Title/Author:
“They Said It Couldn’t
Be Done: The ’69 Mets, New York City and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball
History” by Wayne Coffey
Tags:
Baseball,
professional, history, Mets
Publish date:
March 26, 2019
Length:
304 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
The New York Mets shocked the
baseball world in 1969 by winning the World Series in their eighth year of
existence. In the previous seven years they had finished either last or next to
last place. While they have been dubbed the “Miracle Mets” and also the “Amazin’
Mets”, this book by Wayne Coffey goes into great detail to illustrate that
their win was not really a “miracle” or “amazing.” Instead, it tells the details of how the team
was put together, the background of most of the players and how the season and
postseason baseball played by the team was simply excellent.
By placing well-detailed short synopsizes
of players within the details of key games and each postseason game of 1969,
Coffey does a very good job of explaining to the reader that this Mets team was
not one that surprised themselves by being good. Indeed, this team, to a man, started to
believe in itself the previous season as the manager, Gil Hodges, installed a
quiet yet firm atmosphere of confidence in his club. The reader can’t go more than a few pages
without reading about someone stating that Hodges’ leadership was crucial to
both his own success and that of the Mets.
As does most baseball books that
cover a particular year or era, this book also has references to the important
issues of the year such as the civil rights movement, the Woodstock music
festival (there is a nice tie-in between the team and the story of a fan who
attended the event) and man’s first walk on the moon that year. There are a few of these event that feel like
they are simply inserted into the book without much reason, but for the most
part, they match what is going on with the team. The best connections to the events of the day
are how the embattled mayor of New York City that year, John Lindsey, attached
himself to the Mets to gain any political advantage.
However, the best writing of the
book is the very detailed description of the eight postseason games played by
the Mets. The reader will learn about
practically every play in the three games against the Atlanta Braves in the
National League Championship Series (a three game sweep for the Mets) and the
five World Series games against the Baltimore Orioles. Some of the best player stories are here as
well, tied in with some of the best description of terrific play as well. One that stood out to me was outfielder Tommie
Agee – both in Coffey’s story about his struggles in the segregated South and
his two outstanding catches in the World Series. Mets fans will want to pick up
this book to either relive that wonderful season for their team or to learn more
about the players and manager as well as the baseball.
I wish to thank Crown Archetype for
providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (PDF)
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