Here's the Catch

April 1, 2019

Over the summer of 1969, with the Stonewall riots, moon landing, and Woodstock music festival as a backdrop, the perennially hapless New York Mets shocked baseball fans, and the world, with their historic pennant-winning season and World Series victory. Outfielder Swoboda is fondly remembered by Mets fans for a spectacular catch that proved to be a critical turning point in the Series, and his memoir is perfectly timed for the championship team's 50th anniversary celebrations. Moreover, Swoboda recounts his journey to the major leagues; some of the early, epically bad Mets seasons; and his time with the New York Yankees during the rowdy "Bronx Zoo" era of the 1970s. Readers seeking an objective account of the Miracle Mets' season will find more definitive options, but Swoboda's insider stories, relaxed writing style, and the ready-made drama of 1969 are an unbeatable combination. VERDICT Baseball and sports fans of all ages will delight in the memories of an everyday player who became an immortal when the 1969 Mets won one of the most astonishing championships in sports history. Recommended for all public library collections.--Janet Davis, Darien P.L., CT

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2019
To hear him tell it, former New York Mets outfielder Ron Swoboda is a lucky man; fortunately for the reader, he is also a witty writer with a highly developed self-deprecating sense of humor. His book is mostly about the Mets and the team's amazing (there is really no other word for it) 1969 championship season, but, even when he strays from the playing field, his reflections are interesting and humble, justifying the moniker he has earned over the years as a baseball everyman. Joining the Mets in 1965, Swoboda participated in a few of the Mets' fabled bad years before the astounding run to the championship, and he does justice to both, including, of course, the exceptional diving catch he made in the fourth game of the World Series, for which he will always be remembered, especially in New York. In a year that will see an explosion of Mets books, this is an unexpectedly good one. Ron, why did you wait so long to write it?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)