Editorial Content for The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The good thing about having your team eliminated from postseason contention early on is that it gives you more time to read. And what more appropriate material than something about the Fall Classic?
Tyler Kepner, a baseball columnist for the New York Times, offers the latest look with THE GRANDEST STAGE: A History of the World Series. Much as in his previous book, K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, he tells his tales in gimmicky titled chapters, in this case aligning them into one for each game of the Series’s maximum seven.
"Much as in his previous book, K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, [Kepner] tells his tales in gimmicky titled chapters, in this case aligning them into one for each game of the Series’s maximum seven."
Kepner’s opener looks at how players handle the pressures of competition of the world’s championship, followed by “sidebar stories to the greatest moments in World Series history”; unlikely heroes (my favorite); the responsibilities of managers; the role of team executives in putting their clubs together; and those unfortunate athletes who found themselves on “the other side of World Series glory” (or “goats” before this became an acronym for “greatest of all time”).
In the final chapter, which should be the most dramatic, Kepner winds up with what he calls “The Ultimate World Series Lists.” The lack of the usual chronology usually found in a history book makes this one a bit uneven as he jumps back and forth between eras and issues.
Since the most recent round of expansion, playoff rounds have been added as a way to generate more interest, since more teams mean a wider swath of fans staying tuned (but let’s face it, it’s a money grab; more fans in attendance plus more in TV income). It also means a lot more players I’ve never heard of. Once upon a time, the final face-off was ostensibly between the best teams in the American and National Leagues. Now, you can get hot (or cold) at a propitious moment. Case in point: the New York Mets won 101 regular season games but picked a poor time to falter, losing to a “lesser” opponent in the wild card round.
For an old-timer like me (i.e., anyone born after the last), the extra games are a blessing and a curse. The good: more games. The bad: more teams increase the possibility of undeserved clubs enjoying a run of luck and squeaking through. But as long as the World Series continues, there always will be new opportunities to break into the history books.
Teaser
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. In THE GRANDEST STAGE, New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner delivers an indelible portrait of baseball’s signature event. He digs deep for essential tales dating back to the beginning in 1903, adding insights from Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersley and many others who have thrived --- and failed --- when it mattered most.
Promo
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. In THE GRANDEST STAGE, New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner delivers an indelible portrait of baseball’s signature event. He digs deep for essential tales dating back to the beginning in 1903, adding insights from Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersley and many others who have thrived --- and failed --- when it mattered most.
About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches comes the ultimate history of the World Series --- a vivid portrait of baseball at its finest and most intense, filled with humor, lore, analysis and fascinating behind-the-scenes stories from 117 years of the Fall Classic.
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. And there’s no one better to bring this rich history to life than New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner, whose bestselling book about pitching, K, was lauded as “Michelangelo explaining the brush strokes on the Sistine Chapel” by Newsday.
In seven scintillating chapters, Kepner delivers an indelible portrait of baseball’s signature event. He digs deep for essential tales dating back to the beginning in 1903, adding insights from Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersley and many others who have thrived --- and failed --- when it mattered most.
Why do some players, like Madison Bumgarner, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz, crave the pressure? How do players handle a dream that comes up short? What’s it like to manage in the World Series, and what are the secrets of building a champion? Kepner celebrates unexpected heroes like Bill Wambsganss, who pulled off an unassisted triple play in 1920, probes the mysteries behind magic moments (Did Babe Ruth call his shot in 1932? How could Eckersley walk Mike Davis to get to Kirk Gibson in 1988?) and busts some long-time myths (the 1919 Reds were much better than the Black Sox, anyway).
THE GRANDEST STAGE is the ultimate history of the World Series, the perfect gift for all the fans who feel their hearts pounding in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven.
Audiobook available, read by Tyler Kepner
