Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era That Transformed Baseball - Hardcover

Pepe, Phil

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9781572438392: Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era That Transformed Baseball

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1572438398 ISBN 13: 9781572438392

Publisher: Triumph Books, 2006

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In Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank, sportswriter Phil Pepe talks to the stars of the day about their fondest memories and their greatest highlights from an era gone by. The spirit of the day is nostalgically captured in Pepe's priceless interviews and through scores of archival photographs. This book proves to be as enjoyable as the era it so thoroughly depicts.

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From the Publisher:

"‘How would it work if you didn’t have the reserve clause? A team with the most money would be buying up all the stars, and nobody would be able to beat them. It would be terrible if some team did that.’ And I said to [Jim] Bouton, ‘You mean like the Yankees now?’" —Marvin Miller

"I made the 1971 All-Star team as an alternate. I was to replace Tony Oliva, who got hurt. I remember my [Oakland A’s] teammate, Sal Bando, telling me, ‘Don’t embarrass us and strike out...’" —Reggie Jackson

"I used to pound Clemente inside, pound him inside, pound him inside, and he liked the ball out over the plate and he’d hit the ball to right center. I threw a slider down and away and it was a damn good pitch, and he hit a line drive right down the right field line..." —Tom Seaver

"We were in a car going to get some ice cream, not far from our house in New Jersey, and the guy said over the radio, ‘Thurman Munson just died...crash...’ Audry and I just looked at each other and didn’t say a word for I don’t know how long." —Chris Chambliss

From the Inside Flap:

Baseball in the seventies—who can forget that wonderful era? It was a decade of heroes and heroics, upsets and upheaval, and dramatic freeze-frame moments too numerous to count. Never had the game been more exciting, and never before or after did it change so radically. In this riveting oral history, veteran sportswriter Phil Pepe brings that incredible baseball decade back to life in the words of the guys who played—and lived—the game.

Union leader Marvin Miller recounts St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood’s monumental challenge of the ironclad reserve clause, which dawned the age of free agency. Ron Blomberg recalls his time at bat as the game’s first designated hitter. Earl Weaver and Brooks Robinson describe the Orioles dismantling the Big Red Machine. Ralph Houk and Rusty Staub relive the actions and antics of Tigers rookie sensation Mark "the Bird" Fidrych. And Diane Munson shares from about her husband, Yankees captain Thurman Munson, after he died in a tragic plane crash.

It was the first time a player ever earned a million bucks. Hank Aaron became the all-time home-run king. Electronic scoreboards blazed against the night sky. Fans screamed "Ya gotta believe" and sang "We Are Family." All this happened in one amazing decade—and it’s all right here in one keepsake book, along with a companion DVD featuring players and unforgettable moments from the decade that changed the game forever.

Through the memories and the marvels of more than 60 voices—from Bernie Carbo, Rennie Stennett, and Mike Torrez to Tom Seaver, George Steinbrenner, and Reggie Jackson—Phil Pepe weaves one of the most enjoyable baseball memoirs ever written.

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