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thexwalrus's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
if you are not a baseball fan, and more specifically a red sox fan, i do not think you'll enjoy this book. it's technical. o'nan's sections can get bogged down in play-by-plays. it's a book about a season of baseball that no one in new england will ever forget.
every winter, my seasonal depression kicks my ass and i'm miserable through march - until one day i feel a shift out of nowhere, and i check twitter, and yes, it's truck day, it's almost time to report to fort meyers for spring training. the return of baseball kicks my seasonal depression to the curb; baseball means springtime, means warm, lazy nights watching the boys play in the greatest ballpark in the nation. as a red sox fan since birth, there is magic in the pages of this book; this book is that feeling incarnate, and it remains one of my favorites even after all these years.
i was wearing sox shirts when i was 3 months old - my grandmother was a diehard sox fan, and since she was my primary babysitter, that meant i was a diehard sox fan, too. even as a child, i knew that the sox winning it all was unlikely, that the yankees were the evil empire, that if we won over the yankees that was enough for me to be thrilled with bc it was rare to get more than that from them. i was 10 in 2004, so i didn't remember a lot of the details of that season - but i do remember having total strangers who weren't even red sox fans cheering them on in the world series, in airports while my mom and i traveled back from a disney vacation. and i remember the way my mom woke me up the next morning to say "we did it. we won the world series." and how my elementary school let us watch the victory parade instead of doing classwork, because it was history happening in front of us!
this book is a wonderful time capsule to remind yourself of that 2004 season, especially because so much of what happened in the postseason changed opinions of people that were maligned in the regular season - francona's terrible decisions when it came to pitchers, lowe's lackluster performance as a starter, cabrera's difficult start making the garciaparra trade hurt even more. when it mattered most, they all kicked ass, but it doesn't change the fact that during the regular season they weren't anyone's favorites. (let's not mention martinez' struggles against the yankees, which was more on the bats and less on pedro because where was the run support?)
it was also wild to be reminded of youk's incredible performance as a rookie, knowing that in a little bit, he'd be on the team full-time and a world series champion in his own right. stephen king was right - he would go on to be a star for us.
the end almost feels scripted, and i can't get over that. a reverse sweep of the yankees? sweeping the cards in their own park? it's too good to be true, and yet it is true, and we reversed the curse. if this was fiction, i'd say it was almost too predictable. but it was real life.
i love the red sox. i love baseball. i love this book, because 20 years ago i got to be here for the most important and historic sports history moment i'll ever live through (and being in new england, i've lived through a lot) and when my memory gets spotty, i'll have this to go back to to bring back the smile and the thrill of it all.
every winter, my seasonal depression kicks my ass and i'm miserable through march - until one day i feel a shift out of nowhere, and i check twitter, and yes, it's truck day, it's almost time to report to fort meyers for spring training. the return of baseball kicks my seasonal depression to the curb; baseball means springtime, means warm, lazy nights watching the boys play in the greatest ballpark in the nation. as a red sox fan since birth, there is magic in the pages of this book; this book is that feeling incarnate, and it remains one of my favorites even after all these years.
i was wearing sox shirts when i was 3 months old - my grandmother was a diehard sox fan, and since she was my primary babysitter, that meant i was a diehard sox fan, too. even as a child, i knew that the sox winning it all was unlikely, that the yankees were the evil empire, that if we won over the yankees that was enough for me to be thrilled with bc it was rare to get more than that from them. i was 10 in 2004, so i didn't remember a lot of the details of that season - but i do remember having total strangers who weren't even red sox fans cheering them on in the world series, in airports while my mom and i traveled back from a disney vacation. and i remember the way my mom woke me up the next morning to say "we did it. we won the world series." and how my elementary school let us watch the victory parade instead of doing classwork, because it was history happening in front of us!
