Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball—and America—Forever

by Tim Wendel

The extraordinary story of the 1968 baseball season--when the game was played to perfection even as the country was being pulled apart at the seams From the beginning, '68 was a season rocked by national tragedy and sweeping change. Opening Day was postponed and later played in the shadow of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral. That summer, as the pennant races were heating up, the assassination of Robert Kennedy was later followed by rioting at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But even as tensions boiled over and violence spilled into the streets, something remarkable was happening in major league ballparks across the country. Pitchers were dominating like never before, and with records falling and shut-outs mounting, many began hailing '68 as "The Year of the Pitcher." In Summer of '68, Tim Wendel takes us on a wild ride through a season that saw such legends as Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, Don Drysdale, and Luis Tiant set new standards for excellence on the mound, each chasing perfection against the backdrop of one of the most divisive and turbulent years in American history. For some players, baseball would become an insular retreat from the turmoil encircling them that season, but for a select few, including Gibson and the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals, the conflicts of '68 would spur their performances to incredible heights and set the stage for their own run at history. Meanwhile in Detroit -- which had burned just the summer before during one of the worst riots in American history -- '68 instead found the city rallying together behind a colorful Tigers team led by McLain, Mickey Lolich, Willie Horton, and Al Kaline. The Tigers would finish atop the American League, setting themselves on a highly anticipated collision course with Gibson's Cardinals. And with both teams' seasons culminating in a thrilling World Series for the ages -- one team playing to establish a dynasty, the other fighting to help pull a city from the ashes -- what ultimately lay at stake was something even baseball's place in a rapidly changing America that would never be the same. In vivid, novelistic detail, Summer of '68 tells the story of this unforgettable season -- the last before rule changes and expansion would alter baseball forever -- when the country was captivated by the national pastime at the moment it needed the game most.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, History

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Tim Wendel is an award-winning novelist and journalist. He is the author of 16 books, including Rebel Falls: A Novel, Summer of '68: The Season When Baseball, and America, Changed Forever, and Castro's Curveball. His stories have appeared in Gargoyle and The Potomac Review, and his articles in The New York Times, Esquire, GQ, Washingtonian and USA Today. A longtime writer-in-residence at Johns Hopkins University, Tim teaches fiction and nonfiction writing. Tim has worked has worked on both coasts, covering everything from the Olympics to the America's Cup. More information and his blog can be found at www.timwendel.com."

Reviews

[Joy D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a tumultuous year in US history as seen through the lens of baseball. 1968 is considered “The Year of the Pitcher” and this book recounts the many pitching accomplishments. The next year, the height of the mound was changed – a decision the author questions. It includes historical events such as war protests, civil unrest, and the assassination of two prominent leaders.

I enjoyed reading anecdotes about skilled baseball players of the era, such as Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, Willie Horton, Mickey Lolich, and Denny McLain. The World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals is described in just the right amount of detail. The baseball-focused segments are nicely done.

The rest is, however, a bit of a hodgepodge. Many of the events described in the book take place in seasons other than summer. The football stories, and a few about other sports, seemed “thrown in” and are not integrated into the narrative. I remain unconvinced that football supplanted baseball as the “national sport.” In my opinion, it is a regional preference. Football has been king for a long time in the south, but in the west, baseball remains extremely popular.

There is not much depth. It is more a chronicle than an analysis. As a fan of both baseball and history, I found it interesting but the theme could have been better developed.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast-paced, interesting sports book covers the big sports events of 1968. The Tigers v. Cardinals World Series discussion was the most exciting part for me. I remember it so well. Great stuff about McClain, Lolich, and Gibson. Frank Howard, the slugger playing for my Senators, is covered. The basketball section is also a good read.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever finish a book, feel slightly let down, but not know why?

I can't quite put my finger on a reason, but, Summer of 68 did not quite live up to my expectations. Sure, the narrative was crisp, the characters interesting, and the subject matter entertaining. I learned a great deal about Bob Gibson, Denny Mclain, Curt Flood, Willie Horton, and more. I got a much better sense of the chronology of events that made 1968 an unforgettable year in American History. And I came away convinced that baseball in 1968 was still hanging on as uniquely reflecting a changing America.

While I still can't quite explain why I feel let down by Summer of 68, my best theory so far is that while the narratives of the baseball season and the turbulence engulfing the country were very clear, accounts of how the two intersected felt rushed and very shallow. Wendel at one point notes that Larry Dierker, a young pitcher for the Astros, never forgot the scene outside his Chicago hotel room that summer when police clashed with protestors. And Maury Wills and Milt Pappas drew the wrath of their respective clubs for not wanting to play on the day after RFK was killed. Surely these weren't the only players on whom the events of 1968 had an impact.

Did teams reflect the divisions in America at the time? How did anti-establishment sentiments among younger players impact teams' cohesion? What did management think of all of this? Did tensions from the outside world spill into major league locker rooms? What of the Vietnam War and the strong feelings it inspired? Were no players politically active? Taking part in demonstrations? Nationwide, how well were african-american players being treated by teammates, management, and communities?

Summer of 68 made for a quick read. A big part of me wish it hadn't. There was more story left to be told.

[marcus miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I enjoy baseball and the other sports Wendel mentions, and I teach high school history, so I was hoping this would be a book I could recommend to high school boys obsessed with sports, who don't necessarily like to read.
The book is at its best when Wendel writes about the Tigers and the Cardinals. When he jumps between football, (something I paid more attention to as a ten year old in 1968) and basketball, then mixes it in with the social and political events of the day the book loses a bit of focus, or its narrative.
If you are a Tigers or a Cardinals fan you will likely enjoy the book more than most. If you are looking for insightful historical analysis and a focused story line you may need to look elsewhere.

[Brad Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no question that 1968 was a momentous year in American history: the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Tim Wendel, in his book Summer of '68, suggests that it was a pivotal year in baseball as well, as the subtitle is The Season that Changed Baseball and America Forever.

The latter argument isn't stated as clearly. Certainly there are milestones to the 1968 season. It was the "Year of the Pitcher"--Bob Gibson set a record with a 1.12 ERA, while Denny McLain was the first pitcher to win over 30 games in thirty years, and is the last pitcher to do so (it is unlikely, given the five-man rotations of today, that it will happen anytime soon). This was also the last year before the first expansion, and the breaking up of the leagues into divisions. Given that the Tigers and Cardinals, the pennant winners of '68, had comfortable leads and thus no pennant races, this might be seen as something a long time coming.

Wendel touches on the events of non-baseball America, such as King's assassination and Robert Kennedy's speech that night, and of the encroachment of football on baseball's reign as the most popular sport in America (we hear a lot about the Heidi game, which has been written about ad nauseum). These digressions are awkward and written mostly without transitions, like an old man telling a story who keeps losing his train of thought.

When the talk is about baseball the book is better, though Wendel assumes nothing, letting us know what RBI and ERA stands for. His prose is not sparkling and leans toward the pedestrian. He certainly conducted a lot of interviews, but the quotations (some of which are taken from the players' memoirs), are mostly routine and obvious.

But, as a Tiger fan, I reveled in this book. 1968 was a bit before my time--I remember my dad being in a lather during the series, and my sister was born just after it concluded, but all the players were still around when my Tiger fandom blossomed.

Wendel spends most of the book talking about the Tigers and Cards, with a few other players thrown, mainly Luis Tiant, who had a great season with the Indians. The dominant characters are Gibson, who was so no-nonsense that he came off as surly (he refuses a request from Tiger Willie Horton for an autograph during spring training). For the Tigers, the main character is McLain, who was something of a loudmouth and attention-seeker. He played the organ, and actually had a stint in Vegas after the season was over.

In contrast to McLain was Mickey Lolich, who spent part of the year in the bullpen but ended up the World Series hero, winning three complete games, including the clinching game seven. It was clear that the two Tiger hurlers didn't care for each other: "On paper, McLain and Lolich remain a baseball combination for the ages--an awesome one-two pitching punch. But off the field, in the Tigers' clubhouse, their relationship was based more on envy and competitive jealousy than friendship or team loyalty."

