Full Description
Most baseball fans know what links Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, Mickey Owen and Bill Buckner. It's a pantheon of public failure. They would be harder put to say what links Eric Byrnes, Tony Fernandez, and Babe Ruth, though these players made misplays every bit as egregious.
In this smart, highly readable history of scapegoating, John Billheimer identifies the elements that combine to condemn one player to a life sentence while another gets a wrist slap for the same offense. As it turns out, the difference between a lower-case e in some forgotten box score and a lifetime of ignominy can hinge on a number of factors, including timing, geography, reputation, misunderstanding, media bias, and just plain bad luck.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction: Disgrace Under Pressure
1. He Who Hesitates
2. Baserunning Gaffes
3. Muffed Fly Balls
4. Dropped Foul Pop-Ups
5. Botched Grounders
6. Gopher Balls I
7. Gopher Balls II
8. Errant Throws
9. Weak-Fielding Pitchers
10. Passed Balls
11. Wild Pitches
12. Asleep at the Switch
13. Misjudgments and Miscommunication
14. Managerial Misfires
15. Fan Interference
16. Blown Calls
17. Errors, Scapegoats, and Escaped Goats
EPILOGUE: Injustice, Failure, and Redemption
Bibliography
Index
