and very good statistical information. Its a good read for anyone who feels freed from the burden of not winning a major championship in Philadelphia

Philly has had more than its share of teams that didn't quite win the big one. We Philly sports fans have come to expect the worst. But the worst didn't happen last year.

No one but Jayson Stark could have written this book. He's a Philly guy, so he gets it. He knows what that team meant to us. Stark gets to just what made the team so special. And once you've read this book, you will too.

Everything is here, from Jimmy Rollins spring training boast that the Phillies would win 100 games (they did, if you include the postseason), to the September struggle to win the NL East, to the 46 hour rain delay before the Phillies won it all.

You don't have to love the Phillies to love this book, but it helps. However, if you love baseball you will love this book.

This is a pretty good summary of the Phillies' run to the 2008 World Series title, in very much the same spirit as similar books published by Triumph about other championship teams. Stark (of ESPN -- but I remember when he was just starting out in the local Philly media back when I was in high school)basically "retrofits" several of his columns from the season and knits them into a game-by-game narrative of the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series. There is a drawback to this approach, in that we don't get adequate background on how the team was built or sufficient detail on the progression of the 2008 regular season. Stark touches upon a few "key turning points" of the latter, such as the benching of Jimmy Rollins and Brett Myers' trip to the minors, but, absent a more substantial narrative of the season, you don't get to witness these events in full perspective. Stark is also enamored of arcane baseball trivia (which he tongue-in-cheekily headlines "Useless Information"), some of which is literally trivial and some of which is not (e.g., the Phillies' 24-6 finish in '08 is among the hottest finishes in baseball history, comparable to that of the 1914 "Miracle" Boston Braves). Unfortunately, he doesn't always distinguish clearly between the two. Still, this is an enjoyable read for Phillies fans; though not as detailed as THE TEAM THAT WOULDN'T DIE, Hal Bodley's book about the 1980 Phillies, it is better-written, and the seams aren't as visible. I'd have to rate it behind YOU CAN'T LOSE THEM ALL (Frank Fitzpatrick's book on the '80 team), however, due to the aforementioned lack of background detail.

Loved EVERYthing about this book. I'm a born & raised Phillies fan and if you are, too, you have to read this. I've followed Jayson Stark's career as a journalist and his style is infectious.

It's amazing how many little things that I had already forgotten about last October's wonderful trip that ended in the best parade ever.

At the end of each chapter are a bunch of little tidbits that are most excellent.

The book now sits in my "Phillies shrine corner."

This is a book that any Phillies fan would enjoy. It is a unique take on the 2008 Phillies season by a great baseball writer. Highly recommended.