Filip Bondy, the veteran sports columnist for the New York Daily News, has done yeoman’s work in assembling this thoroughly researched volume on one of the weirdest games in Major League history.

The “Pine Tar Game” took place just over 30 years ago --- July 24, 1983 --- between the Kansas City Royals and the host New York Yankees. Future Hall of Famer George Brett hit a two-run homer off future Hall of Famer Goose Gossage in the top of the ninth to give the Royals a 5-4 lead.

Or did he?

Some eagle-eyed Yankees noticed that Brett’s bat had an unusual amount of pine tar --- a sticky substance used to give a better grip --- which they quickly pointed out to the umpires. As their job is to uphold the letter (if not the spirit) of the rules, the arbiters of the diamond discounted the potential game-winner, leading to a legendary wild-eyed Brett charging out of the dugout and needing to be restrained.

"Filip Bondy, the veteran sports columnist for the New York Daily News, has done yeoman’s work in assembling this thoroughly researched volume on one of the weirdest games in Major League history."

Bondy goes beyond the mere facts of the game. In fact, the contest itself doesn’t make an appearance until page 127. It’s preceded by deep background about the perennial success of the Yankees prior to the mid-1960s; the almost symbiotic (and ethically questionable) relationship between the Yankees and Kansas City Athletics, who moved to Oakland after the 1967 season, thus leaving K.C. without a big league presence; the birth of the expansion Royals to fill that void in 1969; etc.

THE PINE TAR GAME is just as much about the diversity of big city vs. small town culture as anything else. The personality of the owners --- George Steinbrenner in New York, Ewing Kauffman in Kansas City --- explains a lot when it comes to team philosophy. We also learn a lot about the two main protagonists, Brett and Gossage, and how they were raised in different familial environments: Gossage’s nurturing, Brett’s more antagonistic with a father who had more confidence in his brother, Ken, who made it to the Majors as well but without anywhere near George’s success.

The chapters following the event itself --- the Yankees protested the game, which had been suspended after the umpires’ decision, with the Royals still leading 5-4 --- deal with the behind-the-scenes machinations and headaches in trying to solve the problem, at which point THE PINE TAR GAME begins to take the form of a courtroom drama.

The game finally came to a conclusion on August 18th. By that time, the teams’ fortunes had changed, along with much of the personnel.

After all the ruckus to find a mutually acceptable date, the game took less than 10 minutes to complete once play resumed in the top of the ninth with the same outcome, begging the question: Was this trip really necessary?

THE PINE TAR GAME demands much patience; there’s a lot of lead-up before the payoff. Readers will have to decide if the wait is worth it.