Together We Were Eleven Foot Nine: The Twenty-Year Friendship of Hall of Fame Pitcher Jim Palmer and Orioles Manager Earl Weaver

Palmer and Weaver met in 1967, when the pitcher, who had put in two years with Baltimore and developed a sore arm, was sent to the Rochester farm club, where Weaver was managing. In 1969, Palmer was back with the Orioles and Weaver was named their manager. They remained together until 1982, when Weaver retired for the first time (he un-retired in 1985, but by then Palmer had gone). Superficially, they were vastly different: Palmer was cerebral, tall and handsome; Weaver was emotional, short and not so handsome. Yet they had their similarities: stubbornness and single-minded devotion to winning. They fought in the clubhouse, on the field, in the press, but their mutual will to win helped the Orioles be the most successful major-league team of the '70s. This is a fast-moving and witty account of those years. (Mar.)