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Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue: Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Rivalry
Call it the forgotten rivalry. The Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers may not share geographical boundaries, and today they don’t even play in the same division, but for a period of time in the 1970s Dodgers vs. Reds was the best rivalry in Major League Baseball. They boasted the biggest names of the game—Johnny Bench, Steve Garvey, Pete Rose, Don Sutton, and Ron Cey, to name a few—and appeared in the World Series seven out of nine years.
In Cincinnati Red and Dodger Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Rivalry, Tom Van Riper provides a fresh look at these two powerhouse teams and the circumstances that made them so pivotal. Van Riper delves into the players, managers, executives, and broadcasters from the rivalry whose impact on baseball continued beyond the 1970s—including the first recipient of Tommy John surgery (Tommy John himself), the all-time hit king turned gambling pariah (Pete Rose), and two young announcers who would soon go on to national prominence (Al Michaels and Vin Scully). In addition, Van Riper recounts in detail the 1973 season when both teams were at or near their peak form, particularly the extra-inning nail-biter between the Reds and Dodgers that took place on September 21 and effectively decided the divisional race.
Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue includes never-before-published interviews with former players from the rivalry, providing a personal and in-depth look at this decade in baseball full of upheaval and change. Baseball’s realignment in 1994 may have rendered this great rivalry nearly forgotten, but its story is one that will be enjoyed by baseball fans and historians of all generations.
In Cincinnati Red and Dodger Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Rivalry, Tom Van Riper provides a fresh look at these two powerhouse teams and the circumstances that made them so pivotal. Van Riper delves into the players, managers, executives, and broadcasters from the rivalry whose impact on baseball continued beyond the 1970s—including the first recipient of Tommy John surgery (Tommy John himself), the all-time hit king turned gambling pariah (Pete Rose), and two young announcers who would soon go on to national prominence (Al Michaels and Vin Scully). In addition, Van Riper recounts in detail the 1973 season when both teams were at or near their peak form, particularly the extra-inning nail-biter between the Reds and Dodgers that took place on September 21 and effectively decided the divisional race.
Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue includes never-before-published interviews with former players from the rivalry, providing a personal and in-depth look at this decade in baseball full of upheaval and change. Baseball’s realignment in 1994 may have rendered this great rivalry nearly forgotten, but its story is one that will be enjoyed by baseball fans and historians of all generations.
- GenresBaseballNonfictionSports
208 pages, Hardcover
Published April 13, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 13, 2018
As it so happens, this weekend the Dodgers happen to be playing the Reds. In the 21st century, the teams play six games a year due to baseball's unbalanced schedule. During the era of baseball's two divisional play, the Reds and Dodgers played eighteen times a year as they both hailed from the National League West. In the 1970s the tail end of the golden age of baseball, the Reds and Dodgers could be counted among baseball's best, accounting for eight of the National League's World Series appearances during the decade. With the country and baseball in transition from a grand old game to a modern one, Tom Van Riper has written his take on one of baseball's rivalries from the 1970s that today is no more. Forever studying the game and its history, I decided to find out about the rivalry for myself.
It is 1973 and the Dodgers and Reds have gone back and forth all season atop the National League West. The Reds have battled back and found themselves in first place heading into a key late season showdown with the Dodgers, the winner of the series emerging as playoff bound. Even though the Dodgers appeared to have better pitching and a deeper all around team, the Reds had some of the game's biggest stars in Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez. In the end, star power prevailed in 1973. Yet, the toll of playing against the Dodgers left the Reds gassed, and they did not achieve the ultimate goal of making it to the world series. They would win it all in 1975 and 1976, in what are considered some of the most iconic baseball games of all time, only to be replaced in the fall classic by the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978. By the start of the 1980s, these two teams were on the decline, but their star power was far reaching, contributing to other teams' successes via trades and free agency. One could say that the Reds and Dodgers rivalry affected the outcome of each baseball season through the successive ten years.
Tom Van Riper attempts to present an intimate look at the 1973 baseball season, but his account was more of a recounting of each game and transaction, which could have been taken directly from newspaper box scores. He does give a few anecdotes from player interviews but, unfortunately, does not delve into intimate behind the scenes looks at the baseball season to give readers a sense of relating to the players or the teams and their histories. Rather the book reads like a laundry list of names and dates, with a few historical items thrown in an attempt to set the background for the historical setting. As a result, I did not find myself rooting for either team or specific players on either team as it was difficult to get a feel for the Reds, Dodgers, their rivalry, and which team ultimately desired the championship more for their franchise. In the end, the text presented me with a chance to memorize the names and dates of baseball history that the author points out in his title, is forgotten in this modern era of new rivalries and player movement.
