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The Long Ball : The Summer of '75 -- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever

The Long Ball : The Summer of '75 -- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $10.47
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Weak clip-job
Review: I wanted to like this book. I was 15 in 1975 so I have vivid memories of many of the games described. However the book is full of factual errors. Billy Martin did not come charging in from Shortstop to make a great catch in the world series. It was second base. The A's were not going for their 5th straight pennant as the author states several times. They had won 3 in a row.The Yankees played in Shea Stadium in 1975 so there were no Yankee offices across the street. Believe me I know-- there are only junk yards across the street from Shea.
Sal Bando did not play the field wearing a MITT. Any fan with a minimum of baseball knowledge is aware that unless you are catching or playing 1st base you are using a glove.
Add to this some very dubious attempts to bring Mark McGwire, Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds into the story for some unexplained reason, and I found this book wore me out. And what was the relevance of Casey Stengal? The author tried to make too many connections where there were none.
Read the Boys of Summer,read anything by Roger Kahn or Roger Angell but don't bother reading this

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: OK
Review: I'm not much a baseball fan anymore, but I was in 1975 and this book reminded me why: Catfish Hunter, Bill Lee, The Big Red Machine, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin and on and on. If those names mean anything to you, you'll love this book. And if they don't mean anything to you, you should read the book to find out who they are. Adelman does a wonderful job telling their stories (and many more, as well as the story of the season and how the events of 1975 changed baseball forever. One other note: I listened to the unabridged audio version of the book, and it included an extra tape with a very interesting author interview. Probably not worth paying the premium price for the audio edition, but worth checking your local library to see if they have it on their shelves.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Error prone
Review: It's a good read, interesting enough thesis of linking the 1975 season and the coming of free agency. Bit of a stretch though to make the series that year to be fork in the road of the future of baseball.

Most worrisome is the sloppiness with the facts. I was astonished to read Adelman blow it on Dwight Evans' spectacular and oft-replayed catch in the sixth game claiming that Dwight pulled the ball out of the path to the bullpen. The bullpen was nowhere near the catch - he caught it by going several rows deep into the stands. How could a serious student of the game get this, of all plays, wrong? Makes one wonder how many other mistakes he made.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Grandly Grand
Review: This book is an easy and exciting read. The use of Casey Stengel and the 1975 season as a bridge (baseball-wise) between the old and the new is brilliant. I find the book hard to put down becuase the author weaves 1975 season with important historical events-another reminder of how 1975 was a bridge between the old and the new. I highly recommend this for your pleasure reading.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not a bad read, just bad facts!
Review: This sums it all up. A coach explaining to Don Zimmer that he will love going to Cincinnati to play ball and describing what the city is like, etc....I believe Zim was born in the Queen City and was well aware of what the town was like. It was all a little too much to take at times. However, also enjoyable!


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