Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero

Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero

Tom Clavin and Danny Peary chronicle the life and career of baseballâ€™s â€œnatural home run kingâ€ in the first definitive biography of Roger Marisâ€”including a brand-new chapter to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his record breaking season.

Roger Maris may be the greatest ballplayer no one really knows. In 1961, the soft-spoken man from the frozen plains of North Dakota enjoyed one of the most amazing seasons in baseball history, when he outslugged his teammate Mickey Mantle to become the gameâ€™s natural home-run king. It was Mantle himself who said, "Roger was as good a man and as good a ballplayer as there ever was." Yet Maris was vilified by fans and the press and has never received his due from biographersâ€”until now.

Tom Clavin and Danny Peary trace the dramatic arc of Marisâ€™s life, from his boyhood in Fargo through his early pro career in the Cleveland Indians farm program, to his World Series championship years in New York and beyond. At the center is the exciting story of the 1961 season and the ordeal Maris endured as an outsider in Yankee pinstripes, unloved by fans who compared him unfavorably to their heroes Ruth and Mantle, relentlessly attacked by an aggressive press corps who found him cold and inaccessible, and treated miserably by the organization. After the tremendous challenge of breaking Ruthâ€™s record was behind him, Maris ultimately regained his love of baseball as a member of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals. And over time, he gained redemption in the eyes of the Yankee faithful.

With research drawn from more than 130 interviews with Marisâ€™s teammates, opponents, family, and friends, as well as 16 pages of photos, some of which have never before been seen, this timely and poignant biography sheds light on an iconic figure from baseballâ€™s golden eraâ€”and establishes the importance of his role in the gameâ€™s history.
Country USA
Manufacturer Atria Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2010-03-16
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Atria Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2010-03-16
Format	Kindle eBook

Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero

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