The Seventh Game: The 35 World Series That Have Gone the Distance [Paperback]

Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
March 21, 2004
Baseball book a home run
Author: Phil O'Neill
Section: SPORTS, Page: D1

Barry Levenson, a Worcester native and lifelong Red Sox fan, has researched and written a splendid baseball volume that is chock full of nuggets about the National Pastime and bound to be a popular seller.
``The Seventh Game: The 35 World Series That Have Gone the Distance,'' which is just now reaching bookstores, is a clever approach chronicling full-length Fall Classics, from the 1909 marquee matchup of Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner right down to Anaheim's surprising victory over hard-luck San Francisco in 2002.
Highlights -- or lowlights, if you will -- include famous Red Sox failures in 1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986, along with what Levenson calls Boston's improbable seventh-game triumph in 1912 over Christy Mathewson and John McGraw's suddenly inept New York Giants.
The 340-page soft-cover book, which is published by McGraw Hill and sells for $16.95, is dedicated to his father, Jim Levenson.
``The Seventh Game'' includes an in-depth analysis of the 35 World Series, line scores of the final game, a quiz on seventh-game knowledge, a 1-to-35 ranking of the best-to-worst seventh games, computer replays of the games and a foreword by New York Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry, who gave up Bill Mazeroski's game-ending home run in the 1960 seventh game and then hurled a 1-0 shutout in the 1962 Series finale.
``The seventh game is baseball's ultimate treat,'' Levenson said in a telephone interview. ``It only happens about once every three years. It's the ultimate game of `no tomorrow.' To me, it seems like the culmination of everything going on in America.''
A nice touch is the way Levenson sets the scene for each of his 35 chapters. The epic 1946 Red Sox-Cardinals clash, for example, was the year the boys came back from war and also witnessed the birth of Dolly Parton, the invention of artificial snow and the first appearance of the bikini. ``Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah'' was a hit song, and Jimmy Stewart starred in a new movie: ``It's a Wonderful Life.''
He spent two years researching ``The Seventh Game.'' He calls time spent at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., poring over old newspaper and magazine clips ``great days. I just had a ball doing that.''
Time for Trivia (Questions from ``The Seventh Game)''

1. Which teams have the best and worst records in World Series seventh games?
2. There have been only 13 triples in WS seventh games. Name the only Red Sox player to hit a three-bagger and the last player from any team to do so.
3. Who was the last catcher to steal a base in a WS seventh game?

As a 50-year baseball fan, and a long-time fan of the NY Yankees, frequent World Series participants, I eagerly anticipated reading Levenson's "The Seventh Game." As has been the case with so many of the NFL's Super Bowls, several seventh games have fallen short of expectations; others, though, have been the perfect culmination of the marathon baseball season.

Unfortunately, Mr. Levenson's accounts DO NOT RECREATE THE DRAMA of those games. Three things are missing. While I don't know the author's age, it is obvious he has not witnessed--either in person, on TV or the radio--many of these games, for he fails to display the excitement, anxiety, or deflation a real fan would have experienced (for example, during the back-and-forth 1960 finale between the Pirates and Yanks). Further, he offers few, if any, statistics that could have "set the stage" for dramatic pitcher-batter confrontations (reference to previous at bats involving same pitcher and batter or performances in similar situations). Finally, he hasn't done the research to include comments from participants that would have reflected how they were feeling at these critical moments in their career. Consequently, I found even "the fabulous fifteen" drab and dry.

Moreover, the description offered by Amazon promised "box scores of every seventh game." Sorry, but there is a huge difference between line scores (providing inning-by-inning team run production)and box scores (providing offensive and pitching statistics for all individuals who played in the game). In fact, line scores are redundantly offered in TWO places in this book (each year and appendix) while box scores are offered NOWHERE! Since this was something I looked for specifically, its omission was a major source of my disappointment.

For those who have not been "religious followers" of the game, this volume could prove informative, though neither inspirational nor memorable. For those who have seen or heard many of these great contests, and have read accounts offering real insight into personal "stories behind the story," Mr. Levenson's book will prove unsatisfactory and rather empty.

