Here's the Catch

by Ron Swoboda

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.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 23, 2021

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one gets a barely passable three star rating from me only because I finished it. While he means well in this book, Swoboda seems to be jumping all over the place with his anecdotes. The 1969 season is covered in chronological order, but key pieces seem to be missing. Plus, some of the anecdotes seem have straight out of “Ball Four” - stuff we’ve all read many times before.

This was the third book I have read this year for the 50th anniversary of the Miracle Mets. I would recommend the other two (“After the Miracle” by Art Shamsky and “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done” by Wayne Coffey) over this one.

[Lyndsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been 50 years since Ron Swoboda made his famous catch, 50 years since the Mets went from worst to World Series Champions. In his book Swoboda reflects on his 9 seasons in major league baseball. He is very honest about how he struggled as a player and how he wishes he has played better. He of course talks about the '69 season and how the Mets where the underdogs who no one thought would win it all. Also in the book he tells stories about his teammates and some of baseball greats that he played with and against during his time as a player. He also talks a lot about his friendship with Tug McGraw and how much he misses him.
At the end of the book he reflects on his major league career and talks about him and his teammates will always have the connection because of that '69 season.
"The most intimate connection for me, the reason these words are being committed to paper, is having played on a team that won it all in New York with the Mets in 1969. These relationships, cemented over our single season in the sun, have been the most enduring and will endure for the rest of out days.

I really enjoyed the book. I liked how he was very open and honest about everything. Also, how at the end of the book he mentioned the players wives and their reunion. My only complaint is that the book felt a little jumpy at times but other then that I really like it.


*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Jim Stennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun. Insightful, funny, touching and dripping with great memories. Very recommended for fans of baseball or any sport.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: SWOBODA SAYS THE STUPIDEST THING I EVER DID WAS NOT GET ALONG WITH MANAGER GIL HODGES.
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Former New York Mets outfielder and one of the key heroes… of the 1969 “MIRACLE METS” World Series victory… at the age of seventy-five… looks back with a lifetime of wisdom and hindsight at his life and his career in this short (213 pages not counting the index)… introspective… relatively ego free… autobiography.

The first sign… that this is not the usual overblown egotistical salute to one’s own greatness… is before the reader even gets to the table of contents… where in a short nine- line salute to his parents… wife… and sons… the author’s final words are… (they) “MADE ME ONE OF THE MOST FORTUNATE SOULS WHO CAN SAY HE’S BEEN LOVED EVERY SECOND OF HIS LIFE.” That is such a straight from the heart… simplistic as far as quantity of words… but massive in the power of appreciation… from an athlete setting the ground rules of what’s important to him… before he even describes one pitch thrown or one batted ball hit.

It seems extremely important to the author from cover to cover.. that he believes the fame he did achieve… and the appreciation of fans… for a player… who other than his shining moment on baseball’s biggest stage… the 1969 World Series… he probably wasn’t even an average player. But the Mets fans loved him… because he came across as an “everyman”. The author of course goes into great detail on the Series that included one of… if not the best… catches… surely… the most hallowed and remembered in Mets history… and besides residing for eternity in all true Mets’ fans hearts… also will exist for eternity in a steel silhouette on the right-field entrance sign at Citi Field. The storytelling follows Swoboda from Little League to high school to college to the minor leagues and the majors… and all the stops in between. And as entertaining as the stories about the “Old Perfesser” and legendary Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel is… and just as interesting is his current sorrow… for how he didn’t fully appreciate manager Gil Hodges baseball genius when he had the chance… and lives with the personal disappointment… that in Ron’s own harsh words that… “he couldn’t deliver… by conducting himself like a mature adult and helping the team win games. Period. That’s all he wanted from me, and I couldn’t f*****g deliver it.” This failure on Swoboda’s part haunts him to this day.

His friendships with… and respect for the likes of “Tom-Terrific” Seaver… Ed Kranepool… Art Shamsky… and the irrepressible Tug McGraw… among others are duly covered. But to be honest… the parts about his family life… were the most interesting and endearing to me. From his loving parents… to his “crazy” uncles who worked in a morgue… and among other things took the clothes off cadavers and either wore them themselves or gave them to Ron to wear. Their special morgue drinks… and lifestyle… were interesting and amusing. His Chinese Grandfather is another family story that is well received.

