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Baseball's Greatest Games
Profiling nine of the most memorable games in baseball history, a young fan's treasury provides play-by-play descriptions that bring to life every sensational pitch, hit, catch, and home run. Reprint.
- GenresBaseballSportsNonfiction
212 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1994
3 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Dan Gutman
364 books1,037 followersThe author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."
Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.
Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 16, 2019
It was like being there.
February 9, 2019
Any time you write a book on the greatest of anything you are asking for trouble.
In this case Gutman covers baseball from its early years up to the year of the book's publication 1997 and I dare say there have been games since that could go on the list. But making it even harder on him Gutman freely admits to not being qualified to pick such a list but he did extensive research and consulted with several experts. Gutman narrows it down to 9 games. He doesn't even have a top 10!
gutman defines a great game as a game with dominant pitching or long home runs or spectacular catches or great strategy or any combination of the above. But for Gutman the one prerequisite is tension. A sense of excitement drama and suspense that is what makes baseball our national pastime. In the preface he mentions that his main regret is that he could not include many others due to page restrictions. He mentions Johnny Vander Meer's second no-hitter; Reggie Jackson 3 home run game on consecutive pitches in the 1977 World Series; Don Larsen's perfect game and Babe Ruth's called shot in the 1932 World Series against the Cubs. This book is very well written and holds your interest.; He devotes an entire chapter to each game. They go by "The Shot Heard 'Round the World; " the Dodger-Giant final playoff game of 1951, the Fisk Game, Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, "; the Haddix Game where Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves but because his Pittsburgh Pirate teammates could score 1 run he lost in the 13th inning; the Mazeroski Game; the game when Bill Mazeroski hit a walkoff homer to defeat the Yankees in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series; "The $15,000 'Slide'"; a game from the 19th Century; the Houston Marathon; a 16 inning game between the Mets and the Astros that decided the 1986 NL pennant; The Homer in the Gloamin'; a game that ended with a home run in darkness (no lights back in 1938) with the pennant on the line; The Alexander Game; a confrontation between pitcher and hitter in the tense 7th game of the 1936 World Series; and "the Gibson Game"; game 1 of the 1988 World Series where a Dodger comeback was climaxed by a home run by a hobbled Kirk Gibson and hit off Dennis Eckersley a Hall of Fame relief pitcher for Oakland.; I can't complain about the stories that were picked but I do quibble about 2 that were left out. I don't see how Don larsen's perfect game is left out. it was a crucial game 5 on the 1956 World Series. Larsen and maglie dueled in a great pitchers battle and Sal Maglie was only lifted for a pinch hitter in Dale Mitchell; who made the final out of the game on a called third strike. The game went rapidly so quick that as a child in elementary school as I rushed home to watch the end of the game just past 3 PM on a school day the game was already over! The final score was 2-0 and both pitchers pitched complete games. There was also the drama of two defensive play that preserved the no-hitter. One was a great catch by Mickey Mantle of a hard hit fly ball into the left center power alley by Gil Hodges. The other was a fluke play where an alert Gil McDougald fielded a ground ball in the shortstop hole that had been deflected off the glove of third baseman Andy Carey.; The other game would be the Blue Jays World Championship in 1993 where Joe Carter hit the walk off homerun to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in game 6 of the World Series. Just like Mazeroski's home run it decided the series. But it was not in a winner take all seventh game.; This is a very enjoyable book to read for children and adult baseball fans alike.
In this case Gutman covers baseball from its early years up to the year of the book's publication 1997 and I dare say there have been games since that could go on the list. But making it even harder on him Gutman freely admits to not being qualified to pick such a list but he did extensive research and consulted with several experts. Gutman narrows it down to 9 games. He doesn't even have a top 10!
gutman defines a great game as a game with dominant pitching or long home runs or spectacular catches or great strategy or any combination of the above. But for Gutman the one prerequisite is tension. A sense of excitement drama and suspense that is what makes baseball our national pastime. In the preface he mentions that his main regret is that he could not include many others due to page restrictions. He mentions Johnny Vander Meer's second no-hitter; Reggie Jackson 3 home run game on consecutive pitches in the 1977 World Series; Don Larsen's perfect game and Babe Ruth's called shot in the 1932 World Series against the Cubs. This book is very well written and holds your interest.; He devotes an entire chapter to each game. They go by "The Shot Heard 'Round the World; " the Dodger-Giant final playoff game of 1951, the Fisk Game, Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, "; the Haddix Game where Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves but because his Pittsburgh Pirate teammates could score 1 run he lost in the 13th inning; the Mazeroski Game; the game when Bill Mazeroski hit a walkoff homer to defeat the Yankees in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series; "The $15,000 'Slide'"; a game from the 19th Century; the Houston Marathon; a 16 inning game between the Mets and the Astros that decided the 1986 NL pennant; The Homer in the Gloamin'; a game that ended with a home run in darkness (no lights back in 1938) with the pennant on the line; The Alexander Game; a confrontation between pitcher and hitter in the tense 7th game of the 1936 World Series; and "the Gibson Game"; game 1 of the 1988 World Series where a Dodger comeback was climaxed by a home run by a hobbled Kirk Gibson and hit off Dennis Eckersley a Hall of Fame relief pitcher for Oakland.; I can't complain about the stories that were picked but I do quibble about 2 that were left out. I don't see how Don larsen's perfect game is left out. it was a crucial game 5 on the 1956 World Series. Larsen and maglie dueled in a great pitchers battle and Sal Maglie was only lifted for a pinch hitter in Dale Mitchell; who made the final out of the game on a called third strike. The game went rapidly so quick that as a child in elementary school as I rushed home to watch the end of the game just past 3 PM on a school day the game was already over! The final score was 2-0 and both pitchers pitched complete games. There was also the drama of two defensive play that preserved the no-hitter. One was a great catch by Mickey Mantle of a hard hit fly ball into the left center power alley by Gil Hodges. The other was a fluke play where an alert Gil McDougald fielded a ground ball in the shortstop hole that had been deflected off the glove of third baseman Andy Carey.; The other game would be the Blue Jays World Championship in 1993 where Joe Carter hit the walk off homerun to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in game 6 of the World Series. Just like Mazeroski's home run it decided the series. But it was not in a winner take all seventh game.; This is a very enjoyable book to read for children and adult baseball fans alike.
October 11, 2008
So far it is an interresting book. It has taught me a lot more about baseball's history. So far my faveret is the game were this guy pitched 13 perfect innigs(no hits, walks, or runs)and lost. It was amazing. So far it is a great book and I'm looking forward on what else I will learn.
June 2, 2011
This was a good book that went over some of the great games in baseball history Ive never heard of. The games were great and I liked the summaries. It was interesting to find out what happened back in the day in baseball.
October 13, 2013
For better or worse, this was the book I read dozens of times as a little kid. I haven't read it in 15 years, but I still recall how much I loved the Bobby Thompson '51 Giants and Harvey Haddix 12 perfect innings in '59 stories.
October 14, 2008
this is a great book. i like it because i like baseball books. they tell about great baseball games. such as when george herman ruth, micky mantle, joe dimaggio, or jose canseco played.
February 28, 2011
I loved being able to learn about these great moments in these great games. The author was very descriptive. I really liked the book
July 6, 2012
A little goofy, but interesting and short.
October 30, 2012
I loved the stories about baseball.
April 1, 2016
Not sure why Mark McGwire is on the cover. He's not featured in the book and the HR he's hitting is from Game 3 of the 1988 World Series even though the final chapter is about Game 1.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews