Review: The Year of the Pitcher: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age

The Year of the Pitcher: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age by Sridhar Pappu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Did anyone read “Summer of ‘68” by Tim Wendel? It covered the intersection of baseball and current events in the Summer (and Fall) of 1968. The focus was on the key pitchers of the time, Denny McLain and Bob Gibson, and the racial issues prevalent in the country. Wendel’s book was published in 2012. Fast forward 5 years to 2017. That’s when “The Year of the Pitcher” was published. And it’s about…the same things. I recall writing in my review of Wendel’s book that it mentioned the encroachment of football onto the stage, vying to replace baseball as “America’s sport”. I remember thinking this was an unexpected bit of history to share in a baseball book. Strangely, the same thing popped up in “The Year of the Pitcher”. The authors seem to have used some of the same sources. I’d guess these two books have about 80% overlapping topics, and perhaps 2/3 overlapping anecdotes. The obvious takeaway is that 1968 was a highly interesting year for baseball and American society. I’m not sure you need to read two pop-history/sports books on it. “Summer of 68” covered the fall as well. “Year of the Pitcher” talks a lot about Jackie Robinson, who was not a pitcher, nor was he facing pitchers at the time. Both titles were a little misleading. Having read both, I’d say both are good, with “Summer of 68” taking the nod based on a better cover and seniority.

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