Pennant Races; Baseball at Its Best Hardcover - 1997

New York: Galahad Books, 1997. First Galahad Edition [stated]. Presumed first printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. [6], 421, [5] pages. Bibliography. Index. DJ has slight wear, soiling and sticker residue. Dave Anderson (born May 6, 1929) is an American sportswriter based in New York City. In 1981 he won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary on sporting events. He is the author of 21 books and more than 350 magazine articles. Anderson has written for a number of New York papers including The New York Times. In 1965, he won the E.P. Dutton Award for the best magazine sports story for "The Longest Day of Sugar Ray". He has also received the Dick McCann Memorial Award for career excellence. In 1972, he won the E.P. Dutton Award for the best sports feature story of the year. Drawing on press reports, his own personal baseball files of half a century, and nearly 100 personal interviews, Anderson delivers colorful accounts of 15 outstanding pennant races from 1908 to 1993. Derived from a Kirkus review: If baseball championships are sprints, the pennant races that lead to divisional playoffs and/or the World Series are marathons during which literally hundreds of events or moments can play important roles in determining outcomes. Anderson offers a marvelously evocative reprise of 15 major league seasons noteworthy for their stirringly competitive and climactic flag chases. In the leadoff spot is 1908, a doubleheader of a year when Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers won a close three-way battle for the AL title while the Windy City's Cubs copped the senior-circuit crown in a first-ever playoff with the New York Giants. Further down the order are 1934, 1944, 1951, and 1964. Closer to the present, there are 1978 and 1993. That matchup, Anderson points out, will be the last pure pennant race because, starting this year, second-place clubs will be participating in two-stage championship series in both leagues. There are contemporary photos throughout the absorbing text.