![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Game-Won.jpg\")
<\/a>GAME WON\u2013 How the Greatest Home Run Ever Hit Sparked the 1988 Dodgers to Game One Victory and an Improbable World Series Title<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
By Steven K. Wagner<\/strong><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
Sunbury Press, Inc., 2021<\/strong><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
$16.95<\/strong><\/h4>\nAvailable through Amazon.com and Sunbury Press<\/strong><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sitting (in the Dodger bullpen) next to Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco, and when (Gibson) came out of the dugout, our reaction was, \u2018What in the world is Tommy (Lasorda) doing? This doesn\u2019t make any sense, because he can\u2019t even stand up.\u2019 As teammates, we did not think it was physically possible for him to take an at-bat.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen we could tell that (Gibson had) hit a home run, Jesse lifted me high in the air, kind of bear-hugging me around my knees or thighs. He lifted me way above him and started running around the bullpen with me in his arms. I don\u2019t know why he did that \u2013 I\u2019d only known him for a month for goodness\u2019 sake. I remember him carrying me around the bullpen and thinking we\u2019re both going to fall on the ground and get hurt.\u00a0 It was such a moment of elation, and he did the first thing that came to his mind: He picked me up \u00a0and carried me around\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dodger Reliever Ricky Horton<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThis above quote from Dodger reliever Ricky Horton is from Steven K. Wagner\u2019s latest baseball book \u2013 GAME WON \u2013 How the Greatest Home Run Ever Hit Sparked the 1988 Dodgers to Game One Victory and an Improbable World Series Title.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nIn the book, Wagner puts the reader on the scene – and behind the scenes \u2013 for Kirk Gibson\u2019s dramatic walk-off, two-run home run that gave the underdog Dodgers a 5-4 victory in Game One of the 1988 World Series (and set the tone for the Dodgers’ ultimate five-game Series win. Wagner makes a good case for Gibson\u2019s long ball being one of the (if not the) most exciting in baseball history, right up there with Giant Bobby Thomson\u2019s 1951 pennant-winning blast off Ralph Branca, Pirate Bill Mazeroski\u2019s World Series-winning home run in 1960 and the 1975 World Series Game Six extra-inning home run that Carlton Fisk of the Red Sox \u201cwilled, waved and danced\u201d fair.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a baseball fan, you remember the iconic six-minutes of baseball history fashioned by Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley and Dodgers\u2019 hobbled pinch hitter Kirk Gibson.\u00a0\u00a0 Eckersley, a future Hall of Famer, came to the mound as 1988\u2019s major-league saves leader and one of the game\u2019s toughest relievers.\u00a0 Gibson, the Dodgers\u2019 1988 offensive stalwart, came to the plate \u00a0not just off the bench, but off the trainer\u2019s table, where\u00a0 he had been nursing \u00a0(and icing down) a swollen right knee and a painful left hamstring. \u00a0Gibson made his way gingerly to the batter\u2019s box, fought off visible pain in a grueling eight-pitch at-bat and finally took Eckersley deep (on a 3-2 count with two outs) for a game-winning, two-run homer \u2013 and then limped around the bases (in what would be his only at bat in the Series.)<\/p>\n
In Game Won<\/em>, Wagner deftly delivers all we\u2019ve come to expect in a baseball book.\u00a0 He takes us through the game inning-by- inning, even pitch-by-pitch \u2013 building to the big moment with prose that brings the reader into the ballpark.\u00a0 For example, in setting the stage for a \u00a0Terry Steinbach at-bat against Dodger reliever Tim Leary, Wagner writes \u201cAs the Goodyear blimp floated listlessly overhead, Leary slowly made his way to the pitching mound. By then the sky was ink black, the tricky afternoon shadows that so often baffled hitters were gone, and the bright bank of stadium lights was fully operational as Steinbach stepped in to face the opposing pitcher.\u201d Throughout \u00a0the book, Wagner displays his talent not only for setting the stage, but for bringing the stage to life.<\/p>\n\nIn Game Won, Steven Wagner displays his ability to not just set the stage, <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nbut bring the stage to life.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWagner also provides a look at the players involved. He delivers the baseball book staple \u2013 the stories and statistics that define how they got to this moment in their careers (and even a look at where the national pastime took them in the years after this moment).<\/p>\n
But \u00a0Wagner takes his efforts a step further \u2013 giving us a look at some of the people behind the scenes who had an impact on Gibson’s on-field moment.\u00a0 For example, \u00a0we get a look at the contributions of 24-year-old Dodger \u201cbatboy\u201d and former college pitcher Mitch Poole (assigned primarily to the club house and trainers\u2019 room that day) in helping Gibson get ready for his at-bat and making sure Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda knew Gibson was determined to make the painful trip to the plate. How important was Poole\u2019s role? Wagner\u2019s book includes a chapter entitled \u201cThe Batboy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wagner also gives us a look at how announcer Vin Scully\u2019s eighth-inning on-air announcement that Kirk Gibson \u201cwill not see any action tonight, for sure\u201d provided even more impetus for Gibson to get himself off the trainer\u2019s table and up to the plate; as well as how advice from Dodger scout Mel Didier helped Gibson prepare for Eckersley\u2019s final 3-2 offering.<\/p>\n
