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One Pitch Away: The Players' Stories of the 1986 League Championships and World Series
Interviews with the key players among the Angels, Astros, Mets, and Red Sox document a remarkable season and arguably the most spectacular comeback in the history of the sport
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1995
17 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Mike Sowell
7 books8 followersMike Sowell is a sports historian and the author of three baseball books, including The Pitch That Killed about Ray Chapman and Carl Mays. Named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times in 1989,[citation needed] and winner of the CASEY Award for best baseball book of 1989,[1] The Pitch That Killed tells the story of the only on-field fatality in major league baseball history, when the Yankees' Mays beaned the Indians' Chapman in the final weeks of the 1920 American League pennant race.[2]
Sowell also wrote about baseball tragedies in his other books. One Pitch Away, about the 1986 baseball postseason and the key players involved, featured Donnie Moore, the Angels pitcher whose suicide two years later was linked to his role in the 1986 ALCS, and Bill Buckner, whose 20-year career was tainted by missing a ground ball in Game 6 of the World Series.[3] July 2, 1903 explored the mysterious death of Hall-of-Famer Ed Delahanty, who died after being swept over Niagara Falls.[4]
In addition to his books and articles on baseball history, Sowell wrote the text for Cardtoons, a set of baseball parody cards that led to a lawsuit with the Major League Baseball Players Association.[5][6] In Cardtoons v. MLBPA, the court ruled in 1996 that the cards parodying the players and their greed were protected by the First Amendment.[7][8]
Sowell, a former sportswriter for the Tulsa Tribune,[2] is now a journalism professor at Oklahoma State University.[9] He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2007.[10][11]
Sowell also wrote about baseball tragedies in his other books. One Pitch Away, about the 1986 baseball postseason and the key players involved, featured Donnie Moore, the Angels pitcher whose suicide two years later was linked to his role in the 1986 ALCS, and Bill Buckner, whose 20-year career was tainted by missing a ground ball in Game 6 of the World Series.[3] July 2, 1903 explored the mysterious death of Hall-of-Famer Ed Delahanty, who died after being swept over Niagara Falls.[4]
In addition to his books and articles on baseball history, Sowell wrote the text for Cardtoons, a set of baseball parody cards that led to a lawsuit with the Major League Baseball Players Association.[5][6] In Cardtoons v. MLBPA, the court ruled in 1996 that the cards parodying the players and their greed were protected by the First Amendment.[7][8]
Sowell, a former sportswriter for the Tulsa Tribune,[2] is now a journalism professor at Oklahoma State University.[9] He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2007.[10][11]
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 29, 2016
The 1986 baseball season ended with three series that had drama, heartbreaks, elation and some of the best baseball played in October in the history of the game. Whether it was Dave Henderson hitting a home run off of California Angels pitcher Donnie Moore to keep the Angels from appearing in their first World Series, the New York Mets and Houston Astros playing a 16 inning marathon to finish the National League Championship Series or the Red Sox giving their fans another heartbreaking World Series loss, the games and stories from some of the players from all four teams make for terrific reading.
Mike Sowell takes the memories of the games and the players and weaves them together to write a very entertaining book of 17 stories about the entire postseason. He starts off with three stories, one about each series. While the teams and the games are primary focus of these selections, there are very interesting personal stories as well. The reader will learn about Gene Mauch, the Angels manager who never made it to the World Series. Read about Roger Craig, the pitching coach who taught Mike Scott the split-finger fastball that made him the best pitcher in baseball that season. Then comes the World Series between the Mets and Red Sox and all the side stories, including the famous game six ending.
If it just stopped there, this would be a very good collection of short stories. But Sowell then goes deeper and tells the stories of fourteen players from all four postseason teams. These stories are written in an easy, conversational style that is perfect for that evening when a reader wants to do nothing else but hear some great baseball stories. While some may feel that the writing style is talking to someone else other than the reader, I was left with the feeling that the player whose story was featured was opening up some old feelings, whether good or bad, and was letting the reader inside his mind and emotions.
This release of a book from 1995 into electronic book format is perfect for readers who want to relieve that terrific postseason, or for those who have heard some stories about the drama and excitement but wish to learn more. Each series provided great memories for fans of the Mets. But for those who were cheering for the Red Sox, Astros, and Angels, the last line in the book sums up their feelings perfectly:
Baseball is like that. There is no end to the number of ways it can break your heart. It can be torture.
I wish to thank Summer Game Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
Mike Sowell takes the memories of the games and the players and weaves them together to write a very entertaining book of 17 stories about the entire postseason. He starts off with three stories, one about each series. While the teams and the games are primary focus of these selections, there are very interesting personal stories as well. The reader will learn about Gene Mauch, the Angels manager who never made it to the World Series. Read about Roger Craig, the pitching coach who taught Mike Scott the split-finger fastball that made him the best pitcher in baseball that season. Then comes the World Series between the Mets and Red Sox and all the side stories, including the famous game six ending.
If it just stopped there, this would be a very good collection of short stories. But Sowell then goes deeper and tells the stories of fourteen players from all four postseason teams. These stories are written in an easy, conversational style that is perfect for that evening when a reader wants to do nothing else but hear some great baseball stories. While some may feel that the writing style is talking to someone else other than the reader, I was left with the feeling that the player whose story was featured was opening up some old feelings, whether good or bad, and was letting the reader inside his mind and emotions.
