Amazin': The Miraculous History of New York's Most Beloved Baseball Team

by Peter Golenbock

Overview

An oral history of the New York Mets, by the New York Times bestselling baseball writer of Bums and The Bronx Zoo.

From Tom Seaver to Gary Carter, Ron Swoboda to Al Leiter, from the team's inception to the current day, the New York Mets' road to success has been a rutted and furrowed path. Now, with the help of New York Times bestselling author Peter Golenbock, the complete story of one of the most controversial teams in baseball history comes to life. Told from the voices of the men who experienced it firsthand, this compulsively readable account gives baseball fans the inside scoop on one of baseball's most popular teams. This is the true story of a group of men who won the hearts and shattered the dreams of generations.

Utilizing dozens of personal interviews with players, coaches, fans, and sportswriters, Amazin' takes readers on a journey from the Mets' bumbling days as a new team in 1962, to their stunning World Championships in 1969 and 1986, right up through to today. In time for the anniversary of the New York Mets, Amazin' is rich with unforgettable personalities and wondrous stories both funny and poignant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312309923
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/01/2003
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	672
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.48(d)

About the Author

Peter Golenbock is a New York Times bestselling author. His books include Wrigleyville, American Zoom, The Last Lap, and NASCAR Confidential. He lives in Florida.

Editorial Reviews

Golenbock builds the story line from direct commentary from participants . . . and lets them carry the load with lots of color from others. To Mets fans, every syllable about '69 and '86 remains a rhapsody, so Golenbock gives those years plenty of time.” —Daily News (New York)

“Between histories and anecdotes and firsthand accounts, the book has everything a Mets fan could conceivably want to know.” —The Star-Ledger (Newark)

“As he did in Bums, his oral history of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Golenbock presents a chorus of voices recounting the success and notorious failures on one of the most colorful teams in baseball history . . . Golenbock includes lively testimony not only from ex-players but sports writers . . . front office personnel and regular fans. This is a delightful and painstakingly detailed trip down memory lane that Met fans win cherish.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

The Barnes & Noble Review
In four decades, the New York Mets have morphed from lovable losers to perennial pennant contenders. Even in the lean years, before and between World Series titles in 1969 and 1986, the Mets provided ample entertainment on and off the field. In Amazin', Peter Golenbock canvasses management, the press, and legendary Mets players for a definitive history of the team, dirty laundry and all.

Under Casey Stengel in their early years, the Mets fashioned personality, if not talent. In 1969, though, with young arms like Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Nolan Ryan, the Amazin' Mets overtook the Cubs, then upended the heavily favored Braves and Orioles for their first World Series title. Ron Swoboda, whose backhand diving catch helped preserved a Mets victory in Game 4 of the Series, reflects at length on that season in the book.

Nearly two decades later, a 19-year-old pitching phenom, who was rushed to the bigs by manager Davey Johnson, led a boisterous cast to the Mets' second World Series crown. The ascent of Dwight Gooden, the feud between Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry, and the subsequent collapse of a near-dynastic team is the fodder of later chapters. Polishing off the book is commentary from Al Leiter on the 2000 Subway Series.

Under Bobby Valentine, the Mets have continued to forge a winning identity distinct from their older brothers and crosstown rivals, the Yankees. Yanks fans may chafe at the subtitle of the book (The Miraculous History of New York's Most Beloved Baseball Team), but Mets devotees will no doubt revel in the memories it offers up. (Brenn Jones)

bn.com

As he did in Bums, his oral history of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Golenbock presents a chorus of voices recounting the successes and notorious failures of one of the most colorful teams in baseball history. Golenbock begins with the Giants and the Dodgers and what impact their hijacking had on the city. Baseball finally came to its senses, and the New York Metropolitans came into existence for the 1962 season. One hundred and twenty losses later, the season ended in Chicago with a triple play, a fitting tribute to their still-standing record of futility. The strange thing about the early Mets was that the more they lost, the more the fans loved them. Golenbock combines his own well-researched commentary with the recollections of eyewitnesses. All the personalities are here: Casey Stengel and Marvelous Marv Throneberry, fondly recalled by utility man "Hot" Rod Kanehl, and their first all-star, Ron Hunt. Outfielder Ron Swoboda and pitcher Jerry Koosman reminisce about the Miracle Mets of 1969, while Daryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez wax nostalgic about the Mets' next World Series win, 17 years later, recalling every crucial play with nail-biting suspense. Strawberry talks candidly about his drug use and his conflicts with teammates and managers, and the author addresses the general dissipation of so many players in the 1980s. Golenbock includes lively testimony not only from ex-players, but sports writers like Robert Lipsyte, the late poet Joel Oppenheimer, front office personnel and regular fans. This is a delightful and painstakingly detailed trip down memory lane that Mets fans will cherish. (Apr.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Golenbock, who has made a cottage industry of oral histories of legendary teams, ably captures the Mets's colorful history in this entertaining volume. He interviews journalists, coaches, former players, and stars in short thematic chapters. The miracle world championship year of 1969, when the Mets beat all the odds, is especially delightful. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Prolific sports author Golenbock (Wrigleyville, 1996, etc.) crafts a mosaic of anecdotes, interviews, and photographs to retell the New York Mets' colorful history. Having earned a following for the choice blend of baseball folklore, ballplayer interviews, and reliable facts in his fast-paced accounts of the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and other major-league teams, Golenbock sticks with this formula to reconstruct the brief but memorable history of the wildly inconsistent Mets. After the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants left the Big Apple for the West Coast, he argues, New York baseball fans longed for a National League team on a par with the American League's powerful Yankees. Among those fans was Bill Shea, whose tireless efforts eventually placed legendary manager Casey "The Perfessor" Stengel at the helm of a hapless and bumbling 1962 Mets squad. According to Golenbock, colorful postgame press conferences quickly transformed Stengel into a New York folk hero and the Mets into the most lovable losers the city had ever seen. The author traces how unexpected, overwhelming fan support allowed the team to quickly acquire new talent and build a pitching staff that included hurling legends Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. His account of the 1969 season focuses on how these Hall of Fame pitchers led the team to its first World Series championship and established the Mets as consistent pennant contenders in the National League. While the team has won the World Series only once since then, Golenbock's intimate portraits of great players from Gary Carter to Keith Hernandez to Mike Piazza compellingly demonstrate that the Mets' story is in many ways the story of late 20th-century America.Not just for die-hard Mets fans, this will appeal to all readers who want to better understand the game and business of major-league baseball. (b&w photos throughout)

Kirkus Reviews