The World Series: baseball's biggest stage by Matt Doeden. 64 p. Spectacular Sports series. Millbrook Press/ Lerner Publishing Group, March, 2014. 9781467718967. (Borrowed from public library)
A concise, readable history of the World Series of baseball in an engaging conversational tone and packed with photos. This is a baseball lover's dream book. In a chapter devoted to the history of the World Series, readers learn that there wasn't always a championship game and that there was tension between the two leagues. In 1903, the NL champion, Pittsburgh Pirates challenged the AL champs, the Boston Americans to a best of 7 championship series. The Pirates were favored to win and it looked as if they might but the Americans rallied from 0-3 to win the final four games of the series. In 1904, the New York Giants won the NL but they refused to play the AL champs - The Americans.
Trivia abounds in this short history. The Cubs became the the first back-to-back champs in 1907 and 08; the Deadball Era; the Wildcard Era; the Commissioner's Trophy and much more. Subsequent chapters highlight unforgettable games; best performers and memorable moments from good to bad. A final chapter predicts the future and the volume concludes with a listing of World Series results, source notes, a glossary and suggestions for further reading.
I think I learned of this book through a Horn Book blog post. I am glad of it since I hadn't seen anything about it and have a couple of other titles in the series, written by other authors, Score! Touchdown! and Swish! I need to add this one. At my last school, I had quite a few students who trolled the shelves looking for this type of book. Not so in my current school. Perhaps I need to feature them in my segment in the morning announcements.
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