mccormick

“All year long they looked to him to light the fire and all year long he answered the demands.”

“High fly ball into right field. She is gone!”

“In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”

I was only three years old that amazing night; the night Kirk Gibson made baseball history. Which means I was only three years old the last time the Dodgers won (or even appeared in) the World Series.

Watching the video, I have relived that moment over and over again. Sometimes I even close my eyes just so I can hear Vin Scully’s golden voice with the roar of crowd in the background.

Obviously as a Dodger fan that moment holds a lot of value, but I think any baseball fan gets goose bumps watching Gibson take Eckersley deep to right to take Game 1.

Miracle Men is a fantastic summary of the 1988 Dodger season. Suchon does a great job describing the energy and focus of Gibson, the stability of Hershiser, and the ingenuity (or luck depending on how you see it) of general manager Fred Claire.

I wish more baseball books were written like this. Suchon does not try to throw in some literary themes or show us how the Dodgers changed the culture of Los Angeles. He gives us the facts and the story. He talks about the men on the field, the men in the dugout, and the men in the clubhouse.

I know the author did his job when I know the ending yet every page keeps me in suspense.