For this portion in October 1964 I began to see the reason why David Halberstam wrote this novel. First of all this World Series and also this season was very special for two seperate reasons. The first being that the Cardinals rallied late in the season and came in to the playoffs playing really well and eventually making it to the World Series. This beng important because it is so difficult to do that even though it is a 162 game season. The second reason why this season was so special is because not only were the Yankees expected to win it with their big names and fantastic ballplayers but the fact was that the Cardinals were so young and full of Black baseball players. Especially in this time period where segration was a big deal and not many people took to the liking of the players (especially the Yankeees who didn't have any). Another reason I think that he wrote this book was because he wanted to show everyone how baseball was like when he was younger and he wanted to show the people that never got to see these great baseball players play. And thats why he picked 1964 to write about because of the great end to the season where the underdog St. Louis Cardinals defeated the heavily favored Yankees in seven games.

Blog #5

In this part of October 1964 the season is underway and early off the Cardinals are struggling. Their pitching is not doing good(excluding Bob Gibson) especially their bullpen. Also the younger players and the older players have yet to cooperate with each other and actually work together as a team. So the Cardinals are deffinately not looking like a playoff contending team right away. However the Yankees that are always promising are just cruising through teams and blowing them away. Their offense is always amazing with not a single weak hitter in the lineup, not counting the end of the order with rookie players like Joe Pepitone. While reading October 1964 I really got tosee what baseball was like back then and got to see what the great players of that time like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris really were. Players I would never get to see play today. Which I think the author David Halbestam did a phenominal job writing this book and describing it in great detail.

Blog #4

Again in the novel i am reading called October 1964 the season is just underway and early on St. Louis are the underdogs and defintely not expected to make it to the playoffs and definately not agains the pretty much most impossible team to beat the New York Yankees. The Cardinals are set to win based mostly on their two anchors of the starting pitching rotation and there middle of their lineup. The New York Yankees on the other hand are always set to win and always have a good team. The Yankees have a good pitching staff, solid bullpen and a phenomial lineup. This is because the owner buys whoever he wants and the team is basically built up on money, and it always has been and most likely will continue to be that way. Overall the novel is beginning to pick up in the regualar season where we get to see how the teams will play.

Blog #3

In the book October 1964 that I am reading. The season has finally picked up and it is the start of the season that will become one of the biggest upsets in baseball at the time. The St. Louis Cardinals were just a scrappy young team with many up and coming players and a few big names. They were definately the underdogs in this series. On the other side was the New York Yankees which in fact are the best team in baseball. With all their powerhouse names, their filthy rich owner and baseball's best coaching staff. The Yankees were expected to win the World Series every year and were certainly this year. However so far in the book it has just started opening day and the season is just beginning. The book follows both paths of the Cardinals and the Yankees in every other chapter.

Blog #2

This week in the novel I am reading I have really gotten to see what not only what baseball was like in 1964 but what life was like there too. For example obviously everyone got paid less but what I didn' t know was that you only could pay one of your players $100,000 regaardles of how good others were. Today owners can pay as many people as they want as much money as they want. Another thing that I noticed in this book that demonstrates life in 1964 was the black players coming into the league. Beause previously they had there own league called the Negro Leagues. But in 1942 Jackie Robinson was the first black player to play in the Major Leagues. This was not only significant in baseball but all over the United States. It really changed how people saw African-Americans and years after when more and more black's were coming into professional baseball. More and more everyone was mixed together and forced to like each other. As a matter of fact some of the best baseball players from that era are African Americans. For example Ernie Banks and Bob Gibson. Overall this novel has showed me what life was like in baseball and in the real word in the 1960's.

Blog #1

I am reading the novel October 1964 by David Halberstam. This book is about baseball in 1964 and how the Cardinals overcame the odds and defeated the powerforce in that era the New York Yankees. While reading the first few chapters I realized the similarities between then and now. For example I have begun to recognize many of the players names and learn how valuable certain players can be to certain teams. Also as I was reading I began to see baseball from the owners perspectives and got to know the characteristics of them. For example in baseball the reason why the American League and National League are divided is because of beer. And in the novel Annheuser Busch is the owner of the St. Louis Cardinals and I get to see how they have changed baseball. Because all the owners were so rich and knew very little about baseball the only reason why they were owners is to make a profit for the thing they own. Also the owners have left a mark on baseball in todays time. For example Mr. Wrigley named Wrigley field after himself and it still remains today. Charles Comiskey did the same thing and the field was torn down only a few years ago. Overall in the novel I have been reading and learning about not only baseball at the time but the long term effects of what the owners have done.

Over Coming Odds #15

Recently I read an article on overcoming odds. This specific article was on how The Arizona Diamondbacks beat possibly the greatest dynasty in the world with some of the greatest baseball players in the game at that time, some who are future hall of famers. This article was published on October 2nd 2006 during the playoffs to recall the events of the World Series that happened in 2001. This story is about that year, 2001 the New York Yankees vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. This year was special because not only did 9/11 occur the year of this world series but also the man who won the game for the Diamondbacks two different times in the playoffs had overcome an obstacle of his own. Tony Womack of the Arizona Diamondbacks had lost his father early in the season and then had been benched for poor play, but during the playoffs he got his chance. Womack got a clutch hit to send the Diamondbacks to the world series, where they were not favored, they were expected to get crushed in the World Series. The series went all the way to game 7, and thats where it happened. Mariano Rivera perhaps one of the greatest closers of all time was on the mound with a one-run lead. Womack came up to bat with a man on and he smacked a double in the gap on Riveras cut-fastball. The Diamondbacks had tied the game. Later Luis Gonzalez had followed up with a single that knocked in Womack giving the Diamondbacks the World Series. Womacks cluth double is arguably one of the greatest clutch hits of all time. Overall this article made me think about all the people overcoming sports odds as well as people overcoming personal difficulties, exactly what Tony Womack had done.

Walker , Sam. "Baseball's greatest hits: A study in 'clutchness'." 2/10/2009 21 Mar 2009 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06275/726154-63.stm