Wendel also cleverly foreshadows events. Detroit manager Mayo Smith, in order to get Al Kaline, who had been hurt much of the year, into the World Series line-up, moved centerfielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop, where he had played all of nine games. In late innings with a lead, he would move Stanley back into center, removing Horton from the game, because Horton supposedly had a weak arm. But Stanley and Horton talked strategy, mainly about Cardinal speedster Lou Brock. They noticed that if he was on second and scored on a single, he would slow down rounding third, and rarely slid into home.

This ended up being important information. The Cardinals took a 3-1 series lead. Gibson fanned a record 17 in game 1, and after Lolich won game 2, the Cards won games 3 and 4 easily. It's interesting to note that "The fourth game of the World Series, the one played in a downpour in Detroit, became the highest-rated sports event in television history at the time. The Nielsen Television Index indicated that more than 78.5 million people tuned in that afternoon. World Series games continued to outpace other sporting events, including Super Bowl II and the NFL championship, holding an overall seven-to-three edge in the TV's top ten."

Game five saw Detroit behind, their season slipping away. But they battled back, and a key play, perhaps the play of the entire series, had Brock trying to score on a single. Horton heaved a perfect toss to Bill Freehan at home, and Brock did not slide and was called out (the photo is on the cover of the book). The Tigers hung on to win, and then won game 6 in a laugher.

Game seven was Gibson vs. Lolich (the latter on two days rest), that went scoreless late. With two on, Jim Northrup lined the ball over Curt Flood's head. The usually adept centerfielder initially came in on the ball, and when heading back stumbled slightly, allowing Northrup to triple. The Tigers would win 4-1 and take the title.

Gibson would go on the have a Hall of Fame career, while McLain's career petered out after suspensions for associating with gamblers. He would later serve two stints in prison.

So I'm still not sure how this season changed baseball. I guess it did in that the pitching was so dominant that the mound was lowered, but I don't think the game was altered in any fundamental way. It was more the social conditions of the game that changed. In any event, though this book is wanting in many ways, it's a quick read and especially recommended for Tiger fans.

[Steve Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first started watching baseball in 1968 so this book has an extremely sentimental appeal to me. If I were to put sentimentality aside, I would mention that the book is sort of disjointed, jumping from pure baseball stories to non-baseball issues such as Vince Lombardi, Jim Ryun, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and John Carlos in somewhat arbitrary fashion. The author also doesn't convincingly prove that the summer of 1968 changed baseball or America forever. But I'm all about sentimentality so I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which focuses to a large extent on the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals 1968 seasons and their eventual matchup in the World Series. The Tigers once again come back from a three games to one disadvantage to win Game 7 against the almost unbeatable Bob Gibson. While it may not have been as good as Jerry Green's Year of the Tiger, the book made me feel like a child again, which is well worth four stars and a quick read. Docked one star for its inexcusable failure to mention the Phillies Richie Allen, whose star quality and controversial nature fits in perfectly with the theme of the book.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Wendel is a modern baseball writer who taps into the American vein that David Halberstam, Roger Kahn, and Charles Einstein access in their work. No sport better tells the history of this country than baseball. Using baseball as a spring point, Wendel spins a marvelously compelling tale, weaving the assassinations of Dr. King and RFK, the Vietnam War, the birth of the Superbowl, and the '68 Olympics into his narrative seamlessly.

As he does this, Wendel brings us up close to Denny McClain, Bob Gibson, Luis Tiant, and Mickey Lolich, while also taking us on a fascinating side trip to modern Detroit. A skilled storyteller, Wendel excels in writing about race in America, using sport as a mirror to hold up to the face of the nation brilliantly.

