The 1970s represent one of the most turbulent times in baseball’s history. This decade of disco was for baseball fans the decade of divisions and DH’s. The major leagues grew by four teams in 1969, and aligned themselves into divisions for the first time. The owners added the designated hitter in 1973 to provide additional offense to a game they feared was becoming dull. Labor strife became a recurring problem during the early part of the decade, and it led to free agency. Herein are interviews with 16 players who played during the turbulent 1970s. John Montefusco, Fred Lynn, Ron Cey, Vida Blue, Jerry Koosman, Rick Wise, Jeff Burroughs, Butch Wynegar, Fred Patek, Darrell Evans, Bob Boone, Buddy Bell, Don Gullett, Tommy John, Don Money, and Al Oliver tell how baseball really was in the 70s. Each interview is preceded by a short profile of the player and noteworthy statistics, transactions and accomplishments.

Bill Ballew is the author of several other sports books. He lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Bill Ballew

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 201
Bibliographic Info: 28 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2002
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1347-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     1

1 Jerry Koosman     5
2 Vida Blue     18
3 Rick Wise     27
4 Al Oliver     37
5 Buddy Bell     49
6 Ron Cey     58
7 Don Money     74
8 Tommy John     86
9 Jeff Burroughs     97
10 Darrell Evans     106
11 Fred Lynn     118
12 Don Gullett     133
13 John Montefusco     143
14 Butch Wynegar     155
15 Fred Patek     164
16 Bob Boone     177

Index     187

• “A very enjoyable reading experience”—Booklist