The author takes the reader back to when baseball was still at the forefront of sports for the most part. Though I know of all of the players being talked about in this book, I did not recall this particle game off hand. Being Nineteen at the time I am sure I was either working or out just doing something, besides no sports center back then.
The players being talked about were all great to hear about once again and remember their stories. Kingman, Buckner, Rose, Schmidt, and many others were household names. Buckner had played for the Dodgers and was traded to the Cubs, later he would be with the Red Sox. Kingman was known for home runs, Rose left the Reds and went to the Philly’s, and Schmidt and others from the Philly’s would win the Series in 1980.
Really for me though was the back story of Donnie Moore, for I only knew of Moore with his time with Angels and then what followed after he gave up a home run in the playoff loss. That really was the sad part for me of his story, but finding more of his was really good for me though I am sure many people don’t remember him at all. A good book and one that I plan on reading again.

I generally enjoyed this read quite a lot. It very much gets into the weeds of baseball which is something I enjoy and would make sense for the target audience. Certainly an interesting piece of baseball history I had not read about before!

Ten Innings at Wrigley covers a 1979 game between the Cubs and Phillies. As a Cubs fan I enjoyed this book as it covered the history of the Chicago Cubs, the origins of Wrigley Field, and captured the essence of a hot afternoon baseball game at Wrigley. While I have never been particularly interested in the Phillies, it was fascinating to learn their history as well and see how this one baseball game connected with the state of baseball today. Especially as a younger baseball fan, this book helped me understand the recent history of the game just before my lifetime and the game as it was played in my childhood much better. If you're a fan of the Cubs, Phillies, or baseball in general I'm sure you'll find this book a fun and interesting read.

Being a Chicago Cubs fan I loved this book. Although I was only 9 when this game was first played I looked it up online after reading this book. I only wish I could have watched the game live. If you are a baseball fan you need to read this book!!!! Go, Cubs Go!

Forty years ago this week the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs engaged in a single baseball game that produced 45 runs on 50 hits and immeasurable indigestion for pitchers and managers. Author Kevin Cook recounts the action in his enjoyable new book, Ten Innings at Wrigley.

In the game, played May 17, 1979, the Phillies started things off by scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning, and then immediately allowed the Cubs to score six in the bottom half. In the process, both starting pitchers were chased from the game before recording even three outs. And then things got interesting.

In the first section of the book, Cook follows the action through that first inning and then the nine that followed. We run into many characters along the way, including stars of the '70s Mike Schmidt, Dave Kingman, and Bruce Sutter, and a few characters who found great notoriety later in Bill Buckner and Donnie Moore. While crazy offensive games are always a possibility at Wrigley Field, Cook tells us that this particular offensive onslaught was helped along by greater than normal winds helping balls fly out of the park, and a (charitably) B- home plate umpire nursing a bit of a hangover as he attempted to administer the strike zone. The results were chaotic.

After the end of the game action, Cook spends the rest of his pages on profiles of characters who appeared in the game, most notably Kingman, Moore, and Phillies catcher Bob Boone. These passages are well done, but the selection of people seems somewhat arbitrary, and the additional focus on these individuals may flow better if they were incorporated into the main body of the book. A minor complaint, but one that felt worth mentioning.

Ten Innings at Wrigley is an enjoyable book and one that fans of the Phillies, Cubs, Wrigley Field, or '70s baseball shouldn't miss.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

When Kevin Cook launches into the sagas of the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, fan partisanship gives way to the lore of two of the league's oldest teams. In Ten Innings at Wrigley, Cook delves into the culture of baseball at a tipping point through a May 17, 1979, rubber match that turned into "the wildest ballgame ever."

Cook admirably winnows remarkable team histories to set the table. The Cubs, "born to lose" and cursed by a goat, were not a big market team in 1979, with Wrigley (a character in its own right) used for other events (e.g., ski-jumping contests) to make money. The Phillies were also "lovable losers," the last original franchise yet to win a World Series. But they were on the rise with something to prove, winning three straight division titles.