This release of a book from 1995 into electronic book format is perfect for readers who want to relieve that terrific postseason, or for those who have heard some stories about the drama and excitement but wish to learn more. Each series provided great memories for fans of the Mets. But for those who were cheering for the Red Sox, Astros, and Angels, the last line in the book sums up their feelings perfectly:
Baseball is like that. There is no end to the number of ways it can break your heart. It can be torture.
I wish to thank Summer Game Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
June 8, 2022
In One Pitch Away, author Mike Sowell recounts the events of the 1986 Playoffs and World Series. Being a Mets fan, I hadn’t paid much attention to the series between the California Angels and Red Sox, except in regard to who would be the opponent of the National League Champions. Sowell narrates the events, having interviewed players, managers, and coaches, with what was happening behind the scenes, how the players were feeling and thinking, and what was being said between the people involved.
Sowell manages to capture the excitement of the League Championship Playoffs and World Series in the first part of the book, setting the stage for the second part. He has gone back years later and interviewed some of the players who were on the various teams. Not all the players are interviewed, but there are enough that it gives a good overview of what happened in the series.
One particularly tragic story is that of Donnie Moore, the Angels pitcher who felt as if the reason the Angels lost the series was because of him. There were other issues in his life that led to the headlines he made a few years later when he attempted to murder his wife and then committed suicide, but Sowell details here through a series of interviews with friends, teammates, and family how Moore continually beat himself up over the 1986 American League Playoffs.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
Sowell manages to capture the excitement of the League Championship Playoffs and World Series in the first part of the book, setting the stage for the second part. He has gone back years later and interviewed some of the players who were on the various teams. Not all the players are interviewed, but there are enough that it gives a good overview of what happened in the series.
One particularly tragic story is that of Donnie Moore, the Angels pitcher who felt as if the reason the Angels lost the series was because of him. There were other issues in his life that led to the headlines he made a few years later when he attempted to murder his wife and then committed suicide, but Sowell details here through a series of interviews with friends, teammates, and family how Moore continually beat himself up over the 1986 American League Playoffs.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
June 24, 2019
I bought the book after hearing Sowell talk about it on the Baseball By the Book podcast, and in the iterim, I read his book about the beaning/death of Ray Chapman. That said, once I finally got around to this one, I was glad I did.
Sowell's account of the 1986 MLB postseason is quick and readable, and he formats his book to comb through those great playoffs in about 1/4 of the book. The remaining 3/4 of the book goes through some of the most significant players (an unforgettable posthumous chapter on Donnie Moore, for instance, or an inspiring chapter on Bob Stanley) and recounts their stories and reflections on a particularly great installment of baseball's postseason.
Honestly, I'd enjoy a sequel (or a revised edition perhaps) today, with the recent passing of Bill Buckner. Sowell does a great job of interviewing human drama and baseball drama-- which is fun, because ultimately baseball drama IS human drama. This is as good as the book he did on Chapman-- which is to say, entirely worth reading and enjoying.
Sowell's account of the 1986 MLB postseason is quick and readable, and he formats his book to comb through those great playoffs in about 1/4 of the book. The remaining 3/4 of the book goes through some of the most significant players (an unforgettable posthumous chapter on Donnie Moore, for instance, or an inspiring chapter on Bob Stanley) and recounts their stories and reflections on a particularly great installment of baseball's postseason.
Honestly, I'd enjoy a sequel (or a revised edition perhaps) today, with the recent passing of Bill Buckner. Sowell does a great job of interviewing human drama and baseball drama-- which is fun, because ultimately baseball drama IS human drama. This is as good as the book he did on Chapman-- which is to say, entirely worth reading and enjoying.
August 15, 2017
A quick read but goes in deep on the back stories behind the best post season ever.
August 18, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It gave great insights of what was going on during the playoffs and world series. I highly recommend it to any baseball fan
April 29, 2009
This earlier (and much better than "The Bad Guys Won!") version contains the stories of the various key players taking part in the League Championship Series and the World Series. So there are also stories from the California Angels and the Houston Astros. It was written about 8 years after the greatest world series ever, so it contains also the sad story of Donnie Moore's suicide---the book reminds readers that Donnie blew the Game 5 save, but the Angels were still ahead in the series 3 - 2. There were two more games where the Angels could have won. It reminds us that the Red Sox had a three run lead deep into Game 7 of the World Series after the Buckner blooper.
This book is better because it gives better context to the match up. It better captures the drama and the tension leading up to the final game. And it's got the better play by play. The reader can see the games in their heads through the transparent writing style.
Highly recommended.
This book is better because it gives better context to the match up. It better captures the drama and the tension leading up to the final game. And it's got the better play by play. The reader can see the games in their heads through the transparent writing style.
Highly recommended.
October 2, 2012
Part One of this book is very good! It is an extensive recap of the 1986 MLB postseason, one of the best I have ever seen! Astros v. Mets in the NL, Red Sox vs. Angels in the AL, and then Sox v. Mets in the Series! Very well done! The second part, which is about 2/3 of the book is sort of a where are they now retrospective of the players involved. For me, not as interesting. But I did love reliving the games, so thank you Mr. Sowell!
August 13, 2007
A fascinating look into a short but tumultuous period of time. Includes actual guns.
January 25, 2011
I enjoyed this book but it's probably only going to be interesting to a fan of the teams or players involved like me.
September 21, 2015
Don't mean to be mean, but this could have been an epic story/book.
Read
January 24, 2018Why Have a World Series?
Four epic teams vieing to be the ultimate champion.
Only a seemingly routine ball down the first base line could outdo those two championship serieses.
Four epic teams vieing to be the ultimate champion.
Only a seemingly routine ball down the first base line could outdo those two championship serieses.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews