Gil Hodges: The Brooklyn Bums, the Miracle Mets, and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend

Clavin and Peary (Roger Maris) add to the hagiography of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the perspective of star first baseman Gil Hodges. Hodges signed with the Dodgers in 1943, and then left for the Marine Corps to serve in the South Pacific. He returned to the Dodgers and become a fan and media favorite through the early 1960s. He ended his playing career with the Mets, and later managed them to the 1969 World Series title. The story is as much about the Dodgers success as it is about Hodges; the authors portray them as one and the same. Clavin and Peary, however, avoid wallowing in statistics or sugary accolades in a tale of the final years of the beloved Brooklyn team, the rise of baseball in the West, and the resurrection of the National League in New York, but end with an unabashed yet legitimate plea for his Hall of Fame election. (Aug.)