this book is a wonderful time capsule to remind yourself of that 2004 season, especially because so much of what happened in the postseason changed opinions of people that were maligned in the regular season - francona's terrible decisions when it came to pitchers, lowe's lackluster performance as a starter, cabrera's difficult start making the garciaparra trade hurt even more. when it mattered most, they all kicked ass, but it doesn't change the fact that during the regular season they weren't anyone's favorites. (let's not mention martinez' struggles against the yankees, which was more on the bats and less on pedro because where was the run support?)
it was also wild to be reminded of youk's incredible performance as a rookie, knowing that in a little bit, he'd be on the team full-time and a world series champion in his own right. stephen king was right - he would go on to be a star for us.
the end almost feels scripted, and i can't get over that. a reverse sweep of the yankees? sweeping the cards in their own park? it's too good to be true, and yet it is true, and we reversed the curse. if this was fiction, i'd say it was almost too predictable. but it was real life.
i love the red sox. i love baseball. i love this book, because 20 years ago i got to be here for the most important and historic sports history moment i'll ever live through (and being in new england, i've lived through a lot) and when my memory gets spotty, i'll have this to go back to to bring back the smile and the thrill of it all.
uncle_nino's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
jayneyh314's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
A blow by blow account of the Boston Red Sox’ World Series winning season in 2004 by die-hard fans and horror writers, Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan.
Firstly, I’m not a baseball fan, I’m not even a casual baseball watcher, I know absolutely nothing about it except it seems to take ages, like cricket, but the layout is more reminiscent of rounders. This would definitely have been a more enjoyable reading experience if I knew a bit more about baseball and was more interested in it.
That being said, there were parts of this book that I did enjoy. I do love a good underdog story so it was fun to see the Red Sox come good. King in particular spends some time discussing the psychology of sports fans and likening it to his experiences with addiction. Some of the superstitions around it were also quite interesting. It never ceases to amuse me the things that sports fans and sports writers will blame when their team is losing, so in this case King throws out a ceremonial first pitch and the Red Sox lose that game so obviously it’s his fault! As a King fan I also liked the little insights, he talks about editing the final Dark Tower book whilst at a game and “Song of Susannah” is published during the course of this season.
What I didn’t realise before I started was that King and O’Nan were writing this book together regardless of how the season turned out. I assumed it was written retrospectively to celebrate the win but it’s got very much a diary style to it and they talk about how they’re even more hoping for the win because it would obviously be better for the book.
I’m glad I’ve ticked this off my list of King books but I wouldn’t rush to read it again. It seemed to be well written but, obviously, is aimed at baseball fans so it’s just not the book for me.
mzmegara's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
ashkitty93's review against another edition
4.0
Anyone who picks this up ought to approach it from the perspective of a baseball fan, first and foremost - otherwise it'll probably be a slog. O'Nan in particular likes to give detailed play-by-plays throughout the regular season, and it's not always riveting reading. I really enjoyed this book because the 2004 Red Sox didn't qualify as favorites, and while they did have Theo Epstein (the fellow who eventually turned the Cubs organization into WS winners in 2016), Terry Francona was a new manager in Boston, and absolutely none of this was a sure thing.
Stephen's signature humor made it feel like I was having a conversation with him - most of his frustrations with Francona's decisions could have come out of mine and my dad's mouths these last few years (the diehard Cleveland fans that we are, sigh). Indeed, up til 2016 I would have said 2004 was probably my favorite WS in recent memory. A great book not just for BoSox fans but for any baseball fan.
Stephen's signature humor made it feel like I was having a conversation with him - most of his frustrations with Francona's decisions could have come out of mine and my dad's mouths these last few years (the diehard Cleveland fans that we are, sigh). Indeed, up til 2016 I would have said 2004 was probably my favorite WS in recent memory. A great book not just for BoSox fans but for any baseball fan.
lisareadsthings's review against another edition
2.0
King is an excellent writer and there are some genuinely funny and sweet (taking mother-in-law to game) moments. But I stopped giving a damn about sports 25ish years ago. So, for me, the only thing more boring than watching baseball is reading about it.