Shadows of Glory: Memorable and Offbeat World Series Stories

Brown (Drinking Coffee with a Fork) and Rodimer recount in this inessential outing 18 obscure moments from World Series games. For example, the authors describe how the 1942 Negro World Series between the Kansas City Monarchs and Homestead Grays stalled after the Monarchs objected to the Grays’ use of players signed during the series. Unfortunately, the dispute itself is barely discussed, subsumed within a meandering account of the Negro leagues’ dwindling fortunes. Elsewhere, an examination of game seven of the 2016 World Series, in which the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians to win their first championship since 1908, hinges on a pep talk delivered by Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward during a rain break and how it revived his teammates’ spirits, but the speech lasted “less than a minute” and the rest of the chapter is padded out with a monotonous play-by-play of the contest. Other stories feel too trivial to sustain interest, as when the authors provide a granular account of how Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee, who decided to travel to the 2009 World Series separately from his teammates, had to navigate New York City traffic and public transit to make it to Yankee Stadium in time for game one. Though the anecdotes occasionally amuse, they’re bogged down by a surfeit of background. Only die-hard baseball fans need apply. (Apr.)