"The Seventh Game" is a virtual encyclopedia of the World Series from 1909-2002. It covers all 35 of the Fall Classics that lasted the full 7 games-accompanied by historical anecdotes from each year. Everything is here: TSG begins with what may be the strongest introduction to any book this reviewer has read: Its' writer is none other than former Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry, the losing 7th game pitcher in the '60 WS and the winning hurler in '62. There is a wonderful 50-question quiz on 7th game trivia. 2 samples: 1) Who are the only brothers to hit home runs for opposite teams in a 7th game and 2) Who is the only pitcher to hurl a 7th game shutout, yet have a losing career record? The answers appear at the end of this review. There follows a detailed report on the featured 35 series. This observer believes that author Levenson may have missed a few facts but given the volume covered, some mistakes are inevitable. This reviewer can't resist poking some fun at the author; more detail below! There is also a ranking of the 35 series- wait till readers discover #1. Levenson also provides a computer resimulation of all 35 series-with the Mets WINNING in 1973! ( "You Gotta Believe!", as the late Tug McGraw said). There is lots of analysis by pitching, by defense and by offense. Any reader retaining a third of the material contained in TSG will be a certified expert! It is indeed all here! This piece stated above that mistakes are inevitable given the scope of TSG. With that in mind, this reviewer points no fingers. But in the open-minded spirit of those computer resimulations, here are some simulated questions/comments for the author over a simulated friendly beer or three: 1) 1909: It's not baseball but are you sure the song "Casey Jones" was recorded in the year of his death? Jones was an engineer on the Illinois Central RR. The nighttime wreck of his train in Vaughan, MS, for which he was NOT to blame, may be the most famous in history. (The stalled train in front of Casey had not set out the required warning flares). Was the upbeat tune actually recorded so quickly. 2) 1947: Why didn't you mention Al Gionfriddo's catch off Joe DiMaggio, one of the most notable in WS lore? 3) 1955: The Yankees Tommy Byrne ("That Good Hittin' Pitcher") was a lefty. 4) 1955 again: The Yankees got Don Larsen and Bob Turley in an epic 18 player trade with Baltimore after the '54 season. Casey always liked Larsen and Turley was a highly regarded young righthander. They did not get him from the "bargain table". 5) 1957: I was at that game as a little kid. If you were as well, we saw 2 different games: My version has Tommy Byrne coming up as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th. Are you certain Casey had the good hittin' pitcher in the game as his final hurler? 6) 1957 again: I remember the final play quite differently. Eddie Mathews was guarding the third base line, as he should have in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch hitter Bill Skowron hit a hot smash, which Eddie backhanded and stepped on third base to end the game. I did not see him dive! If he had not been such a "good hit, no field" player, the play would have gone unnoticed! Which of us is right? I'm happy that we agree that Casey never should have started rookie (!) Tony Kubek at third base. he probably cost the Yankees the Series. 7) Finally, 1973: This Series meant a lot, since the Army intervened to keep me away from the 1969 "Miracle". '73 was making up for '69. My recruiter and I agreed that the Cubs would win the 1969 flag! I was at Fort Dix, NJ just in time for the Series. I was an avid Mets fan! Are you sure the Mets did not win Game 6/'73 behind Jerry Koosman? And regarding Game 7, are you certain the Mets did not start Tom Seaver on 2 days rest, just like Jim Lonborg in 1967? I loved the '73 Mets. Few teams have gone so far with so little talent. Amazoners should take the foregoing nit picking with a grain of salt! Which sports fan could resist a little finger pointing? I'll pay for the beers either way. The answers to the 2 trivia? listed above are: 1) 1964: Kenny Boyer of the Cardinals and Clete Boyer of the Yankees. Both were 3rd basemen. 2) 1956: Johnny Kucks of the Yankees who pitched a 3 hit 9-0 shutout of the Dodgers. The pride of Jersey City, NJ never regained control of his sinkerball and faded from the majors by 1960. (He remained a dominant minor league hurler for a few more years). The bottom line is TSG is a treasure trove of good solid baseball that belongs front and center on any fan's bookshelf. It spans the ages. This reviewer admits that the foregoing has been somewhat self-indulgent. Thanks to my amazon friends for reading through it all! I hope Mr. Levenson realizes my "questions" were posed in fun, one baseball fan to another.