The Slide

April 15, 2017
After a dismal decade, in 1986 the Pittsburgh Pirates named young unknown Jim Leyland as manager, his hiring eliciting a collective Who? from the Pirate faithful. Leyland was tasked with providing on-field leadership while longtime scout Syd Thrift rebuilt the roster as general manager. The partnership worked, almost; Thrift was replaced in 1988 but the teams he helped build reached the National League championship series in 1990, 1991, and 1992, each time failing to advance to the World Series. With young stars Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla, one might have expected more, but toxic personalities, salary demands, and intrateam jealousies sabotaged fans' hopes, and it would be 21 years before the team made the playoffs again. The authors, father and son, are both lifelong Pirate fans. Richard, professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University, is the author of a number of baseball books, and son Stephen is a teacher and screenwriter. While there are probably too many then they played game accounts, this book vividly re-creates the circumstances that eroded what should have been an extended run of success. Fine reading for any baseball fan.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)