I could not begin to recommend this book enough. "Summer of '68" is a touching, exhilarating, and compulsively readable piece of social history.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

a breezy read, with some detailed interviews (always key in these types of books; i hate writers who rely too heavily on published sources when they could be adding MORE primary source baseball history to the mix) forming the meat of a definitive recap of the low-scoring, low-drama 1968 season (except for the epic WS, recounted here in game summaries that somehow aren't a misery to read). that said, wendel's clearly reaching here in connecting all of this 68-era stuff...but he did find the connections, including eugene mccarthy watching a cardinals pitcher hit fungo homers and maury wills reading RFK's book in the PIT locker room. and on top of that, stretch or no, this is a nice recap of '68 that isn't halberstam-length. worth your time; won't take up too much of your time. good stuff.

[Jason Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book for someone who born in the 70s who didn't experience 1968 but heard lots about it.

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Lacks depth. Very concentrated on the Tigers and Cardinals. Being that it was the year of the pitcher in baseball It lacked a lot of information on many pitchers in the game. It was a quick easy read and entertaining so I can’t complain too much.

[Chickens McShitterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s more of a 3.5.
The Civil Rights stuff was great, but I could have done without the basketball and football commentary. It was mostly irrelevant except for one small bit about Joe Namath.
The World Series reenactment was exceptional. I do think, too, that there could have been a broader focus on other teams just to balance things out from the Cardinals, Tigers, and BoSox.
It was good, though.
God, I fucking love Bob Gibson. What a bad ass.

[Dave DiGrazie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will never think of Willie Horton as just another baseball player after having read Tim Wendel's account of the 1968 major league baseball season. The author makes an admirable attempt to show the connection between events that took place on the ball diamonds of America, and the social/political upheaval that characterized 1968.

Older baseball fans will remember 1968 as "the year of the pitcher," a year when Bob Gibson's St. Louis Cardinals fell to the Detroit Tigers of 31-game winner Denny McLain in a memorable 7-game World Series that saw McLain's clubhouse rival Mickey Lolich steal the show. But in some ways it is the city of Detroit itself that takes center stage in Wendel's book. Ravaged by racial violence in the summer of 1967, citizens of the Motor City needed something that could unite and heal their community. Wendel presents the '68 Tigers, the racial harmony on the team itself, and their championship success, as an important soothing ointment to the city.

In so doing, Wendel raises an important question: What is the value of sports as a model to culture as a whole? These days, it's easy to be cynical - even our biggest sports heros are being discovered as steroid-injecting, blood-doping cheaters. Entire leagues (the NBA) and sports (pro boxing) are under strong suspicion of fixing outcomes in the name of money. It is easy to forget that sports can also provide legitimate models of principle and courage. This is precisely where Wendel's book is at its most valuable. Consider the story of Detroit's hometown hero Willie Horton.

Horton showed up in the neighborhood of his youth in full Tigers uniform, climbed atop a car in the midst of a riot, and at great risk to his own safety, begged people to stop burning and looting. Consider also Wendel's treatment of Curt Flood, an unbelievably gifted St. Louis outfielder who sacrified virtually the remainder of his professional career - while still in his prime - to fight a perceived injustice not only on his behalf, but on behalf of all professional ballplayers everywhere (and in so doing, paved the way for many dollars to land in the pockets of players ever since). Those old enough to remember what happened will appreciate the research and insight with which Wendel brings these events back to life. Younger readers will learn, perhaps for the first time, about Horton, Flood, McLain and Lolich, Tiant, Gibson, and a host of other baseball notables from 1968 whose backstories are worth hearing.

Overall, despite success on some levels, Wendel's book falls short of greatness. I believe he's missed opportunities to translate his wonderful research and his genius idea about baseball's connectedness with the bigger history of 1968 into a tight, well-argued treatise. He has shared lots of interesting evidence to make his case: for instance, the musings of major league ballplayers looking down from their hotel windows to watch the famous 1968 Chicago disturbances outside the Democratic National Convention was interesting in itself, but Wendel did not successfully incorporate it into any overarching theme. I also felt distracted at times by Wendel's tendency to repeat a fact or an observation. In the end, he's provided us with a treasure trove of good stories and insights about the key personalities of the '68 baseball season, along with some helpful observations that suggest how culture affected sports in 1968, and vice versa. Had it been written more carefully and with perhaps a bit more depth and daring in the cultural observations it did make, it could have been a lot more.

