Title/Author:
“Wire to
Wire: Inside the 1984 Detroit Tigers Championship Season” by George Cantor
Tags:
Baseball,
Tigers, history
Publish date:
April 1,
2004
Length:
192 pages
Rating:
3 of 5
stars (okay)
Review:
The 1984
Detroit Tigers got off to the best start in baseball history for the first 40
games. They had an incredible 35-5
record at that time and went on to win the World Series in five games over the
San Diego Padres. It was a special season for the Tigers and their fans. George Cantor’s book “Wire to Wire” recaps
that season by sharing stories from many of the players and relieves some of
the best games of the season.
Cantor was
a long-time Detroit sportswriter who covered the Tigers in two of their championship
seasons, 1968 and 1984. The knowledge he gained by covering the team shows in
his writing as he recaps some insights about the players and owner that only a
writer who regularly covered the team would know. However, the book never goes
deep into the sprit or details of that season.
Most
players on that team share some thoughts on that season for the book. Not only the stars like Kirk Gibson and
Willie Hernandez talk, but some reserves such as Rusty Kunz, Tom Brookens and
Ruppert Jones also are interviewed. I was hoping to get some great insight on
this historic team from these players, but the stories were fairly short and
predictable. The same could be said for
the writing about the games on the field.
While Cantor does a decent job describing the highlights of the great
start to the season, this portion also lacks the depth I was hoping to
read. After those first 40 games, the
reader doesn’t learn much else about the season until the playoffs, when he
again switches into more detail about the wins against Kansas City in the
American League Championship Series and then the World Series win.
He also
compares the 1968 Tigers championship to this team and that made good fodder
for debate. It reads much like those types of comparisons one would read in a
newspaper. There is also a good story on
how Tom Monaghan, the Domino’s Pizza maverick, became owner of the Tigers.
Alas, in
depth and entertaining stories like that are few and far between in this book. While
it was a quick and decent read, if you are looking for a book on this team that
covers a lot of ground, this isn’t that book.
Did I skim?
No
Pace of the book:
While
hoping for more details about this team, the writing style did make this a
quick read. It read it in two sittings
of about one to one and a half hours each.
Do I recommend?
Tiger fans
will certainly enjoy this recap of one of the single seasons in baseball
history. A casual baseball fan who has
heard about this team may also like it. However, hard core fans who want to
learn more about this historic season will be disappointed with the lack of
depth.
Book Format Read:
E-book
(Kindle)
Buying links:
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