As a fan of the Minnesota Twins, of course I will read any book about their time as the Washington Senators. This is an upcoming book on the anniversary of their only championship in Washington. Here is my review of “Team of Destiny.”
Title/Author:
“Team of Destiny: Walter Johnson, Clark Griffith, Bucky Harris and the 1924 Washington Senators” by Gary Sarnoff
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: 2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of the only World Series championship by the Washington Senators. To commemorate this anniversary, Gary Sarnoff compiled this comprehensive recap of the special season in which rookie manager Bucky Harris became the youngest manager to win the World Series at age 27. This is a record that still stands today.
The book starts off with the end of the 1923 season as the Senators finished 4th in the American League. It was an improvement but owner Clark Griffith was not satisfied and he felt a change was needed at the manager spot. After several considerations he contacted his second baseman Bucky Harris and asked how he felt about handling managerial duties as well as playing regularly at second base. Harris accepted the challenge in his calm and unassuming manner. This is a characteristic of Harris that is evident throughout the book, especially when reading his quotes given to the press.
This section of the book, and the celebration by not only the team but the entire city of Washington DC after the World Series are the best parts of the book. The reader will certainly feel the joy that the city has after their baseball team brought home the championship. It is also interesting to read the tidbits during the World Series when President Calvin Coolidge is attending the game. This is mainly due to the rabid fandom of Mrs. Coolidge as Sarnoff lets the reader know about her enthusiasm while cheering for the team.
The bulk of the book, from the first spring training game to the last out of game 7 of the World Series against the New York Giants, is a detailed account of every game. For the absolute baseball junkie this is great material, but it feels like it drags. Just like the players, I felt I was reaching the “dog days” of the book by the time August rolled around. It read like a narrative of baseball-reference.com accounts of the game. Although to be fair, there were sprinklings of interesting anecdotes about various players, especially the stars of the team. These included Hall of Famers Sam Rice, Goose Goslin and Walter Johnson. The reader will feel the same joy as Johnson did when he became the winning pitcher as Muddy Ruel scored the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. This section of the book is the part where I was most grateful for the deep detail of game action.
Overall, I felt this was a decent book on the magical 1924 season for the Senators. While it does seem to go slow at times, that matches the grind of any baseball season. As a fan of the Minnesota Twins, I always enjoy reading anything about the franchise’s days in Washington so this account of their most successful season during that era was one I was glad to read.
I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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