[Justin Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressed by the end of the 2014 baseball season I searched the shelves of the Lawrence Public Library for an interesting book about baseball. Tim Wendel's "Summer of '68" chronicles the intersection of sports, politics and culture in 1968. The central story compares and contrasts the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers as each team clinches the pennant and face off in the World Series. Along the way, Wendel introduces readers to the three central characters of the book: Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich and Bob Gibson. Though the first two pitched for the Tigers and the last for the Cardinals, each confronts one another at different places in the book. McLain, who tallied a record of 31-6 in 1968 (a record not topped since then) but fizzled in the World Series due to a sore shoulder, losing games 1 and 4, though he did win game 6 on short rest, is brash and arrogant. He attempts to parlay his pitching success into a night club act in Vegas, featuring himself playing the organ (I am not making this stuff up!). Bob Gibson, an African American from Omaha, Nebraska, channeled the racism and prejudice he endured into an intimidating persona that would not back down from or even speak with any batter. He beat McLain in games 1 and 4, but (SPOILER ALERT!!!) lost game 7 to Mickey Lolich. Lolich, the portly and unsung everyman, who asked his catcher for cheeseburgers on the mound, did not enjoy the accolades of McLain or Gibson. During the season he was sent to the bullpen for a time. Still he won games 2, 5 and 7, beating Gibson in St. Louis in the final! Other important characters emerge. The author clearly has a soft spot for Tigers OF Willie Horton, a Detroit native who went out on the streets during the riots of '67 to try to calm the violence. Horton is also responsible for the iconic, series defining play illustrated on the front cover!

Any book about 1968 must comment on several events that summer that changed the landscape of the United States: the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy; Race Riots (though not in Detroit, which had seen horrible riots in 1967. The city was distracted by the success of the Tigers); the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; Additionally, tectonic plates in the sporting world were shifting beneath the feet of the players that winter. The National Football League, poised to challenge baseball as the dominant sport in the US, made its major leap in 1968, culminating the famous Colts-Jets Super Bowl. Wendel also discusses the Summer Olympics, held in Mexico City in October 1968, most famous for the "Black Power" salute by Tommy Smith and John Carlos and the NBA finals.

A fun book about a serious time, Summer of '68 captures the magic of the baseball season and the World Series in 1968, while offering insight into the monumental changes in the United States during the late 60s. I have to admit after reading this book I am a little less sad about the Royals.

[Eric Gilliland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Wendel's nostalgic book Summer of 68 looks at that historic year through the lens of a baseball fan. The tensions of the decade came to a crashing head with the Vietnam War, racial tension, and political assassination dominating the headlines. Baseball in the words of Terrence Mann from Field of Dreams, remained the only constant in American life.

The 1968 season was the end of an era (for lack of a better term). The NFL and NBA began to overtake the baseball in popularity. Football and basketball were much better suited for television because they were fast paced and seemingly made for the instant replay camera. Meanwhile, baseball seemed seemed slow . . . and boring.

Even the style of the game in 1968 looks archaic by today's standards. Pitchers were still obligated to bat and were not relegated to pitch counts. Most games were still played during the day And there was no extended post-season as we know it today, the best two teams from the American and National League advanced immediately into the World Series. Free agency still loomed on the horizon, as players usually remained the property of their owners.

Baseball historians remember the 1968 season for one thing: dominant pitching. Bob Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals), Luis Tiant (Cleveland Indians), Don Drysdale (L.A. Dodgers) put up record breaking statistics. Denny McClain won 30 games for the Detroit Tigers.

Wendel brings all these personalities to life. Bob Gibson finished with a 1.12 ERA and struck out 17 batters in Game One of the World Series. Wendel wrote of Gibson's World Series heroics:

For there is something in the way Gibson pitched that perhaps wasn't simply directed at the hitters he faced, but rather at the world in general . . . Gibson unleashed pitches as if he were a man on fire.


