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A review by jfranco77
Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry
5.0
This book gets better as it goes along. Barry describes the circumstances surrounding the longest game in baseball history - a 33-inning affair between Rochester and Pawtucket (Triple-A level) in 1981. The story is about more than the game - it's about the players and coaches, the town of Rochester, McCoy stadium, where they have come from, and where they are headed.
It is a well written book with dense language and excellent narrative. Sometimes it seems a bit overdone for something as simple as a single minor league game, but Barry lends gravitas to a game that can still be incredibly poetic and reminds you that baseball is more than just a game. Barry describes friendships and families, success and failure, and the burning desire to make it to the major leagues. Hall of Famers Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs played in this game, but Barry doesn't give them any more focus than career minor leaguers like Dave Koza and Joe Morgan (in fact, he probably gives them less).
More Stephen King than Halberstam in introducing new characters. King's style is a few paragraphs about a new character, a brief action and then moving on to another character. Barry uses a similar style. This allows him to come back to the characters later and build on the reader's knowledge about them.
Barry's description of the building of McCoy stadium, is awesome. As is the history of baseball in Pawtucket. These things will keep you going as the book builds to its halting conclusion (game suspended after 32 innings!), its actual conclusion (ends in the 33rd after a 2-month delay and a lot of fanfare) and its emotional denouement (following up with the characters after the fact).
Much like the game itself, this book gets better as it goes along, and when it ends, you wish it could somehow keep going.
It is a well written book with dense language and excellent narrative. Sometimes it seems a bit overdone for something as simple as a single minor league game, but Barry lends gravitas to a game that can still be incredibly poetic and reminds you that baseball is more than just a game. Barry describes friendships and families, success and failure, and the burning desire to make it to the major leagues. Hall of Famers Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs played in this game, but Barry doesn't give them any more focus than career minor leaguers like Dave Koza and Joe Morgan (in fact, he probably gives them less).
More Stephen King than Halberstam in introducing new characters. King's style is a few paragraphs about a new character, a brief action and then moving on to another character. Barry uses a similar style. This allows him to come back to the characters later and build on the reader's knowledge about them.
Barry's description of the building of McCoy stadium, is awesome. As is the history of baseball in Pawtucket. These things will keep you going as the book builds to its halting conclusion (game suspended after 32 innings!), its actual conclusion (ends in the 33rd after a 2-month delay and a lot of fanfare) and its emotional denouement (following up with the characters after the fact).
Much like the game itself, this book gets better as it goes along, and when it ends, you wish it could somehow keep going.