Today the Reds are among baseball's bottom feeders, and the Dodgers are perennial runner-up. They meet in two series a year that do not matter in the standings for either team other than a few wins and losses. Most of today's players do not realize that at one point these teams went head to head in one of baseball's most heated battles. While the concept of this book was a unique idea that points to a time when baseball was losing ground in terms of viewership and fans, the book itself ended up reading like a laundry list and was more vital for the concept and filling in a gap of baseball history for me than enjoying the actual story of this storied rivalry.
3 stars
It is 1973 and the Dodgers and Reds have gone back and forth all season atop the National League West. The Reds have battled back and found themselves in first place heading into a key late season showdown with the Dodgers, the winner of the series emerging as playoff bound. Even though the Dodgers appeared to have better pitching and a deeper all around team, the Reds had some of the game's biggest stars in Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez. In the end, star power prevailed in 1973. Yet, the toll of playing against the Dodgers left the Reds gassed, and they did not achieve the ultimate goal of making it to the world series. They would win it all in 1975 and 1976, in what are considered some of the most iconic baseball games of all time, only to be replaced in the fall classic by the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978. By the start of the 1980s, these two teams were on the decline, but their star power was far reaching, contributing to other teams' successes via trades and free agency. One could say that the Reds and Dodgers rivalry affected the outcome of each baseball season through the successive ten years.
Tom Van Riper attempts to present an intimate look at the 1973 baseball season, but his account was more of a recounting of each game and transaction, which could have been taken directly from newspaper box scores. He does give a few anecdotes from player interviews but, unfortunately, does not delve into intimate behind the scenes looks at the baseball season to give readers a sense of relating to the players or the teams and their histories. Rather the book reads like a laundry list of names and dates, with a few historical items thrown in an attempt to set the background for the historical setting. As a result, I did not find myself rooting for either team or specific players on either team as it was difficult to get a feel for the Reds, Dodgers, their rivalry, and which team ultimately desired the championship more for their franchise. In the end, the text presented me with a chance to memorize the names and dates of baseball history that the author points out in his title, is forgotten in this modern era of new rivalries and player movement.
Today the Reds are among baseball's bottom feeders, and the Dodgers are perennial runner-up. They meet in two series a year that do not matter in the standings for either team other than a few wins and losses. Most of today's players do not realize that at one point these teams went head to head in one of baseball's most heated battles. While the concept of this book was a unique idea that points to a time when baseball was losing ground in terms of viewership and fans, the book itself ended up reading like a laundry list and was more vital for the concept and filling in a gap of baseball history for me than enjoying the actual story of this storied rivalry.
3 stars
July 25, 2017
I grew up a Reds fan in the 70's. I still don't like the Dodgers. Good book, I knew some of the stories, but there were many I hadn't heard of before (which is good for someone that has read a ton about baseball over the years!). He weaves stories in and out of the 1973 season. He did some interviews with former players, I wish there were more quotes from them instead of the inning by inning recaps at times. But overall, a great first book, kudos!
Oh, in case anyone cares. My three least favorite ballplayers growing up:
1. Steve Garvey
2. Steve Garvey
3. Steve Garvey
(I imagine Dodger fans would list Pete Rose three times. Ah, those days in baseball were fun)
Oh, in case anyone cares. My three least favorite ballplayers growing up:
1. Steve Garvey
2. Steve Garvey
3. Steve Garvey
(I imagine Dodger fans would list Pete Rose three times. Ah, those days in baseball were fun)
August 15, 2017
If one asks a baseball fan today which is the biggest rivalry in the game today, the answer would most likely be one of the following three possibilities: Yankees-Red Sox, Cubs-Cardinals or Dodgers-Giants. However, if this same question was asked in the 1970’s there would be only one answer: Reds-Dodgers. The intensity of that rivalry in the old National League West division is relieved in this book by Tom Van Riper.
The two teams combined for 9 division titles in the 1970’s, with the Giants in 1971 being the only other team to do so. The star players were numerous – Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez for the Reds, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Don Sutton and Bill Buckner for the Dodgers. The rivalry really took off in the 1973 season, when the two teams battled in a terrific pennant race, one in which the Reds made a big comeback in the second half of the season.
That the author concentrates on the 1973 season was part of what made the book not live up to the expectations for which I had hoped. There is plenty of information on the teams for that year, as well as some of the players for both sides. There are even multiple pages of information on the general managers (Al Campanis and Bob Howsman for the Dodgers and Reds respectively) and even the broadcasters (Vin Scully and a young Al Michaels). Therefore, if one wants to read about these two teams in the 1973 season, this is a very good source.
