About this item
Highlights
- Many of the most powerful trends in baseball today have their roots in the 1970s.
- About the Author: The late Joseph G. Preston lived in Apple Valley, California.
- 403 Pages
- Sports + Recreation, Baseball
Description
About the Book
Many of the most powerful trends in baseball today have their roots in the 1970s. Baseball entered that decade seriously behind the times in racerelations, attitudes toward conformity versus individuality, and the manager-player relationship. In a sense, much of the wrenching change that American society as a whole experienced in the 1960s was played out in baseball in the following decade. Additionally, the game itself was rapidly evolving, with the inauguration of the designated hitter rule in the American League, the evolution of the closer, the development of the five-man starting rotation, the acceptance of strikeout lions like Dave Kingman and Bobby and the proliferation of stolen bases.This book opens with a discussion of the challenges that faced baseballs movers and shakers when they gathered in Bal Harbour, Florida, for the annual winter meetings on December 2, 1969. Their worst nightmares would be realized in the coming years. The many and often contradictory reasons the 1970s game evolved into a war of competing ideologies-escalating salaries, an acrimonious strike, Sesame Street-style team mascots, and the breaking of the time-honored tradition that all players, including the pitcher, must play on offense as well as de fense-found many teams ill-equipped to adapt.
Book Synopsis
Many of the most powerful trends in baseball today have their roots in the 1970s. Baseball entered that decade seriously behind the times in race relations, attitudes toward conformity versus individuality, and the manager-player relationship. In a sense, much of the wrenching change that American society as a whole experienced in the 1960s was played out in baseball in the following decade. Additionally, the game itself was rapidly evolving, with the inauguration of the designated hitter rule in the American League, the evolution of the closer, the development of the five-man starting rotation, the acceptance of strikeout lions like Dave Kingman and Bobby Bonds and the proliferation of stolen bases.
This book opens with a discussion of the challenges that faced baseball's movers and shakers when they gathered in Bal Harbour, Florida, for the annual winter meetings on December 2, 1969. Their worst nightmares would be realized in the coming years. For many and often contradictory reasons the 1970s game evolved into a war of competing ideologies--escalating salaries, an acrimonious strike, Sesame Street-style team mascots, and the breaking of the time-honored tradition that all players, including the pitcher, must play on offense as well as defense--that would ultimately spell doom for the majority of attendees.
Review Quotes
"splendid...this volume clicks...Preston has written the book (and the endnotes) in a deliciously engaging manner, without lapsing into cuteness or pretentiousness. Go for it. Essential"-Choice.
About the Author
The late Joseph G. Preston lived in Apple Valley, California.
