Game Six

Boston, Tuesday, October 21, 1975. The Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds have endured an excruciating three-day rain delay. Tonight, at last, they will play Game Six of the World Series. Leading three games to two, Cincinnati hopes to win it all; Boston is desperate to stay alive. But for all the anticipation, nobody could have predicted what a classic it would turn out to be: an extra-innings thriller, created by one of the Big Red Machine's patented comebacks and the Red Sox's improbable late-inning rally; clutch hitting, heart-stopping defensive plays, and more twists and turns than a Grand Prix circuit, climaxed by one of the most famous home runs in baseball history that ended it in the twelfth. Here are all the inside stories of some of that era's biggest names in sports: Johnny Bench, Luis Tiant, Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski--eight Hall of Famers in all--as well as sportscasters and network execs, cameramen, umpires, groundskeepers, politicians, and fans who gathered in Fenway that extraordinary night. Game Six is an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at what is considered by many to be the greatest baseball game ever played--remarkable also because it was about so much more than just balls and strikes. This World Series marked the end of an era; baseball's reserve clause was about to be struck down, giving way to the birth of free agency, a watershed moment that changed American sports forever. In bestselling author Mark Frost's talented hands, the historical significance of Game Six becomes every bit as engrossing as its compelling human drama.

Featuring stories about Keith Hernandez, Davey Johnson, Michael Tyson, Keith Rosen, and more New addition to the Game of My Life series Paints a picture of Mets history This Game of My Life book takes a personal look at the most significant moments of the Mets’ best and most loved players, from journeymen to superstars. Their most unforgettable games make a picture of Mets history. The franchise changed from a failing (though loved) expansion team in 1962 to World Series Champions in 1969 and 1986 and then back to the bottom before meeting the Yankees in the 2000 Subway Series. After that, they changed again into the current and very promising team. Ron Swoboda, Wally Backman, Edgardo Alfonzo, Bobby Jones, and more describe their thrilling moments and paint a picture of the Mets based on their favorite memories of their time on the team. Current catcher Travis d’Arnaud leaves readers with his thoughts on his young career with the Mets, and journalist Michael Garry shares his perspective on this well-loved team. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Most baseball fans know what links Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, Mickey Owen and Bill Buckner. It's a pantheon of public failure. They would be harder put to say what links Eric Byrnes, Tony Fernandez, and Babe Ruth, though these players made misplays every bit as egregious. In this smart, highly readable history of scapegoating, John Billheimer identifies the elements that combine to condemn one player to a life sentence while another gets a wrist slap for the same offense. As it turns out, the difference between a lower-case e in some forgotten box score and a lifetime of ignominy can hinge on a number of factors, including timing, geography, reputation, misunderstanding, media bias, and just plain bad luck.

The national pastime's rich history and vast cache of statistics have provided fans and researchers a gold mine of narrative and data since the late 19th century. Many books have been written about Major League Baseball's most famous games. This one takes a different approach, focusing on MLB's most historically significant games. Some will be familiar to baseball scholars, such as the October afternoon in 1961 when Roger Maris eclipsed Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, or the compelling sixth game of the 1975 World Series. Other fascinating games are less well known: the day at the Polo Grounds in 1921, when a fan named Reuben Berman filed a lawsuit against the New York Giants, winning fans the right to keep balls hit into the stands; the first televised broadcast of an MLB game in 1939; opening night of the Houston Astrodome in 1965, when spectators no longer had to be taken out to the ballgame; or the spectator-less April 2015 Orioles-White Sox game, played in an empty stadium in the wake of the Baltimore riots. Each game is listed in chronological order, with detailed historical background and a box score.

This is another book about hockey. But this one is unique. It contains many stories by and about individuals who broadcast play-by-plays of major junior and provincial junior A games from arenas across Canada. There are even a few chapters about broadcasters from teams in the United States that play in Canadian leagues. There are major junior chapters from the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Chapters from provincial junior A leagues include British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and the Maritimes. Some of the contributors for this book wrote their own chapters. Others preferred to be interviewed. In all cases, the final version of each chapter was approved by the contributor. The chapters include many descriptions of broadcasters experiences. They describe their early experiences with hockey. Some played, while others listened on the radio, watched on TV, or attended games. The stories include how they became involved as play-by-play broadcasters and who were direct or indirect mentors. Each broadcaster recounts their memories of the first game they called. They also describe some of the notable players, coaches, and color commentators. Where possible, there are even some bus stories. Each chapter concludes with a comment about what the experience of broadcasting play-by-play has meant to each individual.

Like all grandfathers Grandpa Gordy loves his grandchildren and he loves to tell them stories. So as a retired sportswriter, when his grandchild asks him about the World Series, Grandpa Gordy is more than willing to share his vast knowledge. When you read this book you'll learn about baseball's great legends like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Reggie Jackson. You'll marvel at the exploits of the game's unsung heroes like Bill Mazeroski, Edgar Renteria and Chad Curtis. You'll journey as far back as the 1920's when President Coolidge cheered on the "Big Train" Walter Johnson, and up to the 1990's where you'll hear what it was like to share a box seat with Ted Turner and George Steinbrenner. All along you'll delight in Grandpa Gordy's insightful, sometimes hilarious and always entertaining renditions of our national pastime's greatest games.

A suspenseful account of the glorious days more than a century ago when our national madness began, the first Major League Baseball World Series. A post-season series of games to establish supremacy in the major leagues was not inevitable in the baseball world. But in 1903 the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (in the well-established National League) challenged the Boston Americans (in the upstart American League) to a play-off, which he was sure his team would win. They didn't—and that wasn't the only surprise during what became the first World Series. In Autumn Glory, Louis P. Masur tells the riveting story of two agonizing weeks in which the stars blew it, unknown players stole the show, hysterical fans got into the act, and umpires had to hold on for dear life. Before and even during the 1903 season, it had seemed that baseball might succumb to the forces that had been splintering the sport for decades: owners' greed, players' rowdyism, fans' unrest. Yet baseball prevailed, and Masur tells the equally dramatic story of how it did so, in a country preoccupied with labor strife and big-business ruthlessness, and anxious about the welfare of those crowding into cities such as Pittsburgh and Boston (which in themselves offered competing versions of the American dream) . His colorful history of how the first World Series consolidated baseball's hold on the American imagination makes us see what one sportswriter meant when he wrote at the time, "Baseball is the melting pot at a boil, the most democratic sport in the world." All in all, Masur believes, it still is.

A chronological account of the events and players who have shaped the history of the Boston Red Sox. A Brief History of the Boston Red Sox also serves as a quick reference to individual-season highlights, player summaries, and commonly consulted statistics. A great gift for any Red Sox fan. Current through the 2013 season.