The game supports an inning-by-inning and pitch-by-pitch written recounting. With winds gusting to 30 mph, six runs in the first 10 minutes, 97 total bases and a run total of 45 that stands as the second highest of all time, the garbage truck fire beyond the bleachers is a mere afterthought. Many of the game's legendary and most colorful characters were playing (Rose, Bowa, Buckner, Kingman, Maddox) on the brink of epic cultural and league changes--cable television, the high-five, facial hair, computers, labor strikes and modern metrics, to name a few. Cook seamlessly blends these issues into this reconstruction of the game and its aftermath, a slice of history fans of any team will relish.

STREET SENSE: It may be because I'm old and nostalgic, but this book reminded me how great baseball was in the 70s. So many characters that I just don't feel in today's game. Maybe it's free agency, maybe, perhaps more likely, it's just that I'm old. But this book was a fun trip down memory lane.

A FAVORITE PASSAGE: In a book reciting balls and strikes, this was more replete with funny one-liners than notable passages. I did laugh often, and whether talking about a player getting "the fondue treatment "(gas, heat and cheese) or an individual's weaknesses (sliders low and away and cocaine) Cook really took me back to the feeling of that era of play.

COVER NERD SAYS: I get the old-timey baseball feel to this font, but I'll admit it was the subject matter rather than this cover that attracted me. I would have picked it up from a bookstore shelf or table display just because the red jumps out and there's a ballplayer on the front, but the cover as a whole didn't light my socks on fire.

Inning by inning remembrance of a wild and wacky day at Wrigley Field. Cook deftly weaves player history and player futures with his telling of the most famous baseball game in history.

No American sport is as enamored of its own history quite like baseball. Even as today’s players take the field, the shadows of those who came before are omnipresent. Baseball is as much about what was as it is about what is.

But there are some moments that transcend even the game’s historical affection. These are the times that make the leap from history to legend, the instances and accomplishments that are the foundation of baseball’s long and intricate mythology.

Kevin Cook’s “Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink” is a thorough exploration of one such instance, a single game in 1979 that wound up as one of the greatest offensive explosions in the history of Major League Baseball. That game – a May 17 contest that saw the Chicago Cubs play host to the Philadelphia Phillies – ultimately went 10 innings, with a final score of Phillies 23, Cubs 22; it was the highest scoring game of the modern era.

(It was second only in MLB history to a 1922 game that, funnily enough, featured these same teams; the Cubs triumphed in that one, with a score of 26-23.)

Through a combination of personal interviews and meticulous research, Cook gives an inning-by-inning rendering of the game (known to many as simply “The Game”), breaking down every on-field moment while also delving into some off-the-field exploration into the lives of some of the major players. An historic and iconic MLB moment, the picture painted of a generational contest.

In 1979, baseball was in the midst of drastic changes – some that were obvious, while others were subtler. Free agency was in its nascency, but even in those beginnings, the finances of the game were changing. The go-go ‘80s were just around the corner, while the more pharmaceutically-inclined end of that decade loomed as well. The landscape was in upheaval, with stratifying shifts of offensive and pitching philosophies either happening or about to happen.

And there, in the middle of it all, two National League foes faced off. It was May 17, a day game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The teams were heading in opposite directions; the Phillies were an ascendant power in the NL, while the Cubs were settling into their usual spot toward the back of the division. The signs were there for this to be a high-scoring affair – Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out was the best place to hit in MLB – but there was no way to anticipate what would happen next.

Ten of the highest-scoring innings of all time. One of the greatest offensive explosions that the game had ever seen. The second-highest total runs scored in MLB history.

There were some impressive individual performances – Cubs outfielder Dave Kingman hit three home runs and drove in six, while Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt had two dingers and four walks; Philadelphia’s Larry Bowa had five hits; Chicago first baseman Bill Buckner had four – and six RBI. But the truth is that everyone who swung a bat on that day was primed for success.

Not so much for the pitchers. It was not a great day to be throwing the ball – the first six pitchers got hammered at an historic clip; the first three Philadelphia pitchers gave up 16 over five innings, while the first three Cubs hurlers gave up 21 over less than four. Only Ray Burris (Cubs) and Rawly Eastwick (Phillies) managed to escape unscathed, pitching 1 1/3 and two scoreless innings, respectively.

On either side of the game account, Cook provides some context. Part One of the book offers a condensed history of both franchises involved in the game; we get a look at the historic success (or lack thereof) of the two teams. Part Three looks at how things changed after the game – the Phillies World Series win the next year; the subsequent success and abrupt end of Dave Kingman’s career; Bill Buckner’s legacy-defining error and the sad tragedy of Donnie Moore.

A particular joy of baseball comes from digging through its fertile past. It’s remarkable to think that even in a game with a century-plus of history, there can still be outliers. To think that 45 runs were scored in this one contest; 45 times, home plate was touched. Despite the many thousands of games that had happened to that point (and have happened since), nothing like it had happened in over half-a-century.

It’s that uniqueness that Kevin Cook captures here. There’s an enthusiasm throughout that is infectious, drawing the reader up into the whirlwind combination of time, place and participants; 1979 was very much a crossroads for MLB, and Cook does a wonderful job of evoking that sense of transience.

“Ten Innings at Wrigley” is an engaging account of one of MLB’s greatest games, a look back at an offensive explosion the likes of which we may never see again. It is informative and evocative, transporting the reader to its ivy-covered, high-scoring locale. Baseball fans with an appreciation of the game’s history will enjoy this look back at an iconic moment in the sport.

“Ten Innings at Wrigley” by Kevin Cook tells the story of one of the most famous games in MLB history — a slugfest where over 40 runs were scored between the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. This is definitely a “must read” for baseball fans. Very very entertaining! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.
Every spring there are certain things I do in anticipation of Baseball season.
I watch Bull Durham ( do not mock me ), Field of Dreams, and The Natural. While listening to The Boys of Summer...and then I am ready for Baseball.
This book has joined my EVERY SPRING plan now. Not only is the tale of the famous game spot on and wonderful, but the tidbits about the players during the play by play are insightful and often humorous. Then he follows up with a run down of what happened to all the players and managers after that great game, all the way to now as in 2019. Some of the stories are wonderful, some sad. All of it is just fantastic. I could not ask for a more all purpose story about a great game , with a few broken records that still stand to this day, and the players involved. A baseball fan must read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this work.

Ten Innings at Wrigley is an entertaining account of one of the most famous games in MLB history in which over 40 runs were scored between the Cubs and the Phillies. The book has 3 basic parts. In the first the author presents the history of the two franchises and their histories of losing. In the second, Cook walks the reader through the game, with asides about the individual players and strategy. In the third, Cook explores the careers of some prominent players in the game (Donnie Moore, Bill Buckner, and Bob Boone, among others)..

The book is an entertaining read for casual and serious baseball fans. This reviewer is a serious baseball fan, and the use of superficial statistics were frustrating. The author is clearly aware of advanced metrics which tell a better story about the game than batting average and pitcher wins, but only occasionally alludes to them. This may have been the publisher's decision. Still, batting average is not necessarily important from a narrative standpoint. The treatment of Donnie Moore's domestic abuse could have been a bit more nuanced. The three components of the book were entertaining and useful, but it wasn't clear that they needed to be in that order. These quibbles aside, I am glad I read this book and think that all sports fans should consider it. Similar to Rob Neyer's recent book Power Ball and Terry McDermott's Off Speed, structuring a book around one game makes for interesting reading.

Ten Innings At Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink written by Kevin Cook is a fascinating read for fans of the Great American Pastime. That’s the game of baseball if you didn’t know. And the truth is many people today might not know that is the case. Purists will love the recount of the game and the impacts that wind blown day in Chicago had for so many future All-stars and Hall of Famers.

Cook does a good job of painting a picture for those who might not have seen the broadcast that fateful, May day in 1979. I remember seeing the highlights on This Week in Baseball later and on my tv that night after I got home from spring football practice in High School! The names of the players are all a part of my love for the game. Our high school baseball uniforms the next year would be a blue version of the red home Phillies uniforms! Even a casual fan of the game will recognize many of the players on the Cubs and Phillies in 1979.

Since I read a pre-release version of the book, the format may have changed some, and I hope it does. The digital copy was a bit tough to follow in the first part of the book. Each “chapter” is a recount of one-half inning of that 10-inning slugfest. Cook does an outstanding job of giving the play-by-play description of the actual game play with enough filler material to give context to the game.

However, my favorite part of the book is the exploration of the aftermath of that game on several of the key players and managers. Those stories are what really make the book a great read. Fans often think of the events of a day as just that, the events of a single day. The truth is that some days are more critical than others in the life of athletes and their families. A single day, good or bad, can change the course of many lives for many years to come. Cook’s treatment of this is phenomenal using quotes from the players and families themselves as well as a treasure trove of information gleaned from many resources.

Fans of the Cubs and the Phillies will want to read this book to remember a day like no other in their franchises’ incredible histories. Fans of baseball will be fascinated to look at the way the game unfolded on that wind-swept day. Fans of reading will enjoy the expert story-telling that unfolds on the pages of this book. I highly recommend reading Ten Innings At Wrigley.

I was provide a free copy of this book for my honest review by the publishers.

This is a very well-written baseball book with a lot of interesting baseball biographical history. I’m not a Cubs or Phillies fan, but there was a lot of interesting stories that came out of this one baseball game played in May of 1979. I enjoy reading baseball books around this time of the year (Feb-Mar), and this is in my top 5 of probably 30 baseball books I’ve read over the years.

On May 17, 1979, the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies played one of the biggest slugfests in the history of the game, with the Phillies winning the game 23-22 in ten innings. The two teams combined for thirteen runs in the first inning (Phillies 7, Cubs 6) and the Cubs came back from a 12 run deficit (21-9) only to lose the game in extra innings. This game, along with some history and follow-up stories on some of the players in that game, is shared in this very entertaining book by Kevin Cook.

The actual events of the game make up the bulk of the book, but Cook sandwiches the inning-by-inning description by first giving the reader a background history check on the two teams involved and finishes the book with stories about key players such as the Cubs’ Dave Kingman (who homered three times in the game) and Donnie Moore and the Phillies’ Bob Boone and Tug McGraw.

These players are featured in the post-game writing but what is truly impressive about this book is that EVERY player who made an appearance in this game gets his just due. Of course, there is more coverage of players who had a great game hitting (or had a terrible game on the mound) but no matter what contribution that player made to the historic game, Cook made sure to mention him. The reader will also get a true feeling of what it was like to see a game at Wrigley at that time – all day games, plenty of empty seats as Wrigley was less than half full on that Thursday afternoon, people waiting in the street on Waveland Avenue for home runs, fans camped on the rooftops - it’s all there and is a terrific trip back in time for readers who remember when only day games were played at Wrigley.

While the brief histories of the teams before the chapters on the game are enjoyable to read, the stories on some of the players following the game are even better. What is really interesting is how intertwined the stories of that game became and Cook’s reference to them. For example, it was interesting to read about how two Cubs teammates in that game, Donnie Moore and Bill Buckner, ended up crossing paths on different teams in the 1986 American League Championship Series. Most baseball fans know what happened to both men after that season, so I won’t rehash it here, but Cook’s prose will leave the reader emotionally spent when reading about them, especially Moore.

Any reader who is a fan of baseball of that era, a Cubs fan or a Phillies fan, this book must be added to his or her library. With rich detail and a knack for easy-to-read prose, Kevin Cook has written another excellent baseball book. It is certainly one that will stay in my library and will be pulled out when I want to remember the first Cubs game I saw on that relatively new industry called cable television.

I wish to thank Henry Holt and Company for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! An in depth look at one ten inning baseball game between the cubs and phillies in 1979. A wild slugfest(Phillies won 23-22), Cook dives deep into each inning and each player in the game—from stars like Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt to lesser know players like Jim Martin and Donnie Moore. I particularly liked the deep dives into each player’s background(Martin’s cocaine abuse;Moore’s wife beating ). I lived in Chicago in 1979 and vaguely remember the game but did not know about each players background. Cook writes extremely well and I also enjoyed the epilogue which traces the subsequent history of the players highlighted in the game. Cooks”s thesis that this game or year was a turning point between “old time” baseball and the modern game is convincing. Highly recommended as a social history or baseball book.

*I received a free copy of Ten Innings at Wrigley in exchange for my honest review*
So here’s a thing about me: I adore baseball. I love its rich history and its stats and almost everything about it. (I’ve been a Dodgers fan since before I could walk or talk.) While this book was not about the Dodgers- I really enjoyed it! The colorful descriptions made me feel like I was at Wrigley Field, which is all I want when I’m reading about baseball. There was a pretty masterful weaving of baseball history and stats, as well as a vivid recap of an insanely entertaining baseball game!