Gil Hodges

July 9, 2012
Clavin and Peary (Roger Maris) add to the hagiography of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the perspective of star first baseman Gil Hodges. Hodges signed with the Dodgers in 1943, and then left for the Marine Corps to serve in the South Pacific. He returned to the Dodgers and become a fan and media favorite through the early 1960s. He ended his playing career with the Mets, and later managed them to the 1969 World Series title. The story is as much about the Dodgers success as it is about Hodges; the authors portray them as one and the same. Clavin and Peary, however, avoid wallowing in statistics or sugary accolades in a tale of the final years of the beloved Brooklyn team, the rise of baseball in the West, and the resurrection of the National League in New York, but end with an unabashed yet legitimate plea for his Hall of Fame election.

June 15, 2012
A neglected baseball great receives his due in this comprehensive biography. In their second collaboration, veteran authors Clavin and Peary (Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero, 2010, etc.) highlight another player egregiously overlooked by baseball's Hall of Fame. At the conclusion of his playing career, Gil Hodges (1924-1972) had put up numbers that ranked among the all-time best. The authors dutifully chart his on-field heroics, reminding us of his slugging prowess (career home-run record for National League right-handed batters), his Gold Glove fielding and his knack for the big moment. More than anything, though, they feature Hodges the man, a fellow whose decency and character made an impression on everyone around him. From his sports-obsessed Indiana boyhood, to his short college tenure, his World War II service with the Marines, his crucial role as a leader of the storied 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers, his managerial stint with the Washington Senators and, most famously, with the Miracle Mets of 1969, Hodges was the sort of man after whom friends named their sons. For his quiet manner, stoicism and professionalism, he regularly drew comparisons to the sainted Lou Gehrig. A modest, devoted family man, Hodges was beloved in Brooklyn. When he slumped horribly in the 1952 World Series, church congregations prayed for him; when he brought a championship to the historically hapless Mets, all of New York toasted him. Perhaps he kept too much inside. As an adult, he was a chronic worrier, and he never discussed his combat experiences. Only a longtime smoking habit hinted at the stress he must have felt before his second heart attack in 1972, which killed him. The authors' brief on behalf of Hodges' Cooperstown credentials won't persuade everyone, but baseball fans will appreciate this look at an often-overshadowed star. A loving appreciation of a rare commodity: an extraordinary athlete who was an even better man.

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July 1, 2012
Outshone by his more colorful Brooklyn/L.A. Dodgers teammates during his long playing career (194363) and by the quirky characters he managed during the Amazin' Mets' 1969 championship season, Gil Hodges might well have been the heart and soul of both teams, hitting for power and in the clutch, playing impeccable defense at first base, and quietly leading by example as both player and manager. If he was a great player, this fully researched account by Clavin and Peary, both accomplished sportswriters, also shows him to have been a great man, serving honorably as a marine in WWII's Pacific theater, landing on the right side of history in standing up for African American teammate Jackie Robinson, and treating both teammates and fans with absolute class. Oddly, this doesn't necessarily make for lively reading, but the authors give Hodges his full due, and rabid Dodgers and Mets fans and even other baseball fans will still seek this book out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)