Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History

This is one of the best baseball books I have ever read, and I've read a lot! The author does a fantastic job not only capturing the specifics of the '08 race, but baseball and America in general. Many baseball books that purport to cover the larger American experience are pedestrian and trite from a history perspective. Cait Murphy describes the unknown "weird America" of the time in fascinating detail. I hope that she writes more baseball books!

Cait Murphy's witty, sometimes snarky, thoroughly researched and footnoted, but always entertaining review of the 1908 baseball season--which she argues was the greatest ever--charms as it informs. The National League contenders, to whom the author devotes the majority of the book (the AL race is confined to a single chapter) were the New York Giants, managed by John McGraw and with Christy Matthewson as their pitching ace; the Pittsburgh Pirates, who featured Honus Wagner at short; and the Chicago Cubs, of Tinker to Evers to Chance fame.It's like a trip back in time--to wooden grandstands, flannel uniforms with no numbers on the players' backs, let alone names; bats that might weigh 48 oz; catchers who crouched but did not squat; dirty baseballs; and fields without lights (games would be stopped when it got too dark to play). And--if the game were important enough--two umpires, count 'em two, would be assigned to the game. (On the staff was the now-legendary Bill Klem, then in his fourth year--he would remain on the job for 32 more.)The book's dual centerpieces revolve around a Giant rookie utility man named Fred Merkle. The first "Merkle game" ended in a tie (darkness, darkness) on a technicality when Merkle neglected to touch second base on a play that should have given his team a walkoff win. As a result of the mistake, the poor guy would forever after be known as Bonehead Merkle (the author includes two images of him, one in his rookie season and one from the following decade--the contrast is telling).The replay of the game occurred after the official end of the season, when the Giants and Cubs tied for first place. The game, played at New York City's long-gone Polo Grounds, featured overflow crowds (they stood behind ropes in the outfield), the tossing of bottles at the Cubs' catcher when he tried to catch a foul popup, and an attempt to bribe umpire Klem.Throughout, the author gives brief sketches of the major players, owners, baseball execs, and managers; and she sprinkles in "time outs," which give the reader a glimpse of the goings-on in the wider world. The impatient may wish to skip these. I didn't wish.Baseball fans can and will argue about whether 1908 was in fact baseball's best year (it certainly was for Cubs' fans) but Ms. Murphy has made a convincing case for the year that, as she notes in the epilogue, was the year that turned the corner into what would be the modern game. She calls it, in homage to Churchill, "the end of the beginning."Notes and asides: In what I very much suspect was a global search and replace gone wrong, plural possessives have somehow been rendered thus: Cubs's. This is annoying more than somewhat. The late-20th-century Philadelphia ballyard was Veteran's Stadium, not Veteran's Park. There is an interview with the author in the back that's worth a read.

Baseball fans have many opinions concerning which season was the best in the history of Major League Baseball. In "Crazy '08," Cait Murphy makes the case for 1908. The book covers the significant events of the long season across both leagues but centers on the epic National League pennant race and fierce rivalry between the Chicago Cubs and New York Giants, including the epochal Merkle Game.Murphy describes the state of baseball at the end of the first decade of the last century—the problem of violence in the stands that plagued baseball in the 1890s had abated by 1908, but there was still much more rawness in the game than today. The World Series had already established itself as an American institution in a very short time, and the American League had gained parity with the NL. The author describes the experience of going to a game then and the ballparks of the day, addresses labor issues of the time, and opines on the quality of play of that era.The book profiles some of the key figures of the Cubs-Giants rivalry as well as some other Hall of Fame figures of the era such as Honus Wagner. The players of the early twentieth century are sometimes stereotyped in negative ways, but the author shows what the players of the era were really like. Murphy provides anecdotes of the Chicago and New York of 1908, describing what the cities were like and the off-the-charts enthusiasm residents had for their baseball clubs. She also looks at the wider view of what was going on in the country at large, including looks at the Panic of 1907, anarchism, racial issues, urbanization, and even Fourth of July celebrations.Murphy shows that baseball was a year-round phenomenon even then, with trades, the hot stove season, and spring training. She includes an epilogue that recalls what happened to many of the key figures of the 1908 MLB season. "Crazy '08" is a great look back at one of the most memorable baseball seasons ever as well as how both baseball and America were headed toward modernity in 1908.

A time when a sport became a passion , a symbol on the way to become a national treasure

Not only does it build like the thrill of a pennant race, author Cait Murphy takes you off the trolley tracks and tells you what was happening locally in Chicago and New York at the time. It helps to create a full picture of the 1908 NL pennant race and to give you an idea where people were coming from (and that is one seriously weird place back then). Near as I can figure in 1908 most people seemed to be drunk, including ballplayers, gambling was rampant and English soccer hooligans have nothing on early 20th century baseball bugs and cranks (as fans were known back then). Also, without radio, fans not at the ballpark followed games live mainly by watching public scoreboards flash scores and/or the play-by-play. Obviously, interest levels were far higher than the technology back then.The one thing missing is enough detail on the 1908 AL pennant race. It takes till Chapter 10 before Murphy really donates any time to that. Considering only a game and a half separated the Tigers, Cleveland Naps (now the beloved Indians) and the White Sox, they deserved far more attention.The tangents (called Time-Outs) he goes off on at the end of some chapters are fantastic. There's the info about Midwest tourists visiting the famous serial killer Belle Gunness's hometown and picnicking on the woman's farmstead (not so squeamish nor PC are these people back then). A short history of anarchists in the U.S. (talk about your homegrown terrorism) and the corrupt, wild and extremely "openminded" streets of corrupt Chicago in the 1900s are all great asides that help reveal the times back then.In addition the author throws in short post-1908 followups for all the main ballplayers and where life took them both on and off the field. Plus there is an author Q&A at the end of the book that offer insight into the whole incredibly well-researched book.So why would I only give this book a 4 out of 5. Mainly, there is not enough about the "other" league's pennant race which made that 1908 MLB season one of the best ever.

I've read more books about baseball history that I care to admit, but nary one by a female, let alone a woman who doesn't write about it for a living. It oughtn't to come as a total surprise, though, baseball being the game that men and women mutually enjoy to an extent not shared by any other. Cait Murphy, please take a deep bow (curtsy?) because you produced a 'Can't put it down' take on the season of '08. Meticulously and exhaustively researched, this book puts the reader right into 1908 with it's often humourous, always witty anecdotes about the game, the players and society. Glib, poignant, sharp comments about the people and their tangled affairs only add to the enjoyment.I'm glad it isn't inudated with factual, statistical information which can be accessed quite simply by anyone, from a number of sources. Read those; tossed 'em.The only addition I would personally make is a coal oil burning lamp to illuminate the pages at night and a wood stove to provide warmth. I already have a scratchy gray wool flannel baseball jersey to wear while thoroughly enjoying Cait's wonderful effort. Chigago Cubs pitcher of the day, Orval Overall, would be proud of you. Congratulations, Ma'am!Larry Wood

Nicely written review of the great 1908 season and its crazy characters. Perhaps the most exciting season of all time and this book brings out that feeling when you read it.