Download Chasing October: The Giants - Dodgers Pennant Race of 1962 AudioBook Free
From the first pitch of April until the final out in October, the 1962 Dodgers and Giants staged a furious pennant fight that was every bit the equal of the fractious feuds waged through the rivalry's New York heyday of bench-clearing brawls. Set in what many call "the last year of American innocence," the 1962 National League pennant competition was in a fresh framework - a 10-team league including Houston and the Mets, a 162-game agenda, and the new Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. But it also had plenty of tradition. Labels like Snider and Mays, Durocher and Deep were still in standard 11 years after the famous Giants-Dodgers playoff made the decision by Bobby Thompson's homer in the ninth, in 1951. The move western world, in 1958, had not mellowed any stories - Candlestick Playground and Dodger Stadium replaced the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, but the intensity of common dislike was the same. Increase this the uncanny resemblance of the Dodger-Giant standings entering the 1962 playoffs compared to that of the 1951 position, and you have a season-ending script that stands among the most memorable and amazing in the game's history. In Chasing October, David Plaut captures in fascinating fine detail all the fantastic moments, raw emotion, and nail-biting suspense of the remarkable fight to the finish. Each team done the standard season with imposing 101-61 records. Each got its heroes: Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Felipe Alou, and Jack port Sanford were Bay Area favorites. In Los Angeles, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Tommy Davis, and Frank Howard were as recognizable as the Hollywood superstars who turned out nightly at Chavez Ravine to cheer them on. Each team got their own stresses as well. Younger Dodgers supported supervisor Walt Alston, others openly preferred instructor Leo Derocher. Within the Giants, minority players were not always enamored of the manager, Alvin Deep. Just as in 1951, the playoff included rallies, dilemma, and tactical blunders that directed the action in to the ninth inning of the ultimate game before being made the decision. With improvements and a fresh preface, this 50th Wedding anniversary Release of Chasing October is crucial not limited to the fans of the two fascinating franchises, but for any fan of baseball. In acquiring the exhilarating heart of the extreme rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants, Plaut reaches the fact of baseball's hang on the imagination.
