On a Clear Day They Could See Seventh Place

by Robinson, George

• ISBN13: 9780803229884
• ISBN10: 0803229887
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

To err is human. To really screw up requires team effort. Everyone cheers the clubs that win pennants, but what about the doormats who made their triumphs possible? It's time to give baseball's lousiest teams their due. Here they are: The 1904 Washington Senators, whose only good player, a thirty-five-year-old star hitter, took a dive (fatally, into Niagara Falls); the 1935 Boston Braves, who set the National League standard for losing percentage despite featuring three Hall of Famersincluding Yankee exile Babe Ruth; the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Garagiola's cellar-dwelling team that was so bad, he quipped, "they wouldn't put our pictures on bubble gum cards"; and the 1962 New York Mets, maybe not the worst team ever but definitely the funniest in modern baseball history. You'll get the stats, the scores, the scandals, and the secrets in this no-holds-barred account. When the survivors of these diamond trainwrecks include such legends as Marv Throneberry, Ralph Kiner, Cal Ripken Jr., Roger Craig, and Joe Garagiola, you can be sure that the book (unlike its subjects) is a winner.

Author Biography

George Robinson’s sportswriting has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Newsday, and the Washington Post. Charles Salzberg is the author of numerous articles and books, including Swann’s Last Song, The Mad Fisherman, and From Set Shot to Slam Dunk: The Glory Days of Basketball in the Words of Those Who Played It, available in a Bison Books edition.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Bison Books Edition	p. v
Introduction	p. 1
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders	p. 15
The 1904 Washington Senators	p. 41
The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics	p. 65
The 1928 Philadelphia Phillies	p. 93
The 1935 Boston Braves	p. 123
The 1942 Philadelphia Phillies	p. 151
The 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates	p. 179
The 1962 New York Mets	p. 207
The 1979 Toronto Blue Jays	p. 237
The 1988 Baltimore Orioles	p. 265
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