However, there is little information on the rivalry for subsequent years and that does a disservice to readers who remember how the rivalry sustained itself into the early 1980’s. There is very little mention of any players who appeared for the teams after 1973, such as Tom Seaver who was acquired by the Reds in a trade from the Mets in 1977. Also, the book shares very little interesting stories of the players as their write-ups are factual and statistical with few anecdotes. This format is fine for readers who wish to simply learn this aspect of the players but it lacks the comfort of making the reader feel like he or she is talking to that player. Also, like many other books with a narrow topic, this one will venture off into unrelated topics such as sabermetrics. However, many of these do help the reader get a complete picture of that snapshot of this rivalry.
Overall, this book does get a passing grade for the sheer volume of information written about these two great teams from that decade. However, the very factual style of writing makes it a slow read at times and more of a task than a simple pleasurable read. Baseball historians and fans of one of these teams will enjoy the book and will want to pick up a copy.
I wish to thank Rowman & Littlefield Publishers for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
(Note: rated at 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to four for this site's review)
The two teams combined for 9 division titles in the 1970’s, with the Giants in 1971 being the only other team to do so. The star players were numerous – Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez for the Reds, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Don Sutton and Bill Buckner for the Dodgers. The rivalry really took off in the 1973 season, when the two teams battled in a terrific pennant race, one in which the Reds made a big comeback in the second half of the season.
That the author concentrates on the 1973 season was part of what made the book not live up to the expectations for which I had hoped. There is plenty of information on the teams for that year, as well as some of the players for both sides. There are even multiple pages of information on the general managers (Al Campanis and Bob Howsman for the Dodgers and Reds respectively) and even the broadcasters (Vin Scully and a young Al Michaels). Therefore, if one wants to read about these two teams in the 1973 season, this is a very good source.
However, there is little information on the rivalry for subsequent years and that does a disservice to readers who remember how the rivalry sustained itself into the early 1980’s. There is very little mention of any players who appeared for the teams after 1973, such as Tom Seaver who was acquired by the Reds in a trade from the Mets in 1977. Also, the book shares very little interesting stories of the players as their write-ups are factual and statistical with few anecdotes. This format is fine for readers who wish to simply learn this aspect of the players but it lacks the comfort of making the reader feel like he or she is talking to that player. Also, like many other books with a narrow topic, this one will venture off into unrelated topics such as sabermetrics. However, many of these do help the reader get a complete picture of that snapshot of this rivalry.
Overall, this book does get a passing grade for the sheer volume of information written about these two great teams from that decade. However, the very factual style of writing makes it a slow read at times and more of a task than a simple pleasurable read. Baseball historians and fans of one of these teams will enjoy the book and will want to pick up a copy.
I wish to thank Rowman & Littlefield Publishers for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
(Note: rated at 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to four for this site's review)
April 3, 2018
There is a lot of information within the book, but it felt disjointed. A reader will need to have a little background with the teams and the historical timeframe to be able to keep up. I think the book would be better with more narrative around the volume of names and statistics provided.
Definitely worth the read if you are into the history of these franchises or baseball during the late sixties through early 80's. Probably not for the casual reader. As a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, I felt the book covered the Dodgers more. This is not a bad thing necessarily, as I learned a lot more about their team during that era. I am not old enough to appreciate the rivalry between these two teams, but this book provided some perspective of the stories I've heard growing up.
Definitely worth the read if you are into the history of these franchises or baseball during the late sixties through early 80's. Probably not for the casual reader. As a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, I felt the book covered the Dodgers more. This is not a bad thing necessarily, as I learned a lot more about their team during that era. I am not old enough to appreciate the rivalry between these two teams, but this book provided some perspective of the stories I've heard growing up.
January 23, 2018
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was different than what I thought it would be using one crucial game in 1973 to frame the book. It didn't get too deep into the actual players save for a few and that was all right. There are many other books that go deeper into the players - especially the Reds' players - but it would have been tough to do that and keep the book at a reasonable amount. I only wish it could have been longer.
July 31, 2023
If you are a baseball fan you will appreciate this book but if you are a Reds’ or Dodgers’ fan, you will love it. Having grown up with the Big Red Machine, it has taken a long time to get rid of derision for the Dodgers and it is nice to have an appreciation for what the organization did in building its team in the 1970’s. Reading this book while the Reds took two out of three games from the Dodgers this weekend in LA only increased my enjoyment.
June 14, 2018
A very good account of the biggest MLB rivalry for a young Reds fan during the 1970s. This book brought back so many memories of the Cincinnati-LA rivalry I grew up with living just a few miles from Riverfront Stadium, the Dodgers were the one team I hated with a passion, an honor that is now reserved for the even more evil St. Louis Cardinals.
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