I must also give credit to Ron’s ghost writer/author… (and if he didn’t use one… then I am shortchanging Swoboda’s literary talent)… who periodically pumped some pretty slick literary prose into what otherwise would have been ordinary sentences. There are also some short insider looks at baseball icons such as… “Big D”… Don Drysdale… Sandy Koufax… Juan Marichal… Bob Gibson… and even a short reference to one of my family favorites… Sal “The Barber” Maglie. To share a well turned phrase or two… when he first was sent up to bat against “Big D”… “When things are cool, everybody is cool. I wasn’t cool, and I just hoped I wasn’t visibly shaking. Tense? If someone had slapped me, I would have shattered like a rose dipped in liquid nitrogen.” After a traumatic bus ride in Puerto Rico while playing in a winter league… he states… “IT WAS HARROWING. BECAUSE BASEBALL DOESN’T GET EASIER AFTER A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE.”

As I am an Honorably Discharged Viet Nam Era Veteran… I must admit that it bothered me when Ron went into detail on all the contortions he went through to keep from being drafted and serving in Viet Nam. Yet to his credit he later wound up volunteering as a ballplayer to make two USO trips to visit the troops in Nam. And he also took time to give much deserved credit to a true patriot entertainer AND full-bird Army Reserve… and registered nurse specializing in field surgery… Martha Raye … movie star… singer… comedienne… who served in battle zones, treating the wounded. “SHE EARNED A PURPLE HEART FOR WOUNDS RECEIVED UNDER FIRE, WHICH SHE MADE LIGHT OF. TOTALLY WORTHY, FAR MORE THAN A USO ENTERTAINER, SHE IS THE ONLY WOMAN BURIED IN THE GREEN BERET CEMETARY AT FORT BRAGG.”

A totally class act by the author to make such magnanimous mention of this true hero.

To summarize the catch he made… and this book’s title references… he quotes poet Robert Browning:

“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, /Or what’s a heaven for?”

[Edwin Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ron Swoboda is an affable everyman who found success in baseball but remained very accessible throughout his life and in HERE'S THE CATCH, he writes about his life and how blessed he has been. Swoboda explains the infamous catch in the World Series (the picture on the cover of the book) and how he probably shouldn't have taken that much of a risk to catch the ball because of how badly it could have ended up had he missed. His humble attitude and matter-of-fact perception carries throughout the whole book and it feels like the reader is hearing stories from their uncle Ron at a family barbeque.
Swoboda takes the reader back to a different time in baseball, a time where players weren't celebrities, or if they were, you could still see them living in your neighborhood. Swoboda's book reminds the reader that being a baseball player was special and unique, but at the same time it is was a job and that comes with frustrations and challenges right along with the happiness. Swoboda also describes family life when a parent is a professional baseball player and those unique obstacles that families must overcome. He describes all of that very straight forward without call for concern or celebration and within the same book tells some great stories about men he played and many of their quirks and fallacies. The balance in those approaches lead to a truly endearing memoir. Swoboda also spend a good amount of time describing life after being a player and how he will forvever be entwined in America's favorite pastime.
HERE'S THE CATCH does what few sports memoirs do: it tells great stories, has a lot of heart, and pays homage to the game gave the writer his success. At the end of the book, Swoboda talks about the 1969 New York Mets team gathering again to remember the past, but the neatest part is he describes in detail how the wives of the 1969 team had there own reunion. Swoboda is a class act and a good writer and I'm glad I came across his book.
Thank you to Thomas Dunne Books, Ron Swoboda, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Ken Heard · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I began reading this, I immediately looked to see if there was a co-writer since the book is well-written. Athletes are generally not known for their grammar skills. I thought some sports writer helped him pen the book. But, Swoboda actually uses the word "gloaming" when describing a late afternoon game in Shea. (I know that word was used to describe Cubs' catcher Gabby Hartnett's home run in 1938, but still.. ) Swoboda also uses plays on words to make the reading more enjoyable.

