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Stealing Games

How John McGraw Transformed Baseball With the 1911 New York Giants
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Apr 05, 2017PimaLib_NormS rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Baseball. History. Baseball history. These are three of my favorite subjects. In “Stealing Games: How John McGraw Transformed Baseball With the 1911 New York Giants”, Maury Klein delves into the story of, you guessed it, the 1911 New York Giants. It was the beginning of the so-called live ball era. Around this time, the baseball manufacturers started making balls with small cork centers, which made them a bit more lively. Most teams then played what is now called “small ball”, that is, teams tried to win by stealing bases, bunting the runners along, using the hit and run, running the bases aggressively, and putting the ball in play rather than swinging for home runs. Perhaps the Giants played this kind of game better than most. In 1911, they set a record for stolen bases by a team in one season. But to say that the 1911 Giants “transformed” baseball seems to be a bit of an overstatement. Champions transform their sports and, interestingly, the ’11 Giants did not win the World Series. In fact, they were in the midst of a World Series championship drought that lasted until 1921, so it may be an exaggeration to call them “transformative”. All of this is not to say that I didn’t like the book, though. I enjoyed reading about what baseball and ballplayers were like back then. There were some intriguing characters on that team, led by their fiery manager, John McGraw. “Stealing Games” is an engaging book for those that enjoy baseball and history, and baseball history.