How Life Imitates the World Series is an interesting 1981 book by Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell. The book was critically acclaimed and edited by none other than Dick Schaap. It is about the 1981 season, which was strike-shortened. The book goes chronologically through the 1981 season, from March to October. It is 296 pages long and well-written. It may be one of the best sports books ever written, but it will appeal (mostly) to baseball fans. Are you willing to give this book a try?
Chapters in How Life Imitates the World Series
The best way to understand what is in How Life Imitates the World Series is to review the chapters therein. Here is the list: “This Ain’t a Football Game. They do this Every Day,” “The Greatest Games Ever Played,” “A Country for Old Pitchers,” “The Season of Sweet Boredom,” “Kofax: Passing the Art Along,” “Islamorada, Miramachi, Bangor, and Winter Haven,” “Why Baltimore Wins More Games Than Anybody Else,” “The Big Bang Theory and Other Secrets of the Game.” That finishes March.
In April and May: “How Baseball Helps the Harvest, or What the Bay of Pigs Did to the Bigs,” “All of Us Bare the Marks of Lash,” “Where Did You Go? Out What Did You Do? Baseball,” Rookies in God’s Country,” Growing Up with the Game,” Glove’s Labor Lost,” ” Welcome to the World of Total Average,” “That First Slash of Grass,” “The Best Manager There Is,” “The Game By Us.” That wraps up May.
In June and July, “Magic Wands and Louisville,” “Those Who Watch Batting Practice and Those Who Don’t,” “The Zen of Rod Carew,” “Georgie Ballgame,” “Sometimes I Think He is Too Good for the Game,” “Arms and the Men,” Salvation Through Salivation,” Baseball’s Dark Lord.” That takes us through July.
And the rest of the season. “Hustling to Ty Cobb,” “Captain Bad Body,” The Barnum of the Bushes,” “How Life Imitates the World Series,” “How Can You Tell the Dancer from The Dance? ” “Mr. October,” “1980: It Wasn’t Pretty, but it Sure was Fun,” “Always Leave ‘Em Laughing.” That is all.
The 1981 Season
The 1981 baseball season needed a great book about it because labor strife disrupted the season and made it, unlike any other baseball season in history. There was a player strike in the middle of the season, from June 12 to August 10, 50 days. A total of 713 games were lost to the strike, dividing the season. In case you are wondering, the reason behind the strike was free agent player compensation. As always, the owners and the players were at loggerheads.
The 1981 season was divided. There was a first and second half, with division winners from each half facing each other and eventually winnowing down to the World Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees four games to two.
In the American League, the New York Yankees won the American League in the first half of the season, and the Milwaukee Brewers won the division in the second. The Yankees defeated the Brewers. In the west, the Oakland A’s defeated the Kansas City Royals, and the Yankees defeated the A’s.
In the National League, the Montreal Expos defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros, and then the Dodgers defeated the Astros to advance to the World Series. They defeated the Yankees there four games to two, as I said. It was the third time in four years that the Dodgers faced the Yankees in the World Series.
Sports Writing Tradition
There have been some great sportswriters, and Thomas Boswell, author of How Life Imitates the World Series is one of them. It takes special skill to take a game, which may be boring to some, and make it interesting in print. Boswell does that, and so joins a long tradition of fantastic writers. Many of those writers, though not all, worked at the Washington Post. Must have been something in the water there, though maybe they learned from each other.
Conclusion
How Life Imitates the World Series is one of the greatest sports books ever written. It certainly has the best title. The 1981 season, marred by a player strike, needed a book of this quality about it. As you can tell from the chapter listing, Boswell writes with a flair that few have.