This is one of the bevy of books on the 50th anniversary of the Mets winning the 1969 World Series. I read two before and many of the stories in Swoboda's book would have been more interesting had I not read them already. (The best I've read this year on the Mets' 50th anniversary is Art Shamksy's "After the Miracle.")

Still, this is a decent read with some nice details about the 1969 season. One glaring error, and I may have simply missed it, there was no mention of the black cat game vs. the Cubs in Shea in September that year. I once interviewed Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger about that cat for a newspaper story. He wasn't happy about the story at all. The cat became a huge part of the Mets' legacy that year, but the omission of said feline was startling. A majority of the book focuses on that 1969 season. He then rushes through the rest of his career.

Finally, and Lance mentioned this in his review of this book earlier, some stories seem to have come from "Ball Four." He talks of Goose Gossage's proclivity of sitting bare-assed on birthday cakes. In "Here's the Catch," he admits to repaying Gossage's hijinks with a birthday cake surprise of his own which sounds like a Jim Bouton tale.

Still, this is one of the better written books by an athlete I've read in a while. "The Game," by Ken Dryden is probably the best ever, followed by Bouton's classic. This is on a level way above Chipper Jones' autobiography on a writing skill and is a fun recap of the 1969 season. I've been reading mostly baseball books this season and Swoboda's is a good one.

[Jason M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not five stars in the sense that is equivalent to the literary might of Umberto Eco, Donna Tartt, or Sir Walter Scott. However, if you're a Mets fan and if you like player autobiographies and if you enjoy reading a light sociological overview of the 1960s (because if you *remember* the '60s, you weren't there), Ron Swoboda's book, published on the 50th anniversary of the "Miracles Mets"' World Series win over Baltimore, is about as entertaining as a baseball autobiography gets.

Swoboda is famous for exactly one thing and he joyfully embraces that from the title onwards. "If you play nine years in the big leagues you should leave with at least ten seconds of highlight footage," Swoboda writes, and this book is the story of those ten seconds. "Here's the Catch" is one of the rare baseball autobiographies that is not avowedly evangelical and/or full of right-wing political views; Swoboda takes two swings at Trump and expresses some admiration for transgender tennis pioneer Renee Richards. Unlike most books, also, Swoboda does not rely on false memory and embellished anecdotes; he goes through the '69 season game by game (presumably with the help of Baseball Reference or at least much time at the library with the microfilm machine) and lends credible detail to the Mets' 100-win season while being humorously self-deprecating about his limited role in that success. There are also genuine insights into Hall of Fame managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges. And a surprising abundance of literary allusions: Swoboda quotes Shakespeare several times, Dom DeLillo, and Peanuts, among others, and is unique among baseball books in using the word "cynosure" twice. It's also one of a very small handful of books to talk about Syosset (the Long Island hamlet where I grew up over much of the '70s and '80s), Swoboda's Northern home during his time with the Mets as player and local broadcaster.

While the potential audience for a book like this is likely limited to white men over the age of 55, it's one of the more diverting examples of the genre.

[Gemini · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like reading about professional athletes as well as biographies. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this book. I guess I was expecting something more or just a better-written book. The author is all over the place while telling his story. I am not sure if there was a real need to get into the nitty gritty when describing games. It made it more confusing than helpful in describing the play-by-play. I didn't care much for his antics as a player or shenanigans like it was nothing. What you do or did to people has consequences. Can his white male privilege be any more apparent, not at all. I was not amused by it at all, simply childish. Not sure he's that great a person. As a Mets fan we don't learn about him, yet he's important for something big.
*SPOILER ALERT* I was also shocked to read about Tug McGraw & learn how Ron dropped him after picking him up & where he hit his head was where he got brain cancer. Simply disturbing.

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the 50th anniversary of the Miracle Mets and their 1969 World Series triumph and Ron Swoboda, a key member of the team that rose phoenix from the ashes from last place to first tells the story that only an insider could do so.

The provides his ow memories of his contribution to the team in particular his amazing catch that led to the Mets winning Game Four of a tight series.

He is a keen and honest observer who is unafraid to tell it how it was and also criticise the behaviour and attitude of himself as well as others.

