The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City
Original price was: $35.00.$19.69Current price is: $19.69.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • Sports Illustrated #1 Book of 2024 • A hugely entertaining history of baseball and New York City, bursting with larger-than-life figures and fascinating stories from the game’s beginnings to the end of World War II.
“You’re going to beg for extra innings. Without missing a scandal or a sensation, with an eye on how assimilation transforms the picture, Kevin Baker has written a buoyant, double coming-of-age story. “—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Baseball is “the New York game” because New York is where the diamond was first laid out, where the bunt and the curveball were invented, and where the home run was hit. It’s where the game’s first stars were born, and where everyone came to play or watch the game. With nuance and depth, historian Kevin Baker brings this all vividly back to life: the still-controversial, indelible moments—Did the Babe call his shot? Was Merkle out? Did they fix the 1919 World Series? Here are all the legendary players, managers, and owners, in all their vivid, complicated humanity, on and off the field.
In Baker’s hands the city and the game emerge from the murk of nineteenth-century American life—driven by visionaries and fixers, heroes and gangsters. He details how New York and its favorite sport came to mirror one another, expanding, bumbling through catastrophe and corruption, and rising out of these trials stronger than ever.
From the first innings played in vacant lots and tavern yards in the 1820s; to the canny innovations that created the very first sports league; to the superb Hispanic and Black players who invented their own version of the game when white baseball sought to exclude them. And all amidst New York’s own, incredible evolution from a raw, riotous town to a new world city. The New York Game is a riveting, rollicking, brilliant ode to America’s beloved pastime and to its indomitable city of origin.
Publisher : Knopf (March 5, 2024)
Language : English
Hardcover : 528 pages
ISBN-10 : 0375421831
ISBN-13 : 978-0375421839
Item Weight : 1.8 pounds
Dimensions : 6.46 x 1.64 x 9.53 inches
11 reviews for The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City
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Original price was: $35.00.$19.69Current price is: $19.69.
Brendan –
Incredible History of NYC and Baseball
Simply the best history I’ve read in a long time, baseball or not. Baker manages to write with great panache and pitch-perfect pacing. Like the chatter one hears from players at the ballpark, it’s fun and, at times, funny, yet he never compromises on literary skill or substance (Baker is a tremendous writer). Simply couldn’t recommend this book more.
martha robins –
A good book for your New York sports fan.
Gave this book to my brother-in-law, and it was right for him. He’s from New York, and he loves baseball and sports history. Do you have a brother-in-law like that? Good gift then
R. Fuchs –
A comprehensive history of the period
I am enjoying this well written and detailed story of baseball in New York as it grew to be what it is today.
The Laughing Wolf –
Great History
One of Baker’s best. Easily the best book on Baseball and its history I’ve ever read, especially its origins. I’m going to look for more of Baker’s books.
Thomas Zocco –
Quite a City
The book contains many interesting facts about early baseball and the city itself. The book covers baseball in New York through World War II. It is a bit dry in a few places, but overall it is an interesting read. Highly recommended.
chris m. –
Not to Be missed.
Hard to believe, but this book is not only a deft primer on 100 years of New York City history but the best book on the rise of baseball that I’ve read in years. Two tickets for the price of one! Baker’s writing is sharp, witty, passionate when he needs to be and always intelligent. His research appears flawless and his ability to write personal profiles of dozens of figures, both on the field and off, is informed and devastating when needed. The best news is that his epilog states that he will bring his subject up to date, post 1945, with a volume Two.
Jason M Bluestein –
Terrific Read for Baseball fans and New York History Buffs
I’ve read many wonderful books about baseball. This is one of the best. Mixing the rise of New York City with the evolution of baseball, this is one entertaining book that makes some important connections between our national pastime and politics, history, and social justice – all the while telling some wonderful anecdotes about Babe Ruth, John McGraw, and a whole host of vintage ballplayers – some remembered, some not so much. I am psyched that there will be a volume 2. Great read! Highly recommend!
Robert Hicks –
Very good history of baseball and its relationship to the city of New York.
Starts out a little slow reading but the facts about baseball are very interesting and how hard it was for the players and ownership in the beginning
William Hanigsberg –
Extremely well written, it integrates the development of baseball with the social history of New York. Informative even for those who know a bit about both. Recommended.
Man Chester –
Wonderful book. Highly recommended
Barry Milton Nicholls –
Outstanding account of the intertwining of the development of New York and baseball.