A review by stevenk
Split Season: 1981: Fernandomania, the Bronx Zoo, and the Strike that Saved Baseball by Jeff Katz

4.0

A great look a the personalities involved in the 1981 baseball strike and the unusual split season that resulted. It was a strange time in major league baseball: free agency wasn't that old; Steinbrenner hadn't been screwing up baseball and the Yankees organization for that long (although he was trying his darnedest); Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and the Expo's were playing some great baseball in the purgatory of Montreal; and Pete Rose was chasing the NL hit record as a member of the Phillies. There were lots of larger than life personalities involved on both sides of the strike and the negotiations took place before the age of the 24 hour news cycle and instant communications. This book was fun to read, full of insights into the backrooms of the labor negotiations as well as the fortunes of lots of the clubs, from those who were there, as well as great narratives of some of the important games of the season. I received a free ARC copy of this book through Goodreads First reads giveaways.