I just finished reading (that is, listening to) a book about the 1975 season:
"The Long Ball: The Summer of '75 -- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played"
1975 was the year that I fell in love with baseball. My family and I lived in a suburb of Cleveland at the time, so I was initiated into baseball fandom as a Cleveland Indians fan, but my grandparents, who lived in Columbus, were Reds fans. Their fandom rubbed off on me somewhere along the way, perhaps, or I was simply an Ohio fan.
At any rate, I played 2nd base, so two of my favorite players were Cleveland's Duane Kuiper and Cincinnati's Joe Morgan.
We were visiting my grandparents in Columbus while the Reds were playing the Red Sox that fall. My brothers and I got to see the twitchy batting stance of Morgan, the bizzare wind up of Luis Tiant, and the glorious energy of Pete Rose.
What a great year.
The book begins before the season and ends after it, telling lots of little stories along the way. We get glimpses of McNally's difficulties in Montreal and his sudden retirement, Catfish Hunter's free agency, Johnny Bench's preseason wedding (and post season divorce), asides about future famous people like M. C. Hammer and Ricky Henderson, and more.
It is a fun read for any long time baseball fan.