Wendel devotes most of the book to the 1968 Detroit Tigers, a motley group who ended up winning the World Series against the powerful St. Louis Cardinals. Starting pitcher Mickey Lolich, who served in the National Guard during the 1967 riots, won three games for the Tigers, including the climatic Game Seven.

The heroics of the Tigers helped assuage a city on the edge. Baseball gave everyone in Detroit a much needed respite from the challenges their city faced.

Weidel's writes with a novelist touch, providing a acute perspective. An educational trip back in time for any baseball fan.

[Steven Voorhees · Rating 4 out of 5]

1968 has been called many things. "The year the dream died" and "[t]he year everything changed" are but two sobriquets. Several old school institutions ended that year. One was the voting coalition Franklin Roosevelt built and sustained in the Democratic Party. A second was the fumigation of the party's smoke-filled back rooms, where its presidential nominees had been chosen for eons. A third demise was the two top teams in baseball winning their respective league pennants and going straight to the World Series. The latter forms the narrative spine of Tim Wendel's book. Its account of how '68 was the year of the pitcher strengthens this backbone. The number and sequencing of historic no-hitters in the '68 season serve as a prelude to the pitching confrontations the World Series served up: the Detroit Tigers' Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich versus the St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson. From reading SUMMER, I'm left with the impression Gibson was his era's most intimidating pitcher. He evidently channeled his anger into an unassailable pitching tool. Conversely, McLain was effective enough to corral 31 victories. Lolich nailed three wins in the World Series -- an accomplishment that negates the deep internal envy, even bitterness, he felt toward Denny. Yet in the end resentment was no match for resilience. The year before, in 1967, Detroit exploded in devastating riots. The Motor City needed a "psychic balm" to help heal itself. The colorful, ragtag Tigers, under the leadership of manager Mayo Smith, poured the balm in spades. Rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the Series against the rainbow machine that was the Cardinals (racially diverse and the winner of two Series earlier in the decade), the Tigers took the momentum generated from the Cards' Lou Brock being thrown out at home plate to win the series' remaining three games and thus their first championship since 1945. Wendel goes into great detail in recounting the series, taking all seven games apart and then reassembling them for the reader. His is an entertaining and informative book with an inspiring moral: never give up.

[Chris Schaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good and probably better than I'm giving it credit for..I just feel like it was lacking some oomph and wrote a bit too fawningly of the Tigers and Cardinals, respectively. Does chronicle the season pretty well. Some of the forays into other sports such as pro football, basketball and the Olympics felt a little disjointed. The author says it changed sports but didn't delve that deeply into how. But all in all a good quick read that chronicles a great season and great World Series.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book on the 1968 baseball season, full of interesting anecdotes you would expect about the larger than life players of the year, including the always angry Bob Gibson, the media obsessed Denny McLain, Don Drysdale, Willie Horton, and more. While the author included segments on other sports, the Olympics and football, as well as the social climate of 1968, I didn't see all that much to justify the subtitle of the book. The Detroit riots took place the year before, the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Dr. King took place early in the year, and these events are well described with anecdotes about how the players reacted. But beyond these anecdotes, I didn't see a clear cause and effect tying changes in baseball to society changes (and vice versa) due to that specific year. The author did pick a year of great ascendancy of football toward the title of "America's pastime", but that is really a sidestory to what this book tries to accomplish. The writing contains a few facts that are over-repeated ("the Detroit papers were on strike" was repeated 3 times in 7 pages), but by the time the author gets to his vivid description of the World Series (hey, isn't that the "Fall" classic?) he's firing on all cylinders. Perhaps I'm being too literal... I found the book to be entertaining for the stories of the players and I look forward to reading more of Wendel's baseball books.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I'm a big baseball fan and a Cardinal fan. Wendel's coverage of baseball in this book is very enjoyable. And that's what he should have focused on.

The baseball portions of the book are really the heart of the story. I had two complaints about this book.

