Lefty
Subtitle: an American odyssey
By: Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone
Contributors: Goldstone, Lawrence, 1947-
Publisher: Ballantine Books; Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 393
ISBN-13: 9780345526489; 9780345526502
Subjects: Baseball players; SPORTS & RECREATION / History; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs; Pitchers (Baseball); SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / General; Biography
Description: "A baseball legend distinguished by his competitive nature, quick wit, and generous spirit, Lefty Gomez was one of a kind. Told for the first time, this is his remarkable story.  Born to a small-town California ranching family, the youngest of eight, Vernon "Lefty" Gomez rode his powerful arm and jocular personality right across America to the dugout of the New York Yankees. Lefty baffled hitters with his blazing fastball, establishing himself as the team's ace. He vacationed with Babe Ruth, served as Joe DiMaggio's confidant, and consoled Lou Gehrig the day the "Iron Horse" removed himself from the lineup. He started and won the first-ever All-Star Game, was the first pitcher to make the cover of Time magazine, and barnstormed Japan as part of Major League Baseball's grand ambassadorial tour in 1934. Away from the diamond, Lefty played the big-city bon vivant, marrying Broadway star June O'Dea and hobnobbing with a who's who of celebrities, including George Gershwin, Jack Dempsey, Ernest Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe, George M. Cohan, and James Michener. He even scored a private audience with the pope.  And even when his pro ball career was done, Lefty wasn't. He became a national representative for Wilson Sporting Goods, logging over 100,000 miles a year, spreading the word about America's favorite game, and touching thousands of lives. In 1972 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Three baseball fields are named for him, and to this day the top honor bestowed each year by the American Baseball Coaches Association is the Lefty Gomez Award.  Now, drawing on countless conversations with Lefty, interweaving more than three hundred interviews conducted with his family, friends, competitors, and teammates over the course of a decade, and revealing candid photos, documents, and film clips--many never shown publicly--his daughter Vernona Gomez and her award-winning co-author Lawrence Goldstone vividly re-create the life and adventures of the irreverent southpaw fondly dubbed "El Se&ntilde;or Goofy."     "I'd rather be lucky than good," Lefty Gomez once quipped--one of many classic one-liners documented here. In the end he was both. A star-studded romp through baseball's most glorious seasons and America's most glamorous years, Lefty is at once a long-overdue reminder of a pitcher's greatness and a heartwarming celebration of a life well-lived"--
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue
pagenum: 1; label: 1
title: Spook Mission
pagenum: 5; label: 2
title: The Idea
pagenum: 15; label: 3
title: Decision
pagenum: 28; label: 4
title: The Crew
pagenum: 40; label: 5
title: Electric Boat
pagenum: 49; label: 6
title: Getting Ready
pagenum: 60; label: 7
title: No Way Out
pagenum: 72; label: 8
title: A World Apart
pagenum: 83; label: 9
title: Day Trip
pagenum: 94; label: 10
title: Canyon
pagenum: 105; label: 11
title: Endure
pagenum: 115; label: 12
title: First Hurrah
pagenum: 125; label: 13
title: Transition
pagenum: 136; label: 14
title: Black Sail
pagenum: 147; label: 15
title: The Scientists
pagenum: 157; label: 16
title: Fire
pagenum: 168; label: 17
title: Tomcat Down
pagenum: 178; label: 18
title: Nets
pagenum: 187; label: 19
title: Phoenix Rising
pagenum: 197; label: 20
title: Long Ride Home
pagenum: 207; label: 21
title: Endgame
pagenum: 219; title: Appendix: NR-1 Roster
pagenum: 229; title: Authors' Note
pagenum: 233; title: Index
pagenum: 235