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.