After the Miracle by Art Shamsky


There are miracles, and then there are Miracles. Back in 1969, I remember listening to ball games on a transistor radio. Being a young woman, I was not a big sports fan, but certain teams in baseball and football caught my attention. I admit, it was because I had a small crush on some players that I started following their teams. In baseball, Jimmy Piersall and Tony Conigliaro were the first and then came Ed Kranepool and The New York Mets.

The New York Mets, also know as the Loveable Losers fired the imagination the summer of ‘69 and made people think anything was possible. This book is a series of stories and reminiscences from some of those who brought the magic back to a city and nation that badly needed magic.

Pick up this book and take a magical road trip back in time and learn about what it took and the players who made the impossible possible. See how their lives were impacted and the lifelong friendships that were formed.

See how the magic returned to the city that never sleeps and fired a nation’s imagination.

I know it’s late adding this review, but it was a book I wanted people to know about
Posted on Amazon and GoodReads

The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the more improbable championships in baseball history- the Miracle Mets of 1969. There are already a handful of books out commemorating the anniversary, including the enjoyable After the Miracle, written by 1969 Mets oufielder Art Shamsky and veteran sportswriter Erik Sherman.

After the Miracle tells two stories with one unifying thread. The first, most obvious, story is that of the 1969 New York Mets; how they rose from the ignominy of their dreadful first season, put together a good group of young players, and grew into champions. The second story details the efforts of the authors to get together a group of the old championship teammates to make a pilgrimage to Napa Valley, California to visit their most well-known teammate, ace pitcher Tom Seaver.

The narrative is bookended by the efforts of Shamsky and Sherman to make the trip to see Seaver. The book opens with the authors assembling the visiting party- pitcher Jerry Koosman, infielder Bud Harrelson, and outfielder Ron Swoboda. The book goes on to tell the story of the '69 season, enhanced tremendously by the recollections of the travelling party as well as numerous other members of the team. All of the expected topics are covered, and what shines through most forcefully is the respect and admiration they all share for their manager in that championship season, Gil Hodges.

The last section of the book is the actual trip to see Seaver, who had suffered from memory loss and had limited his travel and public appearances (and in fact retired completely from public life in early 2019). The time the teammates spent together covered only a few days, but one gets the sense that it felt as if no time at all had passed between them. The men enjoy one another's company and recalling the good old days, and also plainly nod to the reality that it is probably the last time the 70+ year olds are all likely to be together.

After the Miracle is not a heavy read in terms of the words written on the page, but it is quite weighty in the exploration of themes such as the passage of time, older men looking back on their glory days, and the brotherhood of a group that has experienced greatness together. The book would be an enjoyable read for any baseball fan, but it is indispensable for Mets fans, especially those who celebrated the achievement of the 1969 team (and all this from a Phillies fan).

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A story that begins with the author who had played on the 69 team getting with some of the players and making a trip to Napa Valley to visit Tom Sever, who cannot travel due to the effects of lime disease. Then the author begins the story of the team that year. Breaking spring training going to New York and who it was difficult at first for him since he was hurt and went to the triple-A club first, joining the Mets a little later. Once you get into the story you begin to see how the team had a winning streak early in the season and this gave them confidence, especially because they were over 500 and no other Mets team had ever been over 500. Just a few years before they lost 102 games, now they were playing winning baseball. Had a small losing streak going into the All-Star game and did not play well coming out either being beaten by the lowly Astros, who would also sweep them in a doubleheader. The turning point was the games against the Cubs and they were winning those battles shrinking their lead from ten games down to four. Really what took it for them was going 38-11 from the end of August to the end of the season. They then would go on to sweep the Braves, then to the World Series against Baltimore. It was there that really no one gave them a chance. I for one being a kid reading what I could. Listening to the radio and some games on TV, the people were talking like the Mets did not have a chance. So when they win it was a shock. Well reading this book and looking back now 50 years later I am not surprised. The manager Gil Hodges was ahead of his time platooning and using his relief pitching when he felt need be. Heck Nolan Ryan was coming out of the bullpen and would be traded to the Angels a few years later. When you get done with that part of the story you are back to the men in the car going to Seavers home. Then the time with him which was a good part of the story. Overall I thought it was a good book. All I remember is them winning and of course, that was the year of landing on the moon and all of the Vietnam fighting which was important in my home because I had an Uncle fighting over there. The author does touch on those as well. A good baseball book.

he blitz of books about the 1969 World Series Champion New York Mets continues, with a contribution in this case by someone who is well qualified to write the story.

Art Shamsky already had one book on his resume when the Mets outfielder decided to put some memories down on paper. The result is "After the Miracle," which ought to satisfy any fan's curiosity about what it was like to live through that season as a participant.

Shamsky spent that season splitting duties in right field with Ron Swoboda (who by the way has his own book on the '69 Mets coming out this year). He obviously had been thinking about such a project for a long time, because the bookends of the text are devoted to a mini-reunion of players staged in 2017.

In between is a review of the season. For those who are too young to remember or haven't studied their baseball history, the Mets were the laughing stock of baseball from their birth in 1962 through 1967. They showed improvement in 1968 but still finished ninth in a 10-team league. It all made their nearly worst to first rise in 1969 that much more unexpected and spectacular. Sometimes sports fans from other parts of the country don't like New York sports teams because they received an outsized amount of attention for their efforts. But, trust me, everyone fell in love a bit with those Mets if you weren't a Chicago Cubs fan. (Every story needs a villain, and the Cubs filled that role nicely.)

Shamsky spends most of the time reviewing that season, of course, and he throws in plenty of stories about the players, coaches, etc. on the roster. The big games, including everything in the postseason, are covered in detail, and it's nice to here about what players were thinking at the time. By the way, a Baltimore Orioles fan will be a little angry when they read what really happened during a controversial play during the World Series. (No spoiler from me on it.)

It was one of those great years in sport when everything seems to fall into place. Obscure players did heroic things on a regular basis. It was all nicely put together by Gil Hodges, the former Brooklyn Dodger hero who managed the team with skill while commanding complete respect in the locker room.

The author does spent plenty of time talking about how close the team was and how it eventually expected to win. Such an overwhelming experience surely drew the team together for life; they'd be thrown together for the rest of their lives, giving everyone a chance to relive the experience over and over.

It would have been very interesting to hear Shamsky's perspective on what happened after that championship season. The Mets slowly sank from the heights of '69, as some of the inevitable roster changes didn't pan out. Hodges died in 1972, which obviously had an effect on the organization. New York was lucky to reach the postseason in 1973 with a record a touch above .500, and that was it until 1986.

While the season is covered in a satisfactory way, the book picks up steam at the end. Shamsky arranged to have Jerry Koosman, Swoboda, Bud Harrelson and co-author Erik Sherman join him on a trip to see star pitcher Tom Seaver at Seaver's house in California. Seaver was suffering from the effects of Lyme disease, but the group caught him on a good day and obviously enjoyed the get-together. You might recall David Halberstam's book, "The Teammates," on some 1940s members of the Boston Red Sox getting together to see Ted Williams. This has some of that same nostalgic sweetness in it, although it comes in a smaller dose. It's sad that Seaver is unable to participate in what will be a season-long celebration of that team because of his health problems.

It's tough to say how much an interest a 20-something might have in reading about a team from 50 years ago, no matter how universal some themes are. But "After the Miracle" ought to be a great fit for those who lived in the first time.

As a Mets fan, this book was a great read! The 1969 Mets are legendary and this book paid proper respect to their legacy!

I had heard about the "Miracle Mets" of 1969 but now I know smooch more about them after reading this beautifully written and researched account of that incredible World series winning team out together with loving care by one of the team members Art Shamsky.

He and several of his team mates including Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, chew the fat and have provided a fitting commemoration to mark the 50th anniversary of their incredible feat.

I really enjoyed their reminiscing and loved their stories about the game in a different time and age.

Wonderfully nostalgic and highly recommended.

The 1969 New York Mets are known for a very surprising championship season that was considered by some to be a miracle, hence they got the moniker “the Miracle Mets.” One of the players from that team, outfielder Art Shamsky, got together with three of his teammates and author Erik Sherman to relive that glorious season and share many baseball stories.

Shamsky and Sherman, along with Bud Harrelson and Ron Swoboda, paid a visit to Tom Seaver’s home in California and there all four players shared some great stories together, laughing frequently despite the health issues of Harrelson and Seaver. While those passages made up the best parts of the book, they really did not take up a lot of the book. Instead a great portion of the book is a full season recap of that 1969 season, mainly from Shamsky’s viewpoint.

However, because Shamsky obtained many different quotes on the season from many of his teammates, it is far from a dry recap of games and victories. The various viewpoints from many players, stars and bench players alike, give the reading of the 1969 Mets season a fresh look. It also helps to validate the notion that every player contributed to that special season, not just a few star players. While Shamsky writes his recollections in a nice conversational manner, the stories from others give it a nice touch.

While this reader wishes the heartwarming reunion between the four teammates in a nice California home was a bigger part of this book, it is nonetheless a book that every Mets fan should have on his or her shelves. With so many people remembering this team fondly, even if they weren’t born yet to witness them, any book on the 1969 Mets is sure to be enjoyed by the team’s fans of any age.

I wish to thank Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am familiar with the "Miracle Mets", but I did not know that much about them. This book certainly helped increase my knowledge of the team and their improbable run to become World Series champions. This book is a great read for Mets fans and anyone interested in baseball lore and history. My only complaint with the book is that with the title "After the Miracle", a bit more coverage of the "after" would have been good.

Well written and interesting.
Good in depth job of describing many of the 1969 Mets.
My major criticism is that since the book was titled “ AFTER the Miracle” , I was disappointed that a good 3/4 of the book was a recap of the 1969 season( albeit done in an EXTREMELY informative and entertaining manner) and that not more time was spent on the weekend with Seaver.
I also would have liked to see a “ where are they now section.
If you could rate. Y halves , I’d give this book a 4 1/2. Since you can’t it gets a 4.