The Sporting News Selects Baseball's 25 Greatest Pennant Races

About the only defect of this volume is its unwieldy title; otherwise it will lure any diamond fan worthy of the name. Of course, some of the choices are almost automatic, particularly the seven races included that ended in playoffs ('46, '48, '51, '59, '62, '78, '80) and those that otherwise have become part of baseball's legend, like the finish of the Miracle Braves of Boston in 1914, the play of Fred Merkle, who failed to touch a base and cost the New York Giants a pennant, and the wild pitch by New York Highlanders' 41-game-winner Jack Chesbro, which gave the flag to the Boston Red Sox. And there are other exciting drives of more recent vintage, like the collapse of the Phillies in 1964 and the victory of the Amazin' Mets of 1969. Additionally, Reidenbaugh has a nice turn of phrase, dubbing Brooklyn manager Burt Shotton a ""gentle geriatric'' and remarking that the '62 Mets ``embraced futility with unrestrained ardor.'' Photos not seen by PW. (September)