Moments in the Sun: Baseball's Briefly Famous - Softcover

McGuire, Mark; Gormley, Michael Sean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 078640549X ISBN 13: 9780786405497

Publisher: McFarland, 1999

Synopsis

Baseball's ranks are filled with those whose careers may not have been as spectacular as Ruth or Mays but who played essential roles in the game's history, like footnotes in a great book. Some were well known in their day, featured on the front of the sports section; others were lesser lights whose feats and misdeeds were so notable they deserve to be remembered. Bert Shepard pitched a game for the Washington Senators in 1945 despite being shot down over Germany the year before and losing a leg. Bernie Carbo hit a dramatic three-run homer in the eighth inning to tie Game Six of the 1975 World Series--but his blast was completely upstaged an hour or so later by Red Sox teammate Carlton Fisk's unforgettable shot down the left field line. Bo Belinsky no-hit the powerful Baltimore Orioles in 1962, but he finished his career with a monumentally disappointing 28-51 record. The 39 other subjects profiled in this work prove that, in baseball, fame can be fleeting.

About this title

About the Author:

Award winning journalist Mark McGuire, a member of SABR, has written for Baseball Digest, Baseball America and USA Today Baseball Weekly. He is the television and radio reporter for the Times Union in Albany, New York, and lives in nearby Delmar. SABR member Michael Sean Gormley, a writer for the Associated Press in Albany, New York, has received over 30 newspaper awards, including a share in the 1992 Associated Press Sports Editors Award. He lives in Ballston Spa, New York.

From Booklist:

Two New York journalists and sports fans (McGuire is not the Mark McGwire) offer an entertaining series of profiles of baseball players who experienced isolated moments of fame--sometimes one or two superlative seasons, occasionally just a single game. Among the subjects are no-hit pitcher and legendary playboy Bo Belinsky, from the early 1960s; Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, the Detroit Tiger pitcher who filled stadiums in the mid-1970s but succumbed quickly to arm trouble; and Joe Charboneau, who pounded his way through the American League as a rookie in 1980 but lost his batting eye and disappeared into the minors forever in 1981. They also interview Joe Baumann, who hit 72 home runs in a season . . . for the Roswell Rockets in the Class C minors in 1954 yet never played a game in the majors. Fans will enjoy remembering these briefly famous names and will also come away with a real sense of a baseball career's fragility. Today's phenoms should take note. Wes Lukowsky

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 078640549X
• ISBN 13: 9780786405497
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 247