Pennant Races

New York Times sports columnist Anderson ( In the Corner ) scores a double coup here: he presents an original subject and recreates the tension and drama that characterized baseball's most suspenseful pennant drives. Anderson sets forth his criteria for suspense in his introduction, explaining that he eliminated such teams as the 1969 New York Mets, who won the pennant by eight games, in favor of those races with ``the most theatrical dimension.'' He begins with the two races in 1908, won by the Tigers and the Cubs--the latter after the famed ``bonehead'' play by Giant Fred Merkle--and includes the St. Louis Cardinal Gashouse Gang of 1934, the St. Louis Browns' only pennant in 1944 and the Cleveland Indians' victory in the first American League playoff game in 1948. Anderson also discusses the Giants win over the Dodgers thanks to Bobby Thomson's ``shot heard 'round the world'' in 1951, the ``Phillies' Phlop'' in 1964 and the Atlanta Braves' triumphs in 1991 and 1993. Every entry is gripping and smoothly written. Photos. (Apr.)