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Amazon.com
Inside the great expanse of a ballgame is the essential core of what Roger Kahn, one of the national pastime's most esteemed chroniclers, calls "chess at 90 miles per hour." That core, of course, is the duel between pitcher and hitter. At its best--which is where Kahn wants to play--it's as cerebral, complex, and psychological a contest as exists in sports, hence the title of this fascinating exploration of how baseball's basic confrontation, told from the pitcher's perspective, has evolved over time.

Drawing from his vast knowledge and long experience, Kahn parses the battle from every angle, dissecting the wizardry of hurlers both ancient--Candy Cummings, Hoss Radbourn, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson--and modern--Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Bruce Sutter, Tom Glavine. It is vintage Kahn--he manages to mix personal memoir with astute analysis. He examines tangibles, such as the height of the mound, and intangibles, such as the fear factor carried by every pitch, without ever taking his eye off the ball. And he's not above a few laughs and surprises. When he makes out his subjective list of the best pitchers of all time, he naturally includes Matty, Koufax, and Warren Spahn, but he also throws in a guy named Jerry Solovey. Jerry who? Kahn tells us he played in the low minors. So why's he here? "He could," Kahn admits, "almost always get me out." Like an able hurler, Kahn knows how to mix it up. He's got enough command as a writer to know how--and when--to bounce an occasional curveball or scroogie in the dirt for effect. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly
Meticulous research about baseball's early days combined with interviews of prominent modern-day hurlers form this lively look at the evolution of pitching. Kahn (The Boys of Summer, etc.) follows the development of such pitches as the curve ball, the slider and the split-finger fastball, and he profiles several successful pitchers, beginning with Hoss Radbourn, who started 68 games in 1883, completed 66 and posted a win-loss record of 49 and 25. Those are amazing numbers compared to pitching standards in 2000 when most pitchers don't start more than 30 games and 20 wins combined with four or five complete games is considered an outstanding season. Kahn devotes the largest section to Christy Mathewson, who pitched for the New York Giants at the turn of the century, won 373 games and threw 80 shutouts. His most impressive feat, however, came early in his career, when, in the 1905 World Series, Mathewson pitched three shutouts in six days. Mathewson is clearly Kahn's favorite pitcher: he ranks him as the best pitcher of all time. Kahn also allots a considerable amount of space to the debate about the effectiveness and morality of the brush-back or knockdown pitch, a particularly relevant topic in light of Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens's beaning of Mets catcher Mike Piazza this summer. Kahn's love and knowledge of baseball is evident throughout this latest work in his baseball oeuvre, and his many fans will be especially pleased by his examination of the head game. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence:
Before considering pitching as history, and pitching as combat, and indeed, pitching as life, it makes some sense to review a controversy that has spilled into baseball's modern times. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
roundhouse curve, good fast ball, high fast ball, overhand curve, lively ball, breaking stuff, change pitcher, pitching coach, greatest pitcher, breaking balls, baseball people Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, World Series, National League, American League, Hall of Fame, Polo Grounds, Christy Mathewson, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, New England, Johnny Sain, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, Casey Stengel, Walter Johnson, Bruce Sutter, Hoss Radbourn, Bob Gibson, Leo Mazzone, Pee Wee Reese, Ebbets Field, World War, Loyal Rooters New!
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