Then there is, what for this reviewer is the crowning touch. Each chapter begins with observations pulled from interviews with fans who were in the stands for the game \u2013 just another way Wagner brings the game and its impact to life.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen he came into the on-deck circle, people started standing up and cheering. When he hit the home run, everyone went nuts.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe second he hit it, I knew it was out because the whole \u00a0stadium erupted. Popcorn was flying. Food boxes were flying. Everything was flying around. I don\u2019t think I was even looking at the field because everyone was jumping up and down and hugging. It was awesome being there.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cAfterward, we sat around for maybe a half hour and waited for people to leave.\u00a0 When we got to the<\/em> parking lot, people were screaming and going crazy \u2013 it wouldn\u2019t end. \u201c<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dodger Fan Brad Kuehfuss<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAs you can probably tell, I liked this book. It truly brings Gibson\u2019s iconic home run \u2013 in fact, the whole game \u2013 to life. The detail provided shows the depth of Wagner\u2019s research, as \u00a0do the acknowledgements to the literally dozens of players, coaches, managers, team executives and employees, and fans. This is a book that takes the reader beyond the statistics and deep into the story (and feel) of the game – and the emotions of all those who were on the field, in stands and behind the scenes. \u00a0I\u2019d recommend it to fans, not just of the Dodgers, but of the national pastime itself. Well done, Mr. Wagner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
$16.95<\/strong><\/h4>\nAvailable through Amazon.com and Sunbury Press<\/strong><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sitting (in the Dodger bullpen) next to Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco, and when (Gibson) came out of the dugout, our reaction was, \u2018What in the world is Tommy (Lasorda) doing? This doesn\u2019t make any sense, because he can\u2019t even stand up.\u2019 As teammates, we did not think it was physically possible for him to take an at-bat.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen we could tell that (Gibson had) hit a home run, Jesse lifted me high in the air, kind of bear-hugging me around my knees or thighs. He lifted me way above him and started running around the bullpen with me in his arms. I don\u2019t know why he did that \u2013 I\u2019d only known him for a month for goodness\u2019 sake. I remember him carrying me around the bullpen and thinking we\u2019re both going to fall on the ground and get hurt.\u00a0 It was such a moment of elation, and he did the first thing that came to his mind: He picked me up \u00a0and carried me around\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dodger Reliever Ricky Horton<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThis above quote from Dodger reliever Ricky Horton is from Steven K. Wagner\u2019s latest baseball book \u2013 GAME WON \u2013 How the Greatest Home Run Ever Hit Sparked the 1988 Dodgers to Game One Victory and an Improbable World Series Title.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nIn the book, Wagner puts the reader on the scene – and behind the scenes \u2013 for Kirk Gibson\u2019s dramatic walk-off, two-run home run that gave the underdog Dodgers a 5-4 victory in Game One of the 1988 World Series (and set the tone for the Dodgers’ ultimate five-game Series win. Wagner makes a good case for Gibson\u2019s long ball being one of the (if not the) most exciting in baseball history, right up there with Giant Bobby Thomson\u2019s 1951 pennant-winning blast off Ralph Branca, Pirate Bill Mazeroski\u2019s World Series-winning home run in 1960 and the 1975 World Series Game Six extra-inning home run that Carlton Fisk of the Red Sox \u201cwilled, waved and danced\u201d fair.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a baseball fan, you remember the iconic six-minutes of baseball history fashioned by Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley and Dodgers\u2019 hobbled pinch hitter Kirk Gibson.\u00a0\u00a0 Eckersley, a future Hall of Famer, came to the mound as 1988\u2019s major-league saves leader and one of the game\u2019s toughest relievers.\u00a0 Gibson, the Dodgers\u2019 1988 offensive stalwart, came to the plate \u00a0not just off the bench, but off the trainer\u2019s table, where\u00a0 he had been nursing \u00a0(and icing down) a swollen right knee and a painful left hamstring. \u00a0Gibson made his way gingerly to the batter\u2019s box, fought off visible pain in a grueling eight-pitch at-bat and finally took Eckersley deep (on a 3-2 count with two outs) for a game-winning, two-run homer \u2013 and then limped around the bases (in what would be his only at bat in the Series.)<\/p>\n
