Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's

Informativo y entretenido libro sobre el equipo tricampeón de la década de los 70's. Sobre todo sobre su excéntrico dueño

Catfish, Young Reggie and those beautiful gold and green uni’s, I’ve loved this team since collecting cards as a kid and was happy to find a book written about the history of a great dynasty in a small market where the main topic wasn’t moneyball.

Only knew the early 70s A’s for their World Series dominance, but learning more about what was happening behind the scenes during this time was incredible. Surprised the won with what they were dealing with from an owner who was, well, um .. let’s just say it rhymes with bass pole. Great read.

great read love every page and story. GO A'S

I have a confession to make- I LOVED those “Swingin’ A’s” of the early/mid-70’s, in spite of the fact that they played in the same division as my beloved Angels, in spite of the fact that they defeated my MOST beloved Mets in the 1973 World Series. They were, perhaps, the most INTERESTING team of all time, if not the best (and that’s still debatable with Yankees’ fans everywhere). As a result, I’ve read at least 8 books about those teams, and they’ve run the gamut from insightful to mostly a recounting of games, but each one added something to the legend of this wild and whacky bunch that won 3 World Series in a row, a number that very easily could have numbered 5 instead.The team was well-laden with characters that the most inventive novelist or screenwriter would be hard-pressed to come up with on their own! From the crushing ego of Reggie to the mistreated Vida; from the under-rated Rudi to the simplistic beauty of Catfish; all incredible in their own right, all failing in comparison to the overwhelming owner, the legendary owner, Charles O. Finley, deserving of the title of this book on his own volition! Although many details have come out over the years about the various idiosyncrasies of this team, this is the first book that not only captures all of them but also brings new information to light for the first time, at least to the general public.The players and, in particular, the owner, were fortunate to have played long before the invention of Social Media. In fact, most baseball journalists during the early/mid-70’s still covered up many of the off-field details that certainly would have led to scandals in that day and age. Still, as the weird, strange and offbeat details started to emerge from the city of Oakland, it was all journalists could do to NOT disclose them, as the story that evolved was one too rich to remain bar-room conversation exclusively. The team was successful in spite of itself, in spite of an owner who was the biggest character of them all, in spite of the fact that various teams they faced were so great in their own right that a lucky break here or there and the Reds or Tigers or Orioles would have been the Dynasty we would be referring too instead of the men of the Green and Gold!Part of me wishes to disclose the circumstances that nearly crushed Vida Blue’s career, or the reason behind Catfish Hunter’s free agency, or the fight between Mike Epstein and Reggie Jackson that almost ended in the Yankee’s losing their future slugger-to-be! However, the greatness of this book lies not only in the writing, which flows like an incredible novel, but in the details themselves, of these instances as well as the trades that almost didn’t happen and those that did, the battles with the Commissioner, the teams they faced, their owner who almost single-handedly destroyed the team from within, but most of all the winning that came in spite of all of this!Forgo the various chapters and snippets that have been published online, and opt instead to reward Turbow’s thoroughness and insight that resulted in, by far, the greatest recounting of this legendary team by purchasing the book yourself and delighting in the many surprises as they happen. You’ll be really glad that you did!!