First, Wendel didn't need to talk about football, basketball, the Olympics, or the events of 1968 much at all because it took away from the baseball story. It was as if he was trying to cover as much as he could but couldn't decide how much of each sport/event to put in the book. There's nothing wrong with covering the other sports and events of '68 but he gives them short shrift so you don't end up knowing much about those things at all. They are just tiny side stories in comparison to the baseball.

The other problem I had was the way it was organized and Wendel's writing style. He would jump from one thing to another quite often. One section, for example, included talking about the Cardinals, then the next paragraph was about Bob Gibson seeing MLK Jr. at an airport, the next paragraph was about what they would have talked about if they had talked, and then the final paragraph was about MLK's enjoyment of sports. The book had odd paragraph structures like that from time to time. They just didn't work.

Overall, though, if you just want a history of the '68 baseball season, I recommend it.

[Ty · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, the author tries to interleave the story of one of the most exceptional seasons in MLB history with the other major events of the year, sporting and historical, to show how 1968 changed everything. other writers have explored this territory, perhaps better...Wendel's strength is his descriptions of the action, or lack thereof mostly, during the great Year of the Pitcher. Bob Gibson set the modern record for lowest ERA in a season, Denny McLain won 34 games becoming the only first 30+ game winner of the modern era and Don Drysdale broke the record for consecutive scoreless innings at ~56, only to be challenged later in the season by Luis Tiant. after this season, the baseball overlords changed the game to increase scoring, ushering in the era of the power hitter. meanwhile, there were Olympics, assassinations, elections, wars, Superbowls and lots of other stuff going on. it is fun to see how baseball was so integral to American society in that time. the writing is a bit choppy, clearly showing how the author approached the book as a series of essays, rather than a smooth whole. however, the content is interesting and worth the read.

[Tom Gase · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on the baseball season of 1968, but a lot of other stuff that was going on in the world that year.
Author Tim Wendel does a good job of bringing the city of Detroit in 1968 to life and he does a great job of reporting on the World Series that year. He also does a good job talking about important players such as Bob Gibson, Denny McClain, Mickey Lolich, Willie Horton, Lou Brock, Al Kaline, etc.
Wendel also talks about other sports and events that shaped the nation that year, but I think this is where the book doesn't quite make the five-star rating. I actually like that Wendel talks about other important events, but if you're going to do that, go all the way with it. Talk about it more, and talk about films and rock music that came out that year. This is one book where I actually thought could have been LONGER. Could have been perfect if it was another 100 pages or so. Other than that, a good book and I'm looking forward to reading this author again. If you like the Cardinals or Tigers or just want to relive 1968, this is a book for you.

[Tom Navratil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a marvelous job illustrating the interplay between sports and society in 1968, and sheds light from different angles on why that was such a momentous and consequential year. The primary focus is on baseball, and especially the World Series between the Cardinals and the Tigers. The author portrayed that contest so vividly I wanted both teams to win (and they almost did). But the book ranges far more widely. It shows how the prevalence of racial prejudice and efforts to overcome it in the sporting world reflected and influenced the broader society. Similarly, the Vietnam War hit baseball in ways it’s easy to lose sight of nowadays. 1968 was also the year of the Mexico City Olympics, and arguably the high-water mark for baseball fandom in the U.S. and the tipping point towards football’s dominance. Tim Wendel elucidates all these events and more in informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking ways. Highly recommend for anyone who was alive in 1968 and for anyone who wasn’t.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Kindle eBook version. The main focus is the world series confrontation of the St Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers in 1968 but there is quite a bit of history of the time as context, which is fine. Some of the coverage of other baseball teams during the regular season seems a bit random and the coverage of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City seems odd.

I was quite engaged with most of it - about three-quarters through I wondered if I would finish, but managed to push through to the end.

The descriptions of some of the games is good, and some of the main players are described well. I am particularly interested in Denny McLain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_McLain) who was an odd character, to say the least, one of the significant pitchers for the Tigers at the time, and there is some good stuff about him. (He is one of two marque players that I saw who were with the Washington Senators in 1971, along with Ted Williams as manager.)