In Game Won<\/em>, Wagner deftly delivers all we\u2019ve come to expect in a baseball book.\u00a0 He takes us through the game inning-by- inning, even pitch-by-pitch \u2013 building to the big moment with prose that brings the reader into the ballpark.\u00a0 For example, in setting the stage for a \u00a0Terry Steinbach at-bat against Dodger reliever Tim Leary, Wagner writes \u201cAs the Goodyear blimp floated listlessly overhead, Leary slowly made his way to the pitching mound. By then the sky was ink black, the tricky afternoon shadows that so often baffled hitters were gone, and the bright bank of stadium lights was fully operational as Steinbach stepped in to face the opposing pitcher.\u201d Throughout \u00a0the book, Wagner displays his talent not only for setting the stage, but for bringing the stage to life.<\/p>\n\nIn Game Won, Steven Wagner displays his ability to not just set the stage, <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nbut bring the stage to life.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWagner also provides a look at the players involved. He delivers the baseball book staple \u2013 the stories and statistics that define how they got to this moment in their careers (and even a look at where the national pastime took them in the years after this moment).<\/p>\n
But \u00a0Wagner takes his efforts a step further \u2013 giving us a look at some of the people behind the scenes who had an impact on Gibson’s on-field moment.\u00a0 For example, \u00a0we get a look at the contributions of 24-year-old Dodger \u201cbatboy\u201d and former college pitcher Mitch Poole (assigned primarily to the club house and trainers\u2019 room that day) in helping Gibson get ready for his at-bat and making sure Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda knew Gibson was determined to make the painful trip to the plate. How important was Poole\u2019s role? Wagner\u2019s book includes a chapter entitled \u201cThe Batboy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wagner also gives us a look at how announcer Vin Scully\u2019s eighth-inning on-air announcement that Kirk Gibson \u201cwill not see any action tonight, for sure\u201d provided even more impetus for Gibson to get himself off the trainer\u2019s table and up to the plate; as well as how advice from Dodger scout Mel Didier helped Gibson prepare for Eckersley\u2019s final 3-2 offering.<\/p>\n
Then there is, what for this reviewer is the crowning touch. Each chapter begins with observations pulled from interviews with fans who were in the stands for the game \u2013 just another way Wagner brings the game and its impact to life.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen he came into the on-deck circle, people started standing up and cheering. When he hit the home run, everyone went nuts.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe second he hit it, I knew it was out because the whole \u00a0stadium erupted. Popcorn was flying. Food boxes were flying. Everything was flying around. I don\u2019t think I was even looking at the field because everyone was jumping up and down and hugging. It was awesome being there.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cAfterward, we sat around for maybe a half hour and waited for people to leave.\u00a0 When we got to the<\/em> parking lot, people were screaming and going crazy \u2013 it wouldn\u2019t end. \u201c<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dodger Fan Brad Kuehfuss<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAs you can probably tell, I liked this book. It truly brings Gibson\u2019s iconic home run \u2013 in fact, the whole game \u2013 to life. The detail provided shows the depth of Wagner\u2019s research, as \u00a0do the acknowledgements to the literally dozens of players, coaches, managers, team executives and employees, and fans. This is a book that takes the reader beyond the statistics and deep into the story (and feel) of the game – and the emotions of all those who were on the field, in stands and behind the scenes. \u00a0I\u2019d recommend it to fans, not just of the Dodgers, but of the national pastime itself. Well done, Mr. Wagner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sitting (in the Dodger bullpen) next to Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco, and when (Gibson) came out of the dugout, our reaction was, \u2018What in the world is Tommy (Lasorda) doing? This doesn\u2019t make any sense, because he can\u2019t even stand up.\u2019 As teammates, we did not think it was physically possible for him to take an at-bat.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we could tell that (Gibson had) hit a home run, Jesse lifted me high in the air, kind of bear-hugging me around my knees or thighs. He lifted me way above him and started running around the bullpen with me in his arms. I don\u2019t know why he did that \u2013 I\u2019d only known him for a month for goodness\u2019 sake. I remember him carrying me around the bullpen and thinking we\u2019re both going to fall on the ground and get hurt.\u00a0 It was such a moment of elation, and he did the first thing that came to his mind: He picked me up \u00a0and carried me around\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dodger Reliever Ricky Horton<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This above quote from Dodger reliever Ricky Horton is from Steven K. Wagner\u2019s latest baseball book \u2013 GAME WON \u2013 How the Greatest Home Run Ever Hit Sparked the 1988 Dodgers to Game One Victory and an Improbable World Series Title.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
In the book, Wagner puts the reader on the scene – and behind the scenes \u2013 for Kirk Gibson\u2019s dramatic walk-off, two-run home run that gave the underdog Dodgers a 5-4 victory in Game One of the 1988 World Series (and set the tone for the Dodgers’ ultimate five-game Series win. Wagner makes a good case for Gibson\u2019s long ball being one of the (if not the) most exciting in baseball history, right up there with Giant Bobby Thomson\u2019s 1951 pennant-winning blast off Ralph Branca, Pirate Bill Mazeroski\u2019s World Series-winning home run in 1960 and the 1975 World Series Game Six extra-inning home run that Carlton Fisk of the Red Sox \u201cwilled, waved and danced\u201d fair.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a baseball fan, you remember the iconic six-minutes of baseball history fashioned by Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley and Dodgers\u2019 hobbled pinch hitter Kirk Gibson.\u00a0\u00a0 Eckersley, a future Hall of Famer, came to the mound as 1988\u2019s major-league saves leader and one of the game\u2019s toughest relievers.\u00a0 Gibson, the Dodgers\u2019 1988 offensive stalwart, came to the plate \u00a0not just off the bench, but off the trainer\u2019s table, where\u00a0 he had been nursing \u00a0(and icing down) a swollen right knee and a painful left hamstring. \u00a0Gibson made his way gingerly to the batter\u2019s box, fought off visible pain in a grueling eight-pitch at-bat and finally took Eckersley deep (on a 3-2 count with two outs) for a game-winning, two-run homer \u2013 and then limped around the bases (in what would be his only at bat in the Series.)<\/p>\n
In Game Won<\/em>, Wagner deftly delivers all we\u2019ve come to expect in a baseball book.\u00a0 He takes us through the game inning-by- inning, even pitch-by-pitch \u2013 building to the big moment with prose that brings the reader into the ballpark.\u00a0 For example, in setting the stage for a \u00a0Terry Steinbach at-bat against Dodger reliever Tim Leary, Wagner writes \u201cAs the Goodyear blimp floated listlessly overhead, Leary slowly made his way to the pitching mound. By then the sky was ink black, the tricky afternoon shadows that so often baffled hitters were gone, and the bright bank of stadium lights was fully operational as Steinbach stepped in to face the opposing pitcher.\u201d Throughout \u00a0the book, Wagner displays his talent not only for setting the stage, but for bringing the stage to life.<\/p>\n
\nIn Game Won, Steven Wagner displays his ability to not just set the stage, <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
but bring the stage to life.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Wagner also provides a look at the players involved. He delivers the baseball book staple \u2013 the stories and statistics that define how they got to this moment in their careers (and even a look at where the national pastime took them in the years after this moment).<\/p>\n
But \u00a0Wagner takes his efforts a step further \u2013 giving us a look at some of the people behind the scenes who had an impact on Gibson’s on-field moment.\u00a0 For example, \u00a0we get a look at the contributions of 24-year-old Dodger \u201cbatboy\u201d and former college pitcher Mitch Poole (assigned primarily to the club house and trainers\u2019 room that day) in helping Gibson get ready for his at-bat and making sure Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda knew Gibson was determined to make the painful trip to the plate. How important was Poole\u2019s role? Wagner\u2019s book includes a chapter entitled \u201cThe Batboy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wagner also gives us a look at how announcer Vin Scully\u2019s eighth-inning on-air announcement that Kirk Gibson \u201cwill not see any action tonight, for sure\u201d provided even more impetus for Gibson to get himself off the trainer\u2019s table and up to the plate; as well as how advice from Dodger scout Mel Didier helped Gibson prepare for Eckersley\u2019s final 3-2 offering.<\/p>\n
Then there is, what for this reviewer is the crowning touch. Each chapter begins with observations pulled from interviews with fans who were in the stands for the game \u2013 just another way Wagner brings the game and its impact to life.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen he came into the on-deck circle, people started standing up and cheering. When he hit the home run, everyone went nuts.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cThe second he hit it, I knew it was out because the whole \u00a0stadium erupted. Popcorn was flying. Food boxes were flying. Everything was flying around. I don\u2019t think I was even looking at the field because everyone was jumping up and down and hugging. It was awesome being there.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cAfterward, we sat around for maybe a half hour and waited for people to leave.\u00a0 When we got to the<\/em> parking lot, people were screaming and going crazy \u2013 it wouldn\u2019t end. \u201c<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dodger Fan Brad Kuehfuss<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
As you can probably tell, I liked this book. It truly brings Gibson\u2019s iconic home run \u2013 in fact, the whole game \u2013 to life. The detail provided shows the depth of Wagner\u2019s research, as \u00a0do the acknowledgements to the literally dozens of players, coaches, managers, team executives and employees, and fans. This is a book that takes the reader beyond the statistics and deep into the story (and feel) of the game – and the emotions of all those who were on the field, in stands and behind the scenes. \u00a0I\u2019d recommend it to fans, not just of the Dodgers, but of the national pastime itself. Well done, Mr. Wagner.<\/p>\n