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Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball’s Golden Age
- Narrated by: David A. Nickerson
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
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Summary
Baseball in the 1920s is most known for Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, but there was another great Yankee player in that era whose compelling story remains untold. Urban Shocker was a fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher, a spitballer who had many famous battles with Babe Ruth before returning to the Yankees. Shocker was traded away to the St. Louis Browns in 1918 by Yankees Manager Miller Huggins, a trade Huggins always regretted. In 1925, after four straight seasons with at least 20 wins with the hapless Browns, Shocker became the only player Huggins brought back to the Yankees. He finally reached the World Series with the 1926 Yankees.
In the Yankees’ storied 1927 season, widely viewed to be the best in MLB history, Shocker pitched with guts and guile, finishing with a record of 18-6 even while his fastball and physical skills were deserting him. Hardly anyone knew Shocker was suffering from an incurable heart disease that left him able to sleep only while sitting up and that would take his life in less than a year. With his physical skills diminishing, he continued to win games through craftiness and well-placed pitches.
The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
Critic reviews
“Steve Steinberg makes history come alive.” (Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, sports radio and TV personality)
“Urban Shocker deserved better, and thanks to Steve Steinberg and his meticulous research, his fascinating story is finally told.” (Brian Kenny, MLB Network studio host)
“I would rather read Steve Steinberg on Urban Shocker than just about anyone else on anything else.” (Rob Neyer, author, commentator, and analyst for ESPN, SB Nation, and Fox Sports)