Description
In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game in addition to the broadsheets. One was once black, the other white. Bob Gibson, along side the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation’s hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was once a crass self-promoter who eschewed the team charter and his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. For one season, the nation watched as these two men and their teams swept their respective league championships to meet on the World Series. Gibson set a massive league record that year with a 1.12 ERA. McLain won more than 30 games in 1968, a feat not achieved since 1934 and untouched since. Together, the two have come to stand as iconic symbols, giving the fans “The Year of the Pitcher” and changing the game. Evoking a nostalgic season and its fantastic characters, that is the story of one of the vital great rivalries in sports and an indelible portrait of the national pastime throughout a turbulent year—and the two men who electrified fans from all walks of life.