[Chris Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a baseball standpoint, I enjoyed this book. It delved into some of the other less obvious aspects of the season, Luis Tiant and Frank Howard in particular since much has already been written about the Cardinals and Tigers of this era. I agree that much of what happened in this season changed baseball, particularly the lowering of the mound and the eventual adoption of the designated hitter to increase offense (and in doing so revenue)

As far as the season that changed America, I'm not so sure. Yes, baseball was tangentially involved in some of the historic goings on in 1968 (MLK, JFK, Chicago) the game didn't really do as much to change culture. If anything, the author presents a stronger case as to how other sports, specifically the NFL were changing America. I'm probably nitpicking, though.

If you are a fan of this era, these teams and these players, you will not be disappointed with Wendel's work.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book a little dry and precursory. Wendel's preface paints a more epic picture of the year 1968 in the world and in baseball than the following chapters offer in terms of its narrative flow. Wendel jumps focus from team to team, player to player, and sport to sport in very short order with little transition. This is not a book to carry with you to read on the bus, as the effort of following where in time or place this book is at any moment is likely to lead one to miss one's stop.

That said, I enjoyed the subject matter and Wendel does a good job of bringing out the characters of the players and fleshing about their cares and backgrounds. Additionally, the Afterword chapter detailing players' lives after retirement is a highlight.

Cardinals and Tigers fans will find this book interesting, and diehard baseball fans will like it. It's not for the casual or new baseball fan.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not known anything about the 1968 baseball season when I started this book so it both entertained me and filled a gap in my knowledge. It is very well written and has an excellent balance of baseball trivia and current history. Wendell manages to discuss the place of the baseball season within the larger context of political and social history without getting overly serious or self important. It is nearly a perfect balance, never trite but never preachy. He gives fascinating insights into the way sports was changing within the culture of America. He makes the case that 1968 is the year when football, with the Heidi game and Super Bowl III, overtake baseball - dominated as it was by pitching for the nations attention. But with all of that it is still a baseball book written by a sports writer who knows how to tell a good tale. Highly recommended.

[Jim Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about one of the most turbulent years in American history, and sports' rule in it. My edition was 272 pages.

[Kenneth Gura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by Tim Wendel! I have to admit, I had started this book a year ago...but wasnt into it at the time. After hearing an interview with Mr.Wendel I decided I had to read it. I am glad I did! As a fan of Pitching over Hitting, this was a great book to read! I love reading books about specific seasons because of not nly the history in Baseball, but also the Social history as well. Mr. Wendel did not disappoint. The Assasination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, as well as the riots in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention are all well documented The growning popularity of Professional Football and the state of Detroit, Michigan one year after their Riots. All social aspects which I enjoy reading in books such as this.

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good over view of the 1968 baseball season, and the turmoil surrounding it. Author did a good job explaining what was goiNg on in the world at the time and how it effected the players and the game as a whole. I also loved how the author took the last few pages to follow through on the major players in the book. Being that this era was before my time, I had limited knowledge of where everyone went the rest of their career and then after they retired. I also found the author's chronicling of who football overtook baseball as the national past time very interesting. I would recommend this to any fan's of baseball in the sixties.

[Chris Witt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems to be a popular read, but it was all a bit too cursory for me. Felt like I was missing something more in-depth like I got when I read Halberstam's book on the '64 season. Having read this immediately after Halberstam's, I couldn't help but keep seeing what this book could have been but clearly wasn't. If the 1964 book is the benchmark, this falls short.

Still, those looking for an overview of the 1968 season and a dash of commentary on world events, including other sporting events (the growth of pro football and the Olympics, for example) might find something interesting in these pages.

[Heep · Rating 4 out of 5]

The '68 World Series was one of the epics in baseball history - arguably the greatest ever. It was set in an incredible year, and the civil unrest in Detroit was a particularly significant backdrop to the baseball championship. The book was good but didn't elicit the nostalgia, nor did it capitalize on the drama of the times as well as I had expected. Lou Brock has always been my favourite baseball player, and was probably the best post-season batter of all-time. The book tells some of his story, but as a partisan I think the book is wrong - Lou Brock was safe. Enough said.