Shocktober - tour and author interview

 Mays’s spectacular catch in 1954, Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homer in 1960, and Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit blast in 1988 are just a few of the memorable moments that have dominated highlight reels. The outcome of the Series has not always been terribly surprising—especially during the late 1940s and early 1950s when the Yankees captured five consecutive championships, breaking their previous record of four straight titles from 1936 to 1939. But despite its predictability at times, the Fall Classic has taken many unexpected turns. The 1906 Cubs lost to the weak-hitting White Sox after establishing a new regular season record for

wins. The 1955 Dodgers avenged seven prior October failures with an improbable victory over the seemingly invincible Yankees. And in 1969, the Mets finally shed their image as “loveable losers,” dethroning the powerful Orioles. In more than a century of World Series plays, a number of similar scenarios have emerged; twenty-two of those stories are told in Shocktober.

read an excerpt...

Game 1 was held at Dodger Stadium with 56,000 fans in attendance. Since Hershiser had pitched in Game 7 of the NLCS, he was unavailable for the Series opener. Lasorda was forced to send rookie right-hander Tim Belcher to the mound while LaRussa had the luxury of starting a well-rested Dave Stewart. Perhaps feeling the pressure of the moment, Stewart hit Sax with the first pitch he threw, balked him to second base, and served up a two-run homer to Mickey Hatcher. Hatcher got the L.A. crowd worked up by rounding the bases at full speed. This prompted broadcaster Vin Scully to joke: “He’s a Saturday Evening Post character.” Regaining his composure, Stewart yielded just one more run over the next seven innings. Belcher had a rough go of it, staking the A’s to a 4-2 lead in the top of the second. The big blow was struck by Canseco—a grand slam to deep center field with two outs. The monster blast reportedly hit an NBC camera, leaving a dent. With the A’s nursing a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, the legend of Kirk Gibson was born.

Eckersley was summoned to close out the game for Oakland. He retired the first two batters before issuing a walk to pinch-hitter Mike Davis. Gibson, who was suffering from a pulled hamstring and strained knee ligaments, had been in street clothes at the start of the game. After a pair of cortisone shots, he was still limping, but feeling less pain. With the Dodgers trailing in the late innings, he pulled on his uniform and shuffled to the batting cage beneath the stadium for some practice swings. Summoned to pinch-hit for Alejandro Pena, he worked the count full. By his own admission, he was hoping at best for a blooper over the head of Oakland shortstop Walt Weiss. Essentially swinging on one leg, the ailing slugger did much better than that, pounding a backdoor slider into the right field bleachers for a walk-off homer.

“First of all, it was like almost some kind of foolish thing to go up there and hit because of the shape I was in,” Gibson reminisced years later. “...I remember when I was rounding the bases, my parents went through my mind. Throughout my career, there were a lot of doubters, a lot of people who directed a lot of criticism at me. People would say things to my dad, and initially, early in my career, they had to defend me. I told them, ‘You guys don’t have to defend me. I’m going to bust it and I’m going to fail sometimes. But we’ll have a laugh some day [and] it will all be worth it.’ When I [hit that home run], I thought, ‘This is the moment.’” Gibson’s moment—which came in his only at-bat of the Series—has appeared in virtually every October highlight anthology ever since. In 2016, Eckersley said he felt honored to be a part of Gibson’s achievement. “I’ve always had a respect for Kirk—the kind of player he was. And for something like that to happen to me, in that moment in baseball, was incredible...I can step away from that and appreciate it because I love this game.”

about Jonathan Weeks...

Jonathan Weeks has written several sports biographies and two novels, one of which was a posthumous collaboration with his late father. He grew up in the Capital District region of New York State and currently works in the mental health field.

BLOG: http://www.jonathanweeks.blogspot.com

GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5862273.Jonathan_Weeks

Read more about Jonathan Weeks below

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More personal "stuff" about Jonathan Weeks...

 Does this book have a special meaning to you? i.e. where you found the idea, its symbolism, its meaning, who you dedicated it to, what made you want to write it?

This book is a bucket list item for me. When I was growing up, my Mother used to take me (along with my three sisters) to the public library. We would always come home with a stack of books to read. I remember during one particular visit, I found a book about the history of the World Series. I was fascinated by all the black and white photos of players from the early-1900s in their antiquated uniforms. I must have borrowed that book from the library at least half a dozen times. I promised myself that I would write my own book about the World Series someday. It took me about fifty years to get to it, but better late than never I always say.

Where do you get your storylines from?

I make a point of watching the World Series every year—even when my favorite team isn’t in it. I always root for the underdog (Unless, of course, the New York Yankees are playing). There have been some very interesting World Series matchups over the years and I thought it might be fun to write about some of the upsets. I think everyone loves a good underdog story.

Was this book easier or more difficult to write than others? Why?

I’ve been writing baseball books for over a decade now and am very familiar with the process. The World Series is a popular subject, so there was a lot of material readily available. Given the interest I have in the topic, this book was actually quite fun to write. The editing and fact-checking are always a bit difficult, but you have to take the good with the bad.

Do you only write one genre?

I deal mostly with non-fiction sports topics, but I have also written a couple of novels. One of them was about baseball (no surprise there). The other was a posthumous collaboration with my late father. He had completed an early draft of a thriller/mystery, but contracted a rare form of cancer and became too ill to finish it. As he lay dying, I asked him if he wanted me to work on the manuscript for him. “Nothing would make me happier,” he said. I finished it and was able to get it published. My biggest regret is that he wasn’t around to see it. I donated the proceeds to my father’s favorite charity. The book is called: Scarecrow on the Marsh. It’s still in print and you can get a copy from almost any online book seller.

Give us a picture of where you write, where you compose these words…is it Starbucks, a den, a

garden…we want to know your inner sanctum?

I have an office in my home. The previous owners used it as a bedroom. It has a pair of skylights you can see the stars through on a clear night. I have two work stations—one for my full-time job and the other for writing. You can tell I’m a baseball fan as soon as you walk in because there are shelves full of baseball books. I also have several of those retro tin advertising signs with famous players on them. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams are just a few of the players you see on my office walls.

And finally, of course…was there any specific event or circumstance that made you want to be a writer?

My parents always encouraged us to read. I honestly think it all goes back to those visits to the public library when I was a kid. I’ve always been the kind of guy who tries my hand at things. I wasn’t very good at baseball but I did give it a shot. My love of reading inspired me to write.