Why I Love Baseball

Larry King was a true-blue baseball fanatic. A lifelong love affair began the night he attended a Dodgers game at Ebbets Field as a kid in 1940s Brooklyn. That was a simpler era in America's history, a time when tickets to a game cost fifty cents and parish priests prayed for Gil Hodges to break out of a slump. In this heartfelt valentine to America's favorite pastime, King recalls the many pleasures the game brought him for more than sixty years. During his broadcasting career, King had the opportunity to meet and interview many of the legends of his youth. Jackie Robinson, Casey Stengel, Ted Williams, Leo Durocher, Stan Musial—they're all here—plus many, many more. From the golden days when Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Duke Snider were all playing center field for New York teams at the same time, to the Subway Series in 2000 and the stirring first ballgame in New York after 9/11, this unique history is full of wonderful anecdotes. Friends and fellow baseball fanatics Bob Costas, Charlie Bragg, and Herb Cohen also contributed essays on their love for the game, and King discusses his favorite books, movies, and songs about the sport. This ode to baseball is a must for all fans and will be treasured by lovers of the game everywhere.