They Said It Couldn't Be Done
They Said It Couldn't Be Done

Author: Wayne R. Coffey

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1524760889

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In 1962, the New York Mets spent their first year in existence racking up the worst record in baseball history. Things scarcely got any better for the ensuing six years--they were baseball's laughingstock, but somehow lovable in their ineptitude, building a fiercely loyal fan base. And then came 1969, a year that brought the lunar landing, Woodstock, nonstop antiwar protests, and the most tumultuous and fractious New York City mayoral race in memory--along with the most improbable season in the annals of Major League Baseball. It concluded on an invigorating autumn afternoon in Queens, when a Minnesota farm boy named Jerry Koosman beat the Baltimore Orioles for the second time in five games, making the Mets champions of the baseball world. It wasn't merely an upset but an unprecedented, uplifting achievement for the ages. From the ashes of those early scorched-earth seasons, Gil Hodges, a beloved former Brooklyn Dodger, put together a 25-man whole that was vastly more formidable than the sum of its parts. Beyond the top-notch pitching staff headlined by Tom Seaver, Koosman, and Gary Gentry, and the hitting prowess of Cleon Jones, the Mets were mostly comprised of untested kids and lightly regarded veterans. Everywhere you looked on this team, there was a man with a compelling backstory, from Koosman, who never played high school baseball and grew up throwing in a hayloft in subzero temperatures with his brother Orville, to third baseman Ed Charles, an African-American poet with a deep racial conscience whose arrival in the big leagues was delayed almost a decade because of the color of his skin. In the tradition of The Boys of Winter, his classic bestseller about the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, Wayne Coffey tells the story of the '69 Mets as it has never been told before--against the backdrop of the space race, Stonewall, and Vietnam, set in an ever-changing New York City. With dogged reporting and a storyteller's eye for detail, Coffey finds the beating heart of a baseball family. Published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Mets' remarkable transformation from worst to best, They Said It Couldn't Be Done is a spellbinding, feel-good narrative about an improbable triumph by the ultimate underdog.

After the Miracle
After the Miracle

Author: Art Shamsky

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published: 2020-03-17

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1501176536

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“A great and insightful” (Keith Hernandez, New York Mets legend and broadcaster) New York Times bestselling account of an iconic team in baseball history: the 1969 New York Mets—a last-place team that turned it all around in just one season—told by ’69 Mets outfielder Art Shamsky, Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, and other teammates who reminisce about that legendary season and their enduring bonds decades later. The New York Mets franchise began in 1962 and the team finished in last place nearly every year. When the 1969 season began, fans weren’t expecting much from “the Lovable Losers.” But as the season progressed, the Mets inched closer to first place and then eventually clinched the National League pennant. They were underdogs against the formidable Baltimore Orioles, but beat them in five games to become world champions. No one had predicted it. In fact, fans could hardly believe it happened. Suddenly they were “the Miracle Mets.” Playing right field for the ’69 Mets was Art Shamsky, who had stayed in touch with his former teammates over the years. He hoped to get together with star pitcher Tom Seaver (who would win the Cy Young award as the best pitcher in the league in 1969 and go on to become the first Met elected to the Hall of Fame), but Seaver was ailing and could not travel. So, Shamsky organized a visit to “Tom Terrific” in California, accompanied by the #2 pitcher, Jerry Koosman, outfielder Ron Swoboda, and shortstop Bud Harrelson. Together they recalled the highlights of that amazing season as they reminisced about what changed the Mets’ fortunes in 1969. In this “enjoyable tale of a storybook season” (Kirkus Reviews), and with the help of sportswriter Erik Sherman, Shamsky has written the “revealing” (New York Newsday) After the Miracle for the 1969 Mets. “This heartfelt, nostalgic memoir will delight baseball fans of all ages and allegiances” (Publishers Weekly). It’s a book that every Mets fan must own.

Here's the Catch
Here's the Catch

Author: Ron Swoboda

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Published: 2019-06-11

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1250235677

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In time for the 50th anniversary of the Mets' miraculous 1969 World Series win, right fielder Ron Swoboda tells the story of that amazing season, the people he played with and against (sometimes at the same time), and what life was like as an Every Man ballplayer. Ron Swoboda wasn’t the greatest player the Mets ever had, but he made the greatest catch in Met history, saving a game in the 1969 World Series, and his RBI clinched the final game. By Met standards that makes him legend. The Mets even use a steel silhouette of the catch as a backing for the right field entrance sign at Citi Field. In this smart, funny, insightful memoir, which is as self-deprecating as a lifetime .249 hitter has to be, he tells the story of that magical year nearly game by game, revealing his struggles, his triumphs and what life was like for an every day, Every Man player, even when he was being platooned. He shows what it took to make one of the worst teams in baseball and what it was like to leave one of the best. And when he talks about the guys he played with and against, it’s like you’re sitting next to him on the team bus, drinking Rheingold. Here's the Catch is a book anyone who loves the game will love as much.

Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges

Author: Mort Zachter

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2015-03

Total Pages: 542

ISBN-13: 0803274335

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In descriptions of athletes, the word "hero" is bandied about and liberally attached to players with outstanding statistics and championship rings. Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life is the story of a man who epitomized heroism in its truest meaning, holding values and personal interactions to be of utmost importance throughout his life--on the diamond, as a marine in World War II, and in his personal and civic life. A New York City icon and, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, one of the finest first basemen of all time, Gil Hodges (1924-72) managed the Washington Senators and later the New York Mets, leading the 1969 "Miracle Mets" to a World Series championship. A beloved baseball star, Hodges was also an ethical figure whose sturdy values both on and off the field once prompted a Brooklyn priest to tell his congregation to "go home, and say a prayer for Gil Hodges" in order to snap him out of the worst batting slump of his career. Mort Zachter examines Hodges's playing and managing days, but perhaps more important, he unearths his true heroism by emphasizing the impact that Hodges's humanity had on those around him on a daily basis. Hodges was a witty man with a dry sense of humor, and his dignity and humble sacrifice sometimes masked a temper that made Joe Torre refer to him as the "Quiet Inferno." The honesty and integrity that made him so popular to so many remained his defining elements. Firsthand interviews of the many soldiers, friends, family, former teammates, players, and managers who knew and respected Hodges bring the totality of his life into full view, providing a rounded appreciation for this great man and ballplayer.

Turning Two
Turning Two

Author: Bud Harrelson

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2012-04-10

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1429941391

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In Turning Two, Bud Harrelson delivers a team memoir as he takes fans through the early seasons, sudden success, lean years, and return to glory. Only one man, Harrelson, can say he was in uniform for both New York Mets world championships: as the shortstop who anchored the infield of the 1969 "Miracle Mets" and then as the third-base coach for the storied 1986 team. Born on D-day 1944, the Alameda County, California, native made his Major League debut with the Mets in 1965. At 147 pounds he was the team's Everyman--a Gold Glove, All-Star shortstop who won the hearts of fans with his sparkling defensive skills and trademark brand of gritty, scrappy baseball. Harrelson recalls how the gentle yet firm guidance of manager Gil Hodges shaped a stunning success story in ‘69. Bud remembers the game's legends he played with and against, including Hall of Famers Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson (against whom he compiled a .333 career batting average), and his idol, Willie Mays--Harrelson's teammate on the 1973 "Ya Gotta Believe" team. Harrelson writes of his famous fight with Pete Rose in the playoffs that autumn as the Mets upset the Cincinnati Reds to win the National League pennant and squared off against the mighty Oakland A's in a dramatic seven-game World Series. After retiring as a player, Bud returned to Shea Stadium as Davey Johnson's third-base coach in 1985 and waved Ray Knight home for the winning run in the unforgettable Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Harrelson takes us in the dugout and on the field as he tells thrilling tales from his career and speaks candidly of the state of the game today. Turning Two is the ideal souvenir from the first half-century of the New York Mets--and from the pre-steroid era when players played the game the right way and did the little things to help their teams win. Bud Harrelson in Turning Two On Gil Hodges "Hodges accomplished his goal with compassion and a gentle hand and attained discipline simply by being such an imposing physical specimen. He rarely lost his temper, but on the few occasions that he did, you can bet he got our attention." On Battling at the Plate "I have always said I'll take God to three-and-two and take my chances. I might foul two off before He gave me ball four." On 1969 "Torre hit a smash to me at short and I'm thinking, Don't screw up the throw; don't rush it. I knew I could catch it. I just wanted to be sure to make a good, firm throw right at the chest of Al Weis at second base. I tossed it to Weis and he turned it over to Clendenon at first for the double play and we had won the Mets' first title. We were the first champions of the National League East." On Playing with Willie Mays "I reached up to catch the ball and as I did, I stepped on Willie's foot. Oh, no! ‘Hey, Pee Wee, what are you doing out here?' he squealed. ‘I didn't hear anything,' I said. ‘I don't call for the ball,' he said. ‘Well,' I said, ‘if you don't want to get stepped on again, you better start calling for it.' The next time he was in center field and there was a pop fly, he called for it." On Tom Seaver to M. Donald Grant "Mr. Grant, you know why we're doing so well? See that little guy in the corner over there"--and he was pointing right at me--"that guy whose salary you cut? He's the reason we're winning." On Game 6 "I leaned over to Mitchell and reminded him to be alert and be ready to take off if Stanley threw one in the dirt."

The Miracle of 1969
The Miracle of 1969

Author: Rich Coutinho

Publisher: Sports Publishing

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781683582380

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With a country in turmoil, Americans rally around a ballclub for the hope of a miracle. In 1957, the Dodgers and Giants left New York for the West Coast, leaving a huge void in a city of National League baseball fans. Five years later, headed by the seventy-one-year-old Casey Stengel, NL baseball was back in the Big Apple in the form of the New York Metropolitans. However, it was anything but smooth sailing. In their first season of 1962, the Mets went 40–162, a record of futility. While Stengel called his team the “Amazin’ Mets,” they were amazingly inept. But at the same time, they were loved by a fan base that gave new definition to the word loyalty. But seven years later, that all changed. The Miracle of 1969 is the story of the Miracle Mets though the eyes of a nine-year-old boy from the Bronx, who would later grow up to cover the organization professionally. Rich Coutinho takes you back in time half a century ago, sharing how a country and city knee-deep in social turmoil was able to rally around a ballclub on the verge of greatness. But to fully grasp the impact of this story, you must also understand where the country was at this time in history. Whether it be man landing on the Moon, Woodstock, Charles Mansion’s cult killings, the conviction of Muhammad Ali for draft evasion, the Chappaquiddick Ted Kennedy incident, protests against the Vietnam War, or even pop culture events like the Beatles last public appearance, the late ’60s were a time of change. With the great play of the Mets, who rumbled back from being back 9 1/2 games in mid-August, Coutinho paints a picture of baseball and the country during this incredible time in our nation’s history. The Miracle of 1969 is not just a story of a team winning the World Series, but how a single ballclub could so dramatically affect a single boy from the Bronx while uniting people and a city despite the world trying so hard to have hate in the daily diet of every American. The Miracle Mets proved that dreaming of great things in life is not only possible—it is mandatory.

So Many Ways to Lose
So Many Ways to Lose

Author: Devin Gordon

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2021-03-16

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 006294004X

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“This is a weird, wonderful, and essential book about both America and its pastime. It’s about a place as vast as New York City and as intimate as the human heart. Fred Exley meets Richard Ben Cramer—a funny, wild, heartfelt, and keenly observed portrait of yearning itself.”—Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of The Cost of These Dreams “Mr. Gordon’s ability to explain the Sisyphean plight of all Mets fans is truly remarkable. Bravo!”—Ron Darling, New York Times bestselling author of Game 7, 1986 The Mets lose when they should win. They win when they should lose. And when it comes to being the worst, no team in sports has ever done it better than the Mets. In So Many Ways to Lose, author and lifelong Mets fan Devin Gordon sifts through the detritus of Queens for a baseball history like no other. Remember the time the Mets lost an All-Star after Yoenis Céspedes got charged by a wild boar? Or the time they blew a six-run ninth-inning lead at the peak of a pennant race? Or the time they fired their manager before he ever managed a game? Sure you do. It was only two years ago, and it was all in the same season. The Mets have an unrivaled gift for getting it backward, doing the impossible, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and then snatching defeat right back again. And yet, just ask any Mets fan: Amazing and/or miraculous postseason runs are as much a part of our team's identity as losing 120 games in 1962. The DNA of seasons like 1969, the original Miracle Mets, and the 1973 “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets, who went from last place to Game 7 of the World Series in two months, and the powerhouse 1986 Mets, has encoded in us this hapless instinct that a reversal of fortune is always possible. It’s happened before. It’s kind of our thing. And now we've got Steve Cohen's hedge-fund billions to play with! What could go wrong? In this hilarious history of the Mets and love letter to the art of disaster, Devin Gordon presents baseball the way it really is, not in the wistful sepia tones we've come to expect from other sportswriters. Along the way, he explains the difference between being bad and being gifted at losing, and why this distinction holds the key to understanding the true amazin’ magic of the New York Mets.

The 1969 Cubs
The 1969 Cubs

Author: Fergie Jenkins

Publisher:

Published: 2019-01-19

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780999529867

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In 1969 at Wrigley Field, the lights didn't shine at night, but they did in the eyes of every hopeful Chicago Cubs fan. The team that didn't go all the way, but they did more for the franchise and the role of its fans than many teams before them. Hall-of-Fame legend Fergie Jenkins gives his first-hand accounts on that loved team and painful seaso

Total Mets
Total Mets

Author: David Ferry

Publisher: Triumph Books (IL)

Published: 2012-10-05

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781600786617

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Published in conjunction with the franchise's 50th anniversary, Total Mets is the definitive historical and statistical compendium for the famed New York ball club. Spanning the team's entire history--from their inception in 1962, through the World Series championships of 1969 and 1986, and right up to the most current star-studded squads--this volume is loaded with fantastic features that include season recaps of every Mets season, statistics and highlights for every game in franchise history, team and individual records in every major statistical category, and biographies for every Mets player. An entertaining guide to one of baseball's most popular organizations, this resource also includes entertaining anecdotes, memorable quotes, and insider insights garnered from interviews with more than 200 current and former players.