1988 Dodgers

K. P. Wee is the author of multiple sports books, including Tom Candiotti: A Life of Knuckleballs (2014), The End of the Montreal Jinx: Boston’s Short-Lived Glory in the Historic Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry (2015), and Don’t Blame the Knuckleballer: Baseball Legends, Myths, and Stories (2015). He was a media relations assistant for the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club and hosted a radio show every week in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Any book that details perhaps the unlikeliest World Series winner ever has to make the oft-told pit stops: the eye-black incident, Orel Hershiser’s scoreless innings streak, Mike Scioscia’s home run off Dwight Gooden and the upset of the Mets in the NLCS, Bob Costas’ galvanizing remarks, Kirk Gibson’s limping blast off Dennis Eckersley, and Hershiser’s final complete game masterpiece to clinch it. Writing more as a judicious chronicler of baseball history than a fan, Wee instead paints a much broader picture of a resourceful team that owed its triumph down to the last man, rather than just a string of miracles. . . . The key to the book’s freshness is that Wee chooses to emphasize the lesser-known players and perspectives of 1988. Too many fans and historians tend to frame the team as Hershiser, Gibson and a coterie of mediocre misfits, a propensity the book acknowledges. Instead, the season is recounted through the eyes of underappreciated players, scouts, coaches, and sportswriters. Every contribution, no matter how small, is emphasized in great detail. The interviews are a joy to read, especially to get the feeling of what the season meant (and still means) to the men who aren’t celebrated enough for it. . . . By drawing on a wide variety of player, coach and executive interviews, Wee also provides different perspectives on moments many believe are known forwards and backwards. . . . Another of the book’s eminent strengths is that Wee provides ample contextual history at almost every juncture. He traces individual player moments even years before they were on the Dodgers to the very at-bat, and makes frequent comparisons to other World Series moments. . . . With its plethora of detailed recollections, meticulous accuracy and moving remembrance for a once-in-history team, The 1988 Dodgers: Reliving the Championship Season is a must for the library of not only every Dodgers fan, but every baseball fan period.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionLineupPart One: The 1988 Season1: Spring Training ’88: The Gibson-Orosco Incident2: The Stuntmen of L.A.3: The Forgotten Guys4: Regular-Season Memories5: Hershiser’s Consecutive Scoreless Innings StreakPart Two: The Mets Series6: Mets Series Moments: More Mets Magic7: Scioscia’s Forgotten Homer—and the Forgotten Holton8: Tommy the Motivational LeaderPart Three: The A’s Series9: Gibson’s Home Run10: Scout’s Honor: The Dodgers Scouts Come Through11: A’s Series Moments12: Claire the ArchitectPart Four: After 198813: Saying Goodbye to L.A.14: Gone Too Soon: The Forgotten Reliever and All-Star Infielder15: Talking Rings & What ’88 Means16: Where Are They Now?EpilogueNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author