LAST TIME OUT: Big-League Farewells of Baseball's Greats

Nogowski offers a tribute to 25 baseball giants, with a twist. This is a remembrance of the players' final moments on the field, alternately remarkable and heartbreaking. Eschewing well-known stats, celebrated World Series games and other popular material, talented sportswriter Nogowski opens an unusual window onto the last hurrahs of such players as Babe Ruth, Roberto Clemente and Cal Ripkin Jr. Among the more poignant entries is "Lou Gehrig: Sad Finish for the Iron Horse." Once the most feared man in baseball, Gehrig famously suffered a nerve disease (ALS) that zapped his strength. Nogowski replays Gehrig's last at-bat with excruciating detail, explaining the slugger's despair when he stranded 10 runners in his final game as a Yankee in 1939. Readers also watch as Pete Rose strikes out in 1986, Willie Mays grounds out in 1973 and Bob Feller, the greatest strikeout artist of his day, doesn't strike out a single batter in his final 1956 game. But Ted Williams walks away a champ, hitting a home run in 1960, and Joe DiMaggio doubles on his final major league at-bat in 1951. Nogowski has a gift for putting readers in the game, supplying rich color. He's honest about Major League Baseball's obsession with age and the bottom line, but still manages to celebrate these titans' final moments on the field with wonder and admiration. Photos. (Feb.)