We learn much about the chemistry amongst the roster and the massive contribution of manager Gil Hodges - and how Swoboda irretrievably fell out with him, something he now regrets.

It is an easy and concise read which provides warmth and deep insight about what it takes to make a World Champion.

Highly recommended.

[Aaron Winkler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how fast paced the book was. He didn't waste time on useless facts and moments. I also enjoyed the book because it was about baseball. I like baseball and am a Met's fan, so it was nice reading about a time when they were good.

I think he could maybe go into more detail. He could explain more about what the coaches talked to him about and how he improved so vastly. I think he could also improve not just stating the scores of games. He could go into more detail about the important games, playoffs or vital games for standings.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys baseball or sports. Also people who enjoy inspiring books about never giving up. I think mainly athletes would read this book based off how the cover shows him playing baseball.

[David V · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I bemoan the lack of baseball here in the spring of 2020, the book was a bit of a warm blanket for this Mets fan. This is a perfectly serviceable and pleasant recounting of a journeyman's career and one magical season.

Swoboda is very likeable, as well as self-aware with regards to his skills and baseball relationships. He certainly comes across as someone you'd love to sit down with over a few beers and listen all the stories of this special team.

This is a book targeted directly at Mets fans and a solid addition to everything already written about that time and team.

[Raymond Rusinak · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a true Mets fanatic, I couldn't pass on this one. After finally finishing the audio version (which definitely was fun to have Ron as narrator), I have to admit this is a book strictly for Met completists. Yeah it was fun to hear the various anecdotes and what not, but generally speaking Swoboda drifts way too much. I just can't see any non Mets fan getting much of anything out of it. That being said, I did enjoy it and am glad I picked it up.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York Mets outfielder from the 1969 “Amazin’” world champions reflects on his career, the Cinderella season and how that team and his well-remembered catch during the World Series have lived on. He interweaves happenings in the country in his narrative, and winds up glorying in being an “Everyman” on a team still talked about 50 years after its championship.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Mets fan, I am excited about all of the books coming out to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their World Series win. This book was written by a player on that team and offered a lot of behind the scenes insight that any Mets fan would love! Highly recommend!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good chronicle of the 1969 season and life as a pro baseball player; although, Mr. Swoboda swells mostly on his career as a NY Met. A long time sportscaster, his descriptions of game play are particularly rips. A must read for any Met fan.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will read anything by a baseball player I admired as a young person. Unfortunately, this one is not as good as some that I’ve read. Swoboda is a terrific guy, but he’s not a writer. I’d recommend reading something by Tug McGraw, Keith Hernandez, or Ron Darling.

[Scott Breslove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! The very rare athlete autobiography that combines intelligence and emotional honesty. I was very impressed, quite possibly one of the best athlete autobiography’s I’ve read. (And I’m not just saying that because he was a Met) Very enjoyable and a great read.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would have much preferred to read a book written by Mr. Swoboda. His ghost writer went completely overboard with his cutesy, descriptive writing. It made for a very hard read. I did enjoy remembering the players from that era and in many instances learning what happened to them.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for any Met Fan!

[Bill De Lauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written and easy read for a die-hard Mets fan, well done.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the 69 Mets as seen by RON SWOBODA

[M Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who know me as a die-hard fan of the St. Louis Cardinals may be surprised to know that my first baseball love was the 1969 "Miracle Mets." Having just moved back to the U.S. from England, where I'd been age 5-9, living on Long Island was an education in many ways but especially in terms of making me a lifelong baseball fan. Among my favorites on that team were Buddy Harrelson (who lived in the same LI town as we did), Tom "Terrific" Seaver, and Ron Swoboda.

So, I was filled with the pure delight of a 9 year old boy when I discovered that "Saboda" (as the Ol' Perfesser, Casey Stengel, called him) had written this memoir. It didn't disappoint. I was able to put the book down at the end thinking, "Gee, what a nice guy!" full of the memories of that glorious summer and fall. Swoboda made the catch and I'm forever a fan.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, comfortable read about the Mets of 1969 and Ron Swoboda's personal memories and observations.

[Joey Nigro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one of the more pleasant audiobook experiences I’ve had. Very well done!