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Baseball: the definitive autobiography of Ted Williams and 7 other noteworthy books

Here are excerpts from 7 noteworthy new books about baseball.

3. “Down to the Last Pitch: How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time”

  • By Ross Atkin

by Tim Wendel

Da Capo Press

271 pages

(The 1991 World Series between what had been cellar-dwelling teams the previous season saw five of seven games decided by a single run and four games decided by the last at-bat.)

“For the first time in World Series history three games had gone into extra innings, and [Minnesota pitcher Jack] Morris was still very much a part of this one. If anything, the veteran right-hander appeared to be getting stronger as the game went into extra innings, as he became the first starting pitcher since Tom Seaver in 1969 to continue past the ninth inning in the World Series. Morris set the Braves down in order in the top of the tenth on only eight pitches, and [Twins manager Tom] Kelly had already decided his staff ace would go out for the eleventh – if things went that far.

“ ‘A lot of times you attend a sporting event … and not realize at the time how sensational it is,’ Jack Buck told his national television audience. ‘You look back and say, “I’m glad I was there. That was something.” Tonight, it’s so apparent that this is one of the most remarkable baseball games ever played.’ ”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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