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The Pitch That Killed: The Story of Carl Mays, Ray Chapman, and the Pennant Race of 1920 Paperback – October 1, 2015

by Mike Sowell (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 418 ratings
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Since major league baseball began in 1871, there have been roughly thirty million pitches thrown to batters. Only one of them killed a man. This is the story of Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians, a popular player struck in the head and killed in August 1920 by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Was it, as most baseball observers thought at the time, a tragic but unavoidable accident? Mike Sowell's brilliant book investigates the incident and probes deep into the backgrounds of the players involved and the events that led to one of baseball's darkest moments.

"The best baseball book no one has read."―ESPN Magazine

"Splendidly researched and vivid as today. The portraits of baseball as it was, the tragedy itself, and the glowering character of Carl Mays are remarkable."―Roger Kahn
Previous page
  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Lyons Press
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.79 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781493017232
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1493017232
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Sowell thoroughly explored that horrifying incident in his 1989 book and provided fascinating historical context. ― Oregonian

Splendidly researched and vivid as today....Remarkable. -- Roger Kahn

The best baseball book no one has read. ― ESPN the Magazine

Sowell did a masterful job of research in bringing to life the incident and all the things that were going on in baseball then. -- Phil Tatman ― Orlando Sentinel

Sowell twirls tragedy with triumph in a thoroughly engaging manner and delivers a book as captivating as it is well-written. -- Mark Luce ― Chicago Tribune

…An outstanding book…. In short, one hell of a year, which Sowell captures perfectly. ― Mudville

A 2004 Best bet.... Glorious and horrifying baseball book. ― Poughkeepsie Journal

A fascinating study of the circumstances behind the only time a major leaguer was ever killed by a pitched ball. ― Baseball Book Survey

Sowell's outstanding book tells the story of both men and of the thrilling pennant race that followed Chapman's death. ― Golfdom

About the Author

Mike Sowell teaches journalism at Oklahoma State University. He has also written One Pitch Away: The Players' Stories of the 1986 League Championships and World Series. He lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma, outside of Oklahoma City.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1493017233
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lyons Press; Reprint edition (October 1, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781493017232
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1493017232
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.79 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 418 ratings

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Mike Sowell

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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
418 global ratings
Major League Baseball History
5 Stars
Major League Baseball History
This is a well written, fast and easy read. I felt a link to Ray, his family and the ball team.
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Top reviews from the United States

jerid54
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book About Baseball History and Tragedy!
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2020
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Well, if you like baseball and tragedy this is the book for you! The author does a good job of weaving the death of Cleveland's shortstop, Ray Chapman, into the dramatic pennant race of 1920. Ray Chapman's death is not the only tragedy here! The author points out that his young wife and daughter (that Chapman never knew) died within a few years of Chapman. There is also the tragedy of Carl Mays! While the author points out that he had a reputation as a "bean baller" Mays and some ballplayers felt it was an accidental pitch. That is not to say that all felt that way for he was subjected to harsh treatment by some fans, ballplayers and baseball management during the months and years after Chapman's death. Mays was always resentful that he was remembered for that one fateful pitch despite a fine career which approximated some pitchers in the Hall of Fame. An interesting development arising from Chapman's death was his replacement, Joe Sewell, who saw himself as the "virtual reincarnation" of Chapman and went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Not the best bedtime reading because of the tragedies but a well written and informative baseball book about events that happened 100 years ago!
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mwreview
4.0 out of 5 stars "A savage roar of triumph, untempered by any remembrance of the dead, went up from the crowd"--Cleveland Plain Dealer on NY fans
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2010
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A previous reviewer is right on the money in stating this book has all the makings of a Hollywood script. There is a definite good guy: the well-liked, happy-go-lucky Indian shortstop Ray Chapman. There is a temperamental bad guy loathed by most of his peers in pitcher Carl Mays (a Yankee no less). Important appearances are made by legends like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. Then there is one of the most exciting pennant races in the history of baseball. In the background of all of this is the fall-out of the Black Sox scandal the year before and, a year later, another possible gambling scandal involving Mays in the 1921 World Series. For the Indians, 1920 was a year of tragedy and ultimate triumph. Not knowing much baseball history, this reviewer did not know which team won the World Series in 1920. Certainly it could not be the Indians! That would be too Hollywood!

Well, this story is all too real, and very bitter sweet in terms of the killer pitch and the Indians' season. Yes, the Indians ended the season as champs, but many of the players had to struggle through the depression of losing a beloved teammate and friend during the hotly contested pennant race. Others, like rookie and future Hall of Famer Joe Sewell, found inspiration in the legacy of the fallen shortstop to play at a level of which he did not believe he was capable. But the tragedy also seemed lost to all but teammates, friends and family closest to Chapman. Many of the fans appeared to have forgotten the tragedy quickly during the exciting three-team race to the pennant. Mike Sowell adds a poignant note when describing the first game back in Cleveland after Chapman's death. During this game, 12-page booklets commemorating the shortstop were given to the fans but, after a 1-0 loss, "many of the Cleveland fans left the park without bothering to take their booklets" (228). Contrary to popular belief, safety measures were not ushered in after the fatal beaning. Rules were already set in 1920 to phase out the spitball (pp. 126-7) and balls were being replaced more often to such an extent that umpires were being criticized for being wasteful (pp. 150-1). Batting helmets were not required until decades later. A plaque created in memory of Chapman was hidden away for decades and only recently restored at Progressive Field. With Hall of Fame worthy numbers, Mays believed he was blackballed because he was remembered as the pitcher who killed a man; however, it was actually his suspicious play in the 1921 World Series that kept him out of Cooperstown. The sad and short fates of Chapman's wife and daughter who was born after his death also give the tragedy a sense of forgotten loneliness.

Mike Sowell provides excellent backgrounds on Mays and Chapman. Mays came into the Major Leagues with Babe Ruth in 1914. He learned his submarine style of pitching after hurting his arm a year earlier. He was always disliked by most of his teammates and had a pattern of blaming others for his failures. Although quitting the Red Sox in a fit of anger and ultimately forcing his way out of Boston, Mays gave a rather comical quote to a Boston Herald writer: "You can desert the army or a wife and children, but you just can't possibly desert some twenty able-bodied baseball players" (pg. 42). Chapman, in contrast, had a personality equal to his nickname of "Chappie." A happy, upbeat person who liked to sing, Chapman had a bright future ahead of him after baseball. He married the daughter of a successful Cleveland oilman who had plans for his son-in-law to enter the gas and oil industry.

Although "The Pitch That Killed" is also a book about the 1920 pennant race, this reader was a bit restless reading about all the games and series leading up to the fatal game. The pennant race is a vital aspect of the story, of course, because it was so close but, being more interested in "The Pitch," the book seemed to get a bit bogged down with stats, scores, and standings. Otherwise, "The Pitch That Killed" is a well-researched, well-written account of tremendous loss and hard-fought victory surrounding a single pitch of a baseball.
11 people found this helpful
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Mark R. Brewer
5.0 out of 5 stars Death on the Diamond
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2014
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As a somewhat serious baseball fan, I knew of the death of Indians shortstop Ray Chapman after being hit in the head by a pitch in 1920. I knew that Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw the fatal pitch. But that was about the extent of my understanding. This excellent, well written book gives the whole story in great detail. The good guy, Ray Chapman, was a truly good man. Chapman was a superior player and an upbeat individual who always seemed to have a smile on his face. The bad guy, Carl Mays, was a surly, unhappy, but successful pitcher who threw almost underhanded. He had a reputation for "dusting" batters off by pitching inside. Add to this tale one of the closest pennant races in major league history--between Chapman's Indians, Mays' Yankees, and the Chicago "Blacksox," who had eight players who would later be banned from baseball for throwing the previous season's World Series--and you have a highly entertaining and dramatic narrative. Chapman, known as "Chappie" to friends and fans, was 29, newly married, and soon to be a father. He was one of the top shortstops in baseball when he was hit in the head on August 16. He died the following day. The Indians called up a rookie from the minors named Joe Sewell to replace Chapman. Sewell would bat .326 the rest of the season, helping the Indians to the pennant and World Series championship. Sewell would go on to a Hall of Fame career.

My only criticism of this wonderful book is that it did not contain notes--either end notes or foot notes. In recent years, baseball historians have approached their work like the true historians they are, including notes in their work. There were places in this book where author Mike Sowell made a statement about what a player was thinking or why he smiled. I wanted to see his source for those statements to see if they were genuine, or whether the author was simply "fleshing" out the story. Notes would have done this.

Despite this shortcoming, students of baseball history will find THE PITCH THAT KILLED to be highly enjoyable and informative entertainment.
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Top reviews from other countries

Ward Cluff
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in Canada on July 28, 2021
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One of the best baseball books I have read.
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Salil
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting baseball account
Reviewed in Australia on September 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is an intriguing account of the fatal beaning of Ray Chapman by Carl Mays in August 1920, to date the only fatality in MLB history. There is in-depth character representation by the author and the writing brings to life one of the most tragic incident in the sport and how it impacted the life of Carl Mays and the game in general.
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bibliobiblio
4.0 out of 5 stars For the Aficionado
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2007
Verified Purchase
This book is strictly for a devotee of baseball and in particular the Cleveland Indians.

The book gives details of early pitching methods and outlines the reputation of Carl Mays, the player who pitched the fateful ball that killed Ray Chapman.

The book builds up to the dreadful day when Chapman was killed, but also gives details of the championship race that the Cleveland Indians eventually won.

It also describes baseball in bygone days before the advent of air travel so all in all it covers a history of early baseball, the championship, pitching methods, and Cleveland's bittersweet victory.

A good read for those with a special interest in this particular incident, the Cleveland Indians, and baseball in that era.
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Lava1964
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Baseball Book
Reviewed in Canada on February 17, 2012
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I concur with the previous reviewer. This is a great, unheralded book on a largely overlooked baseball tragedy. It reads more like a novel than a piece of history. This is highly recommended to any scholarly baseball fan